SPOKANE, Wash. -- Coming off of a huge weekend in Northwest Conference volleyball, Whitworth survived a letdown by bouncing back from an opening set loss to defeat visiting Whitman 19-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-15 on Wednesday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates, who re-entered the AVCA Division III coaches poll this week at #21 following victories last weekend over nationally-ranked Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran, improved to 12-4 overall and 7-0 in the NWC. They earned their tenth straight victory and 13th straight conference win over the last two seasons. The Missionaries fell to 1-12 overall and 0-7 in the NWC after threatening a monumental upset on the road.

Whitman dominated Whitworth in the opening set, hitting .356 as a team with 16 kills and only two errors. Anna Conrad had four of her team-high eight kills in the set while Megan Bafus added four kills in eight attempts. The Missionaries led the set from the beginning, forcing Pirate timeouts at 8-5 and 17-12.

The Pirates responded by taking early control in the second set, jumping to an 8-1 lead. By the time Kaimi Rocha served an ace, followed by a Whitman attack error, the Bucs had stretched the advantage to 20-8. Amanda Grumbach had five kills in the frame to help Whitworth cruise to its first set win.

The third set was the most competitive of the night. It included five ties and four lead changes during its first half. Back to back attack errors by the Pirates gave Whitman its final lead of the set at 11-10. Whitworth then used a quick 3-0 run to regain the lead and the Pirates never gave it up. Jordon Hoffnagle's ace gave the Pirates a comfortable 20-14 advantage, and Kaimi Rocha ended the set with a kill. Ka'ipo Rocha led the Bucs in the frame with four kills in four attempts.

Whitworth held a narrow lead for the first half of the fourth and final set. A block by Whitman's Jillian Davis and Olivia Nielson pulled the Missionaries within 11-9. But the Pirates responded with an 8-1 run to open a 19-10 advantage and ultimately put the match away on a block by the Rocha sisters.

Kaimi Rocha had 15 kills, ten digs and three aces for Whitworth, while Grumbach added 14 kills and 11 digs. Ka'ipo Rocha finished with a .500 hitting percentage with nine kills and only one error in 16 attempts. The Pirates hit .211 as a team. Bree Riddle directed that attack with 43 assists. Whitney Santos led the defense with 15 digs.

Whitman cooled off after the first set, finishing with a team hitting percentage of .106. Conrad finished with a team-high eight kills and Davis added seven kills. Nielson was in on a match-high five block assists.

Whitworth and Whitman will travel to Portland this weekend to take on Lewis & Clark College. The Pirates get the Pioneers on Friday night (7:00 p.m.), while the Missionaries follow against L&C on Saturday.