LA VERNE, Calif. – The Whitworth University volleyball team closed out the Pacific Coast Classic by picking up its first win of the season as the Pirates split matches today at the Pacific Coast Classic at Frantz Athletic Court.

Whitworth (1-3) opened the day with Whittier, a match that took the Pirates and the Poets into five sets before Whittier pulled out the victory.

"Against Whittier, we struggled a bit and lost some confidence," Whitworth head coach Kati Bodecker said. "We were doing all of the right things in the first two sets; we just struggled with finding a way to win. In the third and fourth sets, we played well and gave it our best effort. Whittier was just able to pull (the win) out."

The Bucs responded by taking the second match in four sets against La Verne.

"We responded well," Bodecker said. "I told (the team) that they could hang their heads or they could pull together and prepare for the next match.  The team went out and competed and we earned the win (against La Verne) as a team."

Whitworth returns to Spokane for the Whit Classic which will begin Friday, September 6 in the Fieldhouse. The Pirates open the tournament with a 10:00 am match against Whitman College.

Match 1 – Whittier 3, Whitworth 2
Whitworth fell to Whittier College (1-2) in five sets (26-24, 26-24, 18-25, 9-25, 15-13) in the first match of the day. The Poets took advantage of the Pirates' 22 attack errors and a hitting percentage of .300 in the fifth set to claim the victory.

Sophomore Nicole Leonard led the Pirates with 17 kills, 26 digs and an ace. Seniors Kristine Kardell and Jalana White tallied 15 and 14 kills, respectively, while freshman Brenna Bruil recorded 10 kills. White served up a match-high three aces, while seniors Anna Buck and Whitney Santos had two aces apiece.

Malia Valdivieso had a team-high 14 kills for the Poets, while Alyssa Acosta recorded a match-high 36 digs. Rebecca Slattery recorded five blocks for Whittier, three of which were solo blocks.

Match 2 – Whitworth 3, La Verne 1
Whitworth rebounded in the match against the University of La Verne (0-3) as the Pirates defeated the Leopards in four sets (27-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-16). The Bucs recorded 21 kills as a team in both the first and fourth sets, hitting .333 and .275 on their way to their first victory this season.

Jalana White led the Pirates with a match-high 20 kills, seven blocks, three aces and a .241 hitting percentage. Kristine Kardell and Nicole Leonard had 17 and 16 kills, respectively, and Leonard recorded 22 digs. Whitney Santos had a match-high 33 digs and two aces, while sophomore Maddye Dinsmore recorded 12 digs and an ace.

The Leopards were led by Brittany Yaxley, who recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs. Anna Suarez and Destinee Sales each served up three aces, while Morgan Donohue had 27 assists.