ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Whitworth swept by Fontbonne 25-5, 25-18, 25-14 in the opener, but fell to 4^th-ranked Carthage 25-23, 17-25, 25-16, 25-18 on Saturday in its final two matches at the NCAA Div. III Baden Invitational hosted by Washington University.

Brenna Bruil was named to the all-tournament team for the Pirates, who are now 6-3 this season.

Whitworth will open Northwest Conference play on Friday (Sept. 18) at Pacific Lutheran.

Match 1:  Whitworth def. Fontbonne 25-5, 25-18, 25-14
Bruil and Cassandra Mendoza had seven kills apiece as the Pirates rolled past the Griffins (2-8).

The Pirates never trailed at any point in the match.  The closest Fontbonne came to taking a lead was when the score was tied 10-10 in the second set.  Nine different Pirate players had at least one kill in the match. 

Whitworth finished with a season-high team hitting percentage of .337, while the defense held the Griffins to a .000 hitting percentage.  Maddye Dinsmore directed the attack with 33 assists and four service aces.  In addition to her seven kills, Bruil was in on four blocks (2 solo, 2 assisted).

Match 2:  #4 Carthage def. Whitworth 25-23, 17-25, 25-16, 25-18
The Pirates could not overcome the powerful attack of the powerful Lady Reds (7-1), who finished with 48 kills and 11.0 team blocks.

Nicole Leonard led Whitworth with 12 kills and she added 14 digs.  Bruil and Karina Lees each had eight kills for the Bucs.  Dinsmore had 34 assists and 16 digs.

Emily Heuermann had 17 kills for Carthage, while Stephanie Korbakes added 11 kills.  Bria Hailey was in on six of the team's blocks (one solo, five assisted).

After the Lady Reds pulled out a tight first set, Whitworth bounced back to claim the second frame.  The Pirates used a 6-1 run to turn a 15-15 tie into a 21-16 lead. 

But Carthage took control by leading the third and fourth sets wire-to-wire.  The Pirates were held to only 16 kills with 18 errors over the final two sets.