SPOKANE, Wash. – A young Whitworth volleyball team might have just grown up after pulling out a five-set victory over visiting Pacific Lutheran in a Northwest Conference match on Saturday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

One night after the Pirates (11-4 overall, 5-1 NWC) lost a five heart-breaker in five sets to Puget Sound, Whitworth rallied for the 25-22, 19-25, 28-30, 25-17, 15-11 win over the Lutes (6-8 overall, 4-2 NWC) in a battle of teams that came into the night tied for second place in the NWC standings.

With Puget Sound's loss at Whitman on Saturday, Whitworth is now back in a tie at the top of the conference.

"We learned a lot about ourselves tonight because we realized that playing well doesn't always come easy," said Pirate head coach Kati Bodecker. "It takes hard work, guts and competitive fire. We were able to persevere through our defensive struggles and found a way to score against a very defensively sound PLU team. I was proud of our resiliency and grit tonight."

Lauren Budde led the Bucs with 17 kills, hitting her career-high for the second straight night.  Brenna Bruil added 11 kills and was in on six blocks to lead a strong Whitworth defensive night at the net (11.0 team blocks). 

The Pirates won the opening set 25-22, scoring four the final five points to pull away from a 21-21 tie.  Bruil teamed with Emiko Kahler for a block on the final point.  Cassandra Mendoza had five kills in the set for the Bucs, overcoming a strong set by PLU's Gabrielle Alley (7 kills).

The Lutes used a 6-1 run midway through the second set to turn a 14-12 deficit into an 18-15 lead.  PLU steadily pulled away from that point to win 25-17.  The frame ended on a Whitworth service error.

The match looked like it might go PLU's way after the Lutes pulled out a dramatic 30-28 win in the third set.  There were six ties and four lead changes after Whitworth knotted the set 22-22 on a block by Mendoza.  The Pirates took a 28-27 lead on a kill by Madison Douglas.  But PLU scored the final three points and won it on a Whitworth attack error.

The Whitworth offense finally started to flow in the fourth set as the Pirates hit .300 as a team to win 25-17.  PLU was still within 15-13 when the Bucs closed the set on a 10-2 run.  Bruil sparked Whitworth with four kills and two blocks in the frame.

PLU took early control of the final set, going ahead 10-7 on a block by Isabella Zubrod and Danielle Skibiel.  But Whitworth closed the match by scoring eight of the final nine points, including three straight service aces by Erin White, to secure the win.  Budde finished off her career-best match with the final kill of the night.

Budde, who had 15 kills on Friday vs. Puget Sound, hit .324 in the match.  Kahler added a dozen kills and Mendoza finished with 11 to give Whitworth four players in double figures.  White dished 51 assists and finished the match with a career-high seven aces.  Taylor Wicht added 24 digs.

Alley led PLU with a match-high 18 kills, while Zubrod totaled 13 kills and five block assists. 

Whitworth will return to action on Wednesday night when the Pirates host Whitman College (7-7, 4-2 NWC) at 6:00 pm in the Fieldhouse.