SPOKANE, Wash. – Accurate hitting and strong serving led the Whitworth University volleyball team to a 28-26, 25-23, 25-20 win over Whitman College in Northwest Conference action at Whitworth Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.

"It was a really great win for us tonight on a couple of different levels," Whitworth head coach Kati Bodecker said. "It's always great to have a conference win and Whitman is a great team."

Whitworth (10-9, 4-3 NWC) and Whitman (5-15, 3-4 NWC) played a close opening set with 15 tied scores and six lead changes. Junior Tori LaBrie put Whitworth on the board first with an opening kill, but Whitman kept pace with the Pirates. After a senior Jalana White kill tied the score 23-23, Whitman's Jillian Davis responded with a kill of her own to put the set at game point and forcing a Whitworth timeout. Sophomore Nicole Leonard came out of the huddle to nail a kill that tied the set 24-24 and force a Whitman timeout. Tied 26-26, Leonard and senior Kristine Kardell followed a kill from Leonard to take the opening set.

Sophomore Maddye Dinsmore served up three service aces in a 5-0 Whitworth run to open the second set. In another tight set, the teams tied the score 10 times, but the Pirates always had an answer for the Missionaries. After a kill from Kristine Kardell made the score 24-22, Whitman took its second timeout of the set. Shae Kanakaole pulled Whitman within one out of the timeout, but Jalana White gave Whitworth a 2-0 lead in the match by hitting down a pass from Maddye Dinsmore.

After a 3-3 tie in the third set, Whitworth went on a 5-1 run that featured kills from freshman Brenna Bruil and Maddye Dinsmore as well as a block by Bruil and Dinsmore. The Missionaries came back to knot the score 13-13 and take a 14-13 lead on a Whitworth ball handling error, but Whitworth rallied back to take a 20-17 lead. Though the Missionaries used a kill from Megan Bafus and a block from Jillian Davis to pull within a point, the Pirates kept Whitman out of reach and claimed the victory on a kill from Nicole Leonard.

The Pirates finished the night with a .246 hitting percentage after hitting .333 in the first set and .257 in the second set. Whitman hit .134 on the night with eight team blocks. Whitworth played its first three set match since defeating Pacific (Ore.) on September 28.

"For us to win in three (sets) is a big turning point, since we've struggled with consistency and had almost every conference match go to five sets. I'm excited to see us accomplish that," Bodecker said.

Nicole Leonard led the Pirates with 16 kills, 11 digs and two blocks, while finishing the night with a .433 hitting percentage. Jalana White had 12 kills for the Pirates, while senior Whitney Santos had 13 digs. Maddye Dinsmore passed out 40 assists, while recording 14 digs and serving up three aces for Whitworth.

Whitman was led by Jillian Davis, who had 13 kills, 10 digs and two blocks. Shae Kanakaole added 10 kills for the Missionaries while Hannah Linsenmayer recorded 15 digs. Becca Gotz served up two aces for the Missionaries and Natalia Zea recorded five blocks.

Whitworth continues Northwest Conference action as the Pirates travel to Linfield College to take on the Wildcats on Friday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m. in McMinnville, Ore.