PARKLAND, Wash. – It was only the first match of the Northwest Conference volleyball schedule, but the Whitworth Pirates made a big early statement by earning a 26-24, 25-17, 25-19 win at Pacific Lutheran on Friday night.

The Pirates (7-3 overall, 1-0 NWC) and the Lutes (6-4, 0-1) shared the NWC title last season and came into tonight's match with identical non-conference marks.  But Whitworth posted a dramatic rally to win the opening set and used that momentum to roll to the sweep.

"We did a great job of staying composed even when we were struggling early," said Pirate head coach Kati Bodecker. "After the first set we started passing better and we were able to execute our offense. We also did a great job of keeping them out of system with our serving."

PLU looked on its way to a first-set victory after Lucy Capron finished off a kill to give the Lutes a 23-16 lead.  But Whitworth stormed back, outscoring PLU 10-1 to claim the opening set.  The Pirates took advantage of several Lute attack errors and ended the set with back-to-back blocks.  Whitworth won the set despite hitting only .108 with only seven kills.

But the Pirates had found their momentum.  Despite falling behind 4-1 early in the second set, Whitworth took control by hitting .375 in the frame.  Lauren Budde and Brenna Bruil, who ended the opening set with a combined block, did the same thing in the second stanza.

The Bucs kept their focus into the third set, rolling to the 25-19 victory.  Bruil and Mendoza each had five kills to lead Whitworth.

Mendoza led the Pirates with 11 kills and hit .400 in the match.  Nicole Leonard added 10 kills and led the way with three of the Bucs' seven service aces.  Mallorie Schoesler led Whitworth with 17 of the team's 54 digs.  The Pirates hit .248 as a squad.

Chloe Epker led PLU with 12 kills and Capron finished with 11.  The Lutes finished with a team hitting percentage of .156.

The Pirates will conclude their trip to the Tacoma area with a match at Puget Sound  (4-5, 1-0) at 6:00 pm on Saturday.