SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University volleyball team split the morning and evening matches to finish second at the Whit Classic in the Whitworth Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Whitworth (3-5) defeated St. Scholastica (3-5) 3-1 (25-13, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22) in the early game before falling to No. 19 St. Benedict (9-0) in three sets (25-21, 25-10, 25-11) in the championship match on Saturday evening.

Match 1 – Whitworth 3, St. Scholastica 1
Opening the day against St. Scholastica, Whitworth hit .278 and .231 in the first and second sets to claim 25-13 and 25-20 victories, respectively. Despite falling behind 2-0 early, Whitworth bounced back to score the next four points on kills from sophomore Nicole Leonard and senior Kristine Kardell and an ace from sophomore Maddye Dinsmore. Once the Bucs took a 16-6 lead, they continued to distance themselves from the Saints, keeping at least a 10 point advantage before claiming the 25-13 set victory.

Whitworth opened the second set with four straight points, starting with an ace from Dinsmore. Senior Jalana White contributed with a kill and assisted junior Tori LaBrie with a block. St. Scholastica made a run, taking advantage of Whitworth attack errors, as the Saints knotted the score at 11-11 and then took a 13-11 lead on back-to-back kills from Kortney Morrin. Senior Briauna Stadeli served up an ace to tie the set at 13 and the teams remained in a battle. After a St. Scholastica timeout, the Pirates came out to score four un-answered points on kills from Dinsmore, Leonard and Stadeli and a block from Leonard to take the set, 25-20.

St. Scholastica refused to be defeated in straight sets and the Saints four Pirate attacking errors to take a 6-2 lead. Though Whitworth tied the set at 18-18, St. Scholastica battled back and took a 25-22 victory on a kill from Kayla Horbacz.

The fourth set featured 10 tied scores and two lead changes as neither team was willing to let the other get too far out of reach. Whitworth held the late advantage as two kills from Jalana White and a block from Briauna Stadeli and Tori LaBrie gave Whitworth the 25-22 set and a 3-1 victory in the match.

Jalana White led the Bucs with a match-high 17 kills and seven digs. Nicole Leonard had 10 kills while senior Whitney Santos recorded a match-high 23 digs. Whitworth hit .232 for the match and had nine team blocks.

Kortney Morrin led the Saints with 14 kills and eight digs. Kayla Horbacz had 10 kills while Alex Barsody had a team-high 18 digs. St. Scholastica hit .113 for the match and had eight team blocks.

Match 2 – No. 19 St. Benedict 3, Whitworth 0
In the Whit Classic Championship game, the Pirates faced the undefeated Blazers. Whitworth fell behind early and the Pirates were unable to regain their momentum in the opening set as St. Benedict scored the next three points and held control of the set. The Pirates rallied toward the end, using kills and a block from Jalana White to pull within four points, 24-20, but St. Benedict ended the set on a kill from Laura Schmitt.

Kristine Kardell opened the second set with a kill to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead, but St. Benedict quickly regained position. The Blazers used 13 team kills with just one error to claim the second set. A .500 hitting percentage coupled with seven Whitworth attack errors gave St. Scholastica a 25-10 set victory.

Kardell repeated her strategy in the third set, opening with a kill to put the Bucs up 1-0, but St. Benedict again answered, this time with an 8-0 run to go up 8-1. Whitworth made up some ground on the next five plays, as freshman Brenna Bruil came up with a kill and Nicole served up an ace as part of a 5-0 Whitworth run. The Blazers had yet another answer, going on 4-0 and 10-0 runs to build a 23-8 lead. Sophomore Jaqueline Brennan stopped the run with a kill to extend the set, but the Blazers were too far ahead and claimed the set 25-11 and the match 3-0 to earn the 2013 Whit Classic Champion title.

Kardell led the Pirates with eight kills. Whitney Santos had a match-high 25 digs, while Nicole Leonard had two aces for the Bucs. Whitworth hit .054 for the match and had four team blocks.

Lexi Rinde led the Blazers with a match-high 12 kills. Chelsea Rachel had 17 digs and Kelly Davenport served up a match-high three aces. St. Benedict hit .257 for the match and had five team blocks.

Whitworth returns to action Sept. 13-14 at the Trinity National Invitational in San Antonio, Texas. The Pirates will open the tournament against Mary Hardin-Baylor at 11:00 am (PST) on Friday, Sept. 13.

All-Tournament Team
Taya Kockelman – St. Benedict (MVP)
Mary Franz – St. Benedict
Lexi Rindle -  St. Benedict
Shae Kanakaole – Whitman
Hannah Linsenmayer – Whitman
Kortney Morrin – St. Scholastica
Alex Barsody – St. Scholastica
Maddye Dinsmore – Whitworth
Whitney Santos – Whitworth

Tournament Places
1^st - St. Benedict
2^nd – Whitworth
3^rd – St. Scholastica
4^th - Whitman