Box Score PARKLAND, Wash. – Kaitlyn White's kill from the back row ended a dramatic fourth-set comeback that lifted visiting Whitworth to a 25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 26-24 win at Pacific Lutheran, clinching the 2021 Northwest Conference volleyball championship for the Pirates.
Whitworth (19-2 overall, 14-0 NWC) now has a three-game lead over the Lutes (14-9, 11-3) with two matches left in the regular season. The Pirates claim the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament and will find out when and where they play the opening rounds when the field is announced on Monday, November 8th.
Maddie Lee pounded a match-high 20 kills for the Pirates, while Jaye Hodge added a career-high 14 kills. Kaity Barr finished with nine kills and was in on five blocks. Saylor Anderson and Joelle Forbes dished 25 assists apiece.
The Pirates pulled away from a 15-15 tie in the opening set and went on to win 25-18. Hodge had four kills in five attempts in that frame, while Cassidy Franklin had two solo blocks.
Whitworth hit .283 in the second set to pull out a frame that had ten ties. White served a pair of aces to help the Pirates pull out the win and move to the brink of a championship.
The third set was even closer, with ten ties and six lead changes. Whitworth served for match, and championship point, at 24-23. But the Lutes not only survived, they won the final three points to pull out the set and gain momentum.
That momentum carried over to the fourth set when the Lutes stormed to a 12-6 lead. After the Bucs fought back to within 13-12, PLU regained a 19-14 lead and forced a Whitworth time out. The Pirates fought back again and finally tied the set 23-23 on a kill by Lee and went up 24-23 on a Barr kill. After PLU tied the set, Barr got a block and White ended it with her attack from the back.
The Pirates hit .226 while the Lutes finished with a .186 attack percentage. Whitworth also had the edge in total team blocks, 12.0 – 6.0.
Mckenzie Pfeiffer led PLU with 17 kills, while Jazz Alston and Hailey Iha each had 13 kills. Iha was part of five blocks for the Lutes.
Whitworth will return to action on Wednesday night at Whitman.
