SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth defeated visiting Willamette 17-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-16 in a Northwest Conference volleyball match that could shift the direction of the early chase for the conference championship.

The Pirates improved to 11-6 overall and 5-2 in the NWC after ending a three-match losing streak that included two conference-counters.  More importantly, Whitworth moved back within a game of the Bearcats (10-5, 6-1) in the NWC standings.

Cassandra Mendoza had a career-high 19 kills to lead the Pirates to the victory.

In the opening set Whitworth appeared to still be stuck in the funk that led to road losses at Pacific (Ore.) and Linfield last weekend.  The Bucs hit a dismal -.098 in the set as Willamette blocked five attacks.  Seven other Whitworth attacks just went long or wide.  The Bearcats pulled away from a 14-14 tie with an 8-1 run that extended the lead to 22-15.  A final Pirate attack error ended the set in Willamette's favor.

But then Whitworth began to get its groove back.  Two Mendoza kills sparked a 6-1 run midway through the second set that gave the Bucs a 13-8 lead.  Taylor Wicht then added a pair of service aces that helped extend the advantage to 20-10.  Nicole Leonard's kill ended the set in Whitworth's favor 25-15. After their poor opening set, the Pirates hit a blistering .324 in the second stanza.

After falling behind 3-0 early in the third set, Willamette used an 8-1 run to grab an 8-4 lead.  Lindsey Compton and Sarah Fincher had back-to-back kills for the Bearcats.  Willamette still led 13-9 when Whitworth went on a 6-0 run, that included two more Mendoza kills, to grab the lead.  A block by Fincher and Emma Liband pulled Willamette to within 24-23 late in the frame, but Leonard ended it with a clean kill.

Whitworth was able to pull away down the stretch of the fourth set.  Leading only 11-10, the Pirates used a 7-1 run to build a comfortable lead (18-11).  Whitworth kept that comfortable lead until a Willamette service error ended the match in the Pirates' favor.

Mendoza hit .357 in the match and finished with a team-high 20 points.  Brenna Bruil had 11 kills and hit .400 for the Bucs.  She also had three service aces and was in on a pair of blocks.  Shawna Korshavn's 10 kills off of the bench gave Whitworth three players in double figures.  Maddye Dinsmore had 46 assists and 14 digs, while Mallorie Schoesler picked up 21 digs.

Compton led Willamette with 10 kills, only Bearcat in double figures.  Willamette finished with 14.0 team blocks.  Taylor Lum was in on six and Fincher shared five.

Whitworth will host Lewis & Clark College on Saturday at 5:00 pm, while Willamette travels to play at Whitman.