PORTLAND, Ore. – Visiting Whitworth pulled out a five-set thriller at Lewis & Clark to finish the first half of the Northwest Conference volleyball schedule unbeaten on Friday night.
The Pirates (13-2 overall, 8-0 NWC) won 25-27, 25-19, 26-24, 24-26, 15-9 on the way to winning their first eight conference matches for the first time under eighth-year head coach Kati Bodecker.
Whitworth appeared to have the opening set in hand when Kati Barr and Abigail Hudson combined for a block to give the Bucs a 22-17 lead. The Pioneers (5-7 overall, 4-3 NWC) rallied and outscored Whitworth 10-2 down the stretch, winning the frame despite the fact the Pirates hit .379.
L&C was still within 20-18 in the second set before the Pirates closed on a 5-1 run, winning on consecutive kills by Cassidy Franklin, who led the Bucs with four kills in the frame.
It was Whitworth's turn to rally late in the third set. The Pioneers took a 24-21 lead on a kill by Kelsey Parker. The Pirates scored five straight points to win on another block by Hudson and Barr.
The fourth set contained eight ties and three lead changes. Whitworth had a chance to end the match after taking a 24-22 lead on a Pioneer attack error. But L&C scored the next four points to win the frame on a kill from Izzy Willis.
The teams traded the first ten points of the final stanza before Whitworth used a 6-0 run to turn a 5-5 tie into an 11-6 lead. Barr had consecutive kills in the run. The Pirates won the set, and the match, in Barr's final kill of the night.
Barr led the team with 17 kills, hitting .438, along with nine block assists for a total of 22.5 points. Maddie Lee added 15 kills (.279), while Cassidy Franklin had 14 and six block assists. The Pirates finished the match with a .266 hitting percentage and 11.0 team blocks.
Parker and Willis had 13 kills apiece to lead the Pioneers, who hit .188 as a team and finished with 7.0 team blocks.
Whitworth has Saturday night off and will return to action next weekend on the road at George Fox and Pacific (Ore.).
