Box Score WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Strong hitting and a balanced team effort led the Whitworth University volleyball team to a 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Whitman College in Northwest Conference action in Sherwood Center on Wednesday evening. Whitworth improves to 14-13 on the season, with an 8-7 record in NWC action. Whitman falls to 7-21 overall and 5-10 in conference play.
"We played really well tonight," Whitworth head coach Kati Bodecker said. "We were focused and efficient. All of our hitters did a great job of being aggressive and our defense kept us in rallies by getting great touches."
The teams traded leads in the early going of the opening match. Down 12-11, senior Briauna Stadeli spiked the ball to open a 9-1 Whitworth run that also featured kills from senior Jalana White, sophomore Nicole Leonard and senior Kristine Kardell. Stadeli served back-to-back aces to extend the Pirates' lead to 20-13, putting Whitworth out of Whitman's reach.
Whitman opened the second set with a 2-0 lead, but Whitworth climbed back, with White giving the Pirates a 7-6 lead with a kill. After tying and trading leads five times, White gave the Pirates their final lead of the set, a 15-14 advantage. Leonard put Whitworth in front 21-17, but the Missionaries closed the gap, pulling within a point, 22-21, to challenge Whitworth. Kills from Kardell, sophomore Maddye Dinsmore and White stopped the Whitman run and put the Pirates up 2-0 in the match.
Whitman again took a lead early in the third set, but the Pirates fought back and regained their control on the night. Consecutive kills from Leonard put Whitworth in front 9-6, which proved to be the last lead change of the set. Whitman could not disrupt Whitworth's rhythm and the Pirates held off a late rally from the Missionaries to complete the season sweep of Whitman.
Whitworth hit above .200 in all three sets, with a .282 hitting percentage in the third set. Whitman's best percentage came in the third set when the Missionaries hit .162.
Jalana White led the Pirates with 15 kills, 12 digs, two blocks and an ace. Kristine Kardell had 12 kills for Whitworth, while senior Whitney Santos had 17 digs. Maddye Dinsmore had 41 assists and Briauna Stadeli led all servers with three aces.
Jillian Davis led Whitman with 16 kills and 11 digs. Taylor Aschenbrenner had 28 assists, while Hannah Linsenmayer had 18 digs. Abby Seethoff served up Whitman's two aces.
Whitworth returns to Spokane to host Linfield College in the home finale on Friday, November 8th at 7 p.m.
