NEWBERG, Ore. – After trailing 2-0, the Whitworth University volleyball team rallied to defeat George Fox 3-2 (20-25, 21-25, 25-17, 26-24, 22-20) at Wheeler Sports Center on Friday evening. Whitworth improves to 8-7 overall, 2-1 in Northwest Conference action, while George Fox falls to 5-6 on the season, 0-3 in NWC play.

"We battled hard tonight and did a great job of playing point for point and not focusing on our mistakes," Whitworth head coach Kati Bodecker said.

Whitworth got off to a slow start, as four service errors stunted any attempt the Pirates made at a scoring run. Senior Kristine Kardell seemed to spark the Pirates, hitting down a kill that pulled Whitworth within one, 19-18, but George Fox answered with back-to-back kills to put the Bruins on top.

The Bruins carried the momentum into the second set, building a 16-9 lead. Whitworth battled back, as sophomore Izze Ginley served up the first Pirate ace of the match to cut George Fox's lead to six, 22-16. Trailing 24-17, Whitworth went on a 4-0 run that included back-to-back aces from senior Briauna Stadeli to make it a 24-21 set, but George Fox stopped the run with a kill from Erin Campbell to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Whitworth came out of the break to open the third set on a 3-0 run, taking advantage of a kill from sophomore Nicole Leonard and Bruin attack errors. Once in the lead, the Pirates maintained control, garnering aces from senior Anna Buck and sophomore Maddye Dinsmore, as well as six kills from Nicole Leonard. Leonard closed the set in Whitworth's favor with back-to-back kills.

The fourth set featured 10 tied scores and four lead changes as each team answered a scoring one with one of their own. After Whitworth built an 8-4 lead, the Bruins swung the set 14-9 in their favor. Senior Jalana White and Briauna Stadeli hit back-to-back kills to put Whitworth up 20-19 and the Pirates forced a decisive fifth set on a block from junior Tori LaBrie and Kristine Kardell.

Playing in their third fifth set in the last three matches, the Pirates battled the Bruins throughout the set. Trading leads seven times with 16 tied scores, each team responded when facing the elimination point. After a Whitworth service error tied the set 20-20, Kristine Kardell slammed back-to-back kills to give Whitworth the match victory. It was the longest fifth set in George Fox's history and the second match in a row that Whitworth played a fifth set to a 22-20 score.

"We are still struggling with our consistency, but we maintained a high level of energy and enthusiasm the entire time. I believe that is what helped us win tonight," Bodecker said.

Whitworth hit .168 for the match with nine service aces. George Fox served up 11 aces, but hit just .098 on the night.

Jalana White led the Pirates with a match-high 19 kills and 12 digs. Kristine Kardell had 18 kills, six blocks and a .333 hitting percentage, while Nicole Leonard had 15 kills and 19 digs. Senior Whitney Santos had 21 digs for the Pirates, while Maddye Dinsmore had 59 assists and a team-high three aces. Briauna Stadeli, Izze Ginley and Anna Buck each had two aces for Whitworth.

Karlee Jo Sampson and Erin Sprowles each had 12 kills for the Bruins, while Tiffany Burk recorded 10 kills. Chelsea Wilson had a match-high 30 digs, while Payton Shrum served up a match-high five aces.

Next up, Whitworth will take on Pacific (Ore.) in Forest Grove at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.