Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BELTON, Texas – Whitworth opened the 2015 volleyball season with a pair of impressive victories on the first day of the Mary Hardin-Baylor Invitational.
The Pirates (2-0) defeated 17th-ranked Trinity 22-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-18 in the early match and then topped the host Crusaders 23-25, 20-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-10 in the final game of the night.
All four of Whitworth's matches this weekend are coming against teams that finished first or second in their conferences last year. Both of the Pirates' opponents on Friday appeared in last year's NCAA Division III Tournament.
Whitworth will conclude its trip to the UMHB Tournament with matches against Texas-Dallas (1-1) and Southwestern (2-0) on Saturday.
Match 1 – Whitworth 3, Trinity (Texas) 1
Brenna Bruil had 20 kills and hit .576 in the match to lead the Pirates back from an early one-set deficit against the 17th-ranked defending champions of the Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference.
Nicole Leonard added 13 kills and 15 digs for Whitworth, while 2014 NWC Player of the Year Maddye Dinsmore dished 43 assists. Mallorie Schoesler led all players with 31 digs.
Whitworth hit .212 as a team while holding the Tigers to .086.
Bruil's 20 kills marked a career high for the junior middle blocker. Her previous career high was 17 kills, set twice last season.
Match 2 – Whitworth 3, Mary Hardin-Baylor 2
Cassanda Mendoza's 16 kills helped lead the Pirates back from a two-set deficit. Mendoza led a trio of Whitworth players that reached double figures in kills.
The Crusaders (1-1), defending champions of the American Southwest Conference and favorites in this year's ASC preseason poll, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in sets.
But the Pirates began to turn things around in the third set, leading from the opening serve. The pivotal fourth set went back and forth before the Pirates pulled out the win. Whitworth staved off a match point while trailing 24-23 before they got the set victory.
Mendoza finished with 16 kills and 18 digs, while Leonard added 14 kills and 19 digs. Bruil reached 12 kills and had four solo blocks. Dinsmore finished with 47 assists, three aces and 21 digs.
