NEWBERG, Ore.—The Whitworth Pirates opened the second half of their Northwest Conference volleyball schedule with a 26-24, 25-21, 25-9 win at George Fox University on Friday night.

Whitworth improved to 14-2 overall and 9-0 in the NWC while the Bruins fell to 8-7, 3-6.

The first set featured six ties and five lead changes. The Pirates had 41 attack attempts in the set and 15 kills, and the Bruins bested them with 48 attack attempts, but recorded one less kill. Whitworth hit .268 as a team, and George Fox hit .167. George Fox appeared poised to win the opening set after using a 7-1 run to turn a 19-16 deficit into a 23-20 lead.  But the Pirates closed on a 6-1 spurt to win 26-24.

Both teams were challenged at the net in the second frame. The Bruins recorded four total blocks in the set, and the Pirates had three. Additionally, Whitworth recorded eleven attack errors and George Fox had eight. The Pirates hit their worst team average of the night, .050, and the Bruins' hitting average totaled .000.

The Pirates ran away with the match in the third set with a dominant 25-9 victory. Whitworth recorded 15 kills and three blocks and hit .379 as a team. The Pirates had the chance to spread the ball around due to their offensive productivity in the third frame.

Maddie Lee finished the match with 14 kills, Cassidy Franklin had eight, Jaye Hodge had seven, Kaity Barr had six, Abigail Hudson had four, and Sophia Turningrobe and Joelle Forbes each had two.

Franklin led the defense at the net with five block assists, and Barr and Turningrobe each had two. Barr also recorded three service aces in the match.

LeBreton led the Bruins' net attack with eight kills and four block assists.

Whitworth continues its road trip to Forest Grove, Oregon to take on Pacific tomorrow at 6pm.