Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – Lauren Budde and Emiko Kahler collected four kills apiece to lead Whitworth University to a three-set sweep of visiting Willamette University in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Saturday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates improved to 17-5 overall and 11-1 in the NWC with the 25-19, 25-15, 25-11 victory. Whitworth holds a two-match lead in the conference standings over Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran (both 9-3) with four matches to play in the regular season.
Alexa Dowdell led the visiting Bearcats (6-14, 4-8) with seven kills.
Whitworth used a 7-2 run in the opening set to grab an 11-5 lead, forcing a Willamette timeout. Kahler had a pair of kills in that run. Willamette got as close a 21-17 late in the set after a kill from Dowdell, but Whitworth closed out the frame 25-19 on Budde's kill. The Pirates hit .367 in the set.
Whitworth used a 7-0 run to open an 11-4 lead in the second stanza. Haley Vick had two kills for the Bucs during that run. Trailing 15-7, Willamette went on a 5-1 run to pull within 16-12 after Jennifer Lane's kill. But Whitworth then closed the set by outscoring the Bearcats 9-3 to win 25-15.
The Pirates, who lead the NWC this season in team hitting percentage, turned up their offensive efficiency a notch higher in the final set. Whitworth hit .414 as a team with 13 kills and only one error in 29 total attacks. Meanwhile Willamette had as many errors as kills (8), finishing the set with a .000 hitting percentage. A final attack error for the Bearcats ended the frame in Whitworth's favor, 25-11.
Cassandra Mendoza added eight kills for Whitworth, while Vick finished with seven kills and no errors for a .636 hitting percentage. Erin White dished 38 assists to lead the Pirates to a final team hitting percentage of .323. Taylor Wicht finished with 10 digs.
Whitworth heads to Tacoma next weekend for a pair of late-season showdowns against Puget Sound (Friday) and Pacific Lutheran (Saturday). Two wins would clinch the NWC championship for the Pirates.
