SPOKANE, Wash. -- Kaimi Rocha and Amanda Grumbach combined for 24 kills to lead Whitworth to a 25-9, 25-11, 21-25, 25-22 win over visiting La Verne in the Pirates' volleyball home opener on Tuesday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates (5-4) close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on a three-game winning streak. The Leopards fell to 6-4 after they split on Tuesday. La Verne swept Whitman earlier in the day in a match played at Whitworth.

The last time the Leopards visited the Fieldhouse they defeated the Pirates in four sets in the final match of the 2005 NCAA Division III regionals to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Finals.

But on this night it was the Pirates who came out firing, hitting .579 as a team in a dominating first set. Whitney Santos served an ace for a 7-1 Whitworth lead and it was never close after that. Jalana White's kill made it 15-4 and the Bucs won the set 25-9 on the last of ULV's six attack errors.

Whitworth did not let up much in the second set, hitting .387 and running out to an 11-2 lead after a kill by White. La Verne closed to within 17-9 after a Pirate error, but Whitworth finished the set on an 8-2 run for a 25-11 win.

But La Verne would not go quietly as Randi Taylor-Toomay had eight of her team-high 15 kills in the third set to lead the Leopards. After the set was tied 15-15 on a kill by Whitworth's Kristine Kardell, ULV closed on a 10-6 run to win 25-21. Taylor-Toomay had the kill that won the frame.

Whitworth never trailed in the fourth set, but the Pirates were never able to pull away as they had in the first two frames. Rocha's kill gave Whitworth a 17-11 lead, but the Leopards closed to within 22-20 on a service ace by Catie Logan. La Verne would not get any closer, however, and Whitworth won the set and the match when Bree Riddle blocked Kayla Cribbs at the net on the final point

Rocha finished with 13 kills and four blocks, while Grumbach had 11 kills and a team-high 13 digs. Riddle had a great all-around match with 37 assists, five kills, seven digs and four blocks. Ka'ipo Rocha tallied nine kills and three blocks.

The Pirates served a season-high 12 aces, four each in the first two sets. Whitworth finished with a team hitting percentage of .271.

Taylor-Toomay's 15 kills led all players. La Verne also got eight kills from Cribbs, while Morgan Donohue had a match-high 18 digs. The Leopards hit .083 as a team.

Coming Up: Whitworth will open Northwest Conference play at home against George Fox on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The following night the Pirates will host Pacific (Ore.) at 5:00 p.m.