Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – For the fourth straight time Whitworth and Pacific Lutheran went five sets in a Northwest Conference volleyball match. And for the fourth time in a row the Lutes came out on top, this time by a final tally of 25-21, 25-16, 17-25, 22-25, 15-12 at Olson Auditorium on Friday night.
PLU, ranked 15th in the latest AVCA Division III volleyball poll, improved to 8-2 overall and 1-0 in the Northwest Conference. The Pirates saw their seven-match winning streak come to an end and dropped to 7-3, 0-1.
Four Whitworth players reached double figures in kills and Maddye Dinsmore dished out 42 assists. But that wasn't enough to overcome four Lutes who reached double figures in kills and 45 assists by All-American setter Samantha North.
The Pirates led for much of the first set, taking a 17-14 lead on a kill by Shawna Korshavn. But PLU stormed back to claim the opening set. The set was still tied 20-20 following an attack error by the Lutes, but PLU finished it out on a 5-1 run. Lucy Capron had the winning kill.
The second set was all Lutes. Gabrielle Ally's kill got PLU off to a 6-1 lead. Whitworth closed to within 11-9 on a PLU attack error. But the Lutes went back up 17-11 on consecutive kills from Cooley and won the set 25-16 on a Pirate attack error.
Whitworth didn't fold, however. The Pirates were the team that came out of the break on a roll. The third set was tied 5-5 when the Bucs used a 7-1 run to take control. Haley Vick and Nicole Leonard had a pair of kills each during that run. PLU got back within 21-17 on a Whitworth attack error, but the Pirates closed out the set with a 4-0 run, finishing it on Cassandra Mendoza's kill.
The fourth set was tightly contested. Whitworth grabbed a 14-9 lead on a kill by Vick, but the Lutes got within 16-15 after a service ace. But the Pirates would not let PLU get over the top in the fourth set and held PLU at bay. Brenna Bruil's kill ended it 25-22 after the Lutes had scored two straight points.
The fifth set included several long rallies. The Pirates took an early 6-4 lead, but PLU then went on a 7-1 run to take the momentum through the changeover. Whitworth could not get any closer than two points the rest of the way and PLU won the set, and the match, on Lauren McClung's kill.
Leonard led all players with 15 kills for the Pirates. She had six of her kills in the third set, helping turn the momentum in Whitworth's favor. Vick finished with 11 kills, while Bruil and Mendoza had 10 each. Dinsmore added a team-high 30 digs to her assist total. Vick, Bruil and Mendoza had four block assists each.
One of the factors in the match came on the Pirates' serve. Normally a dangerous team from behind the line, Whitworth did not serve a single ace, but finished with ten service errors.
Capron, Alley and Cooley all had 13 kills for PLU. McClung had ten kills and four block assists. Libero Amber Aguiar led all players with 41 digs.
Whitworth has now lost its last six meetings with PLU.
The Pirates will try to bounce back on Saturday, taking on Puget Sound in Tacoma at 5:00 pm. The Lutes will host Whitman.
