SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University posted its first undefeated Northwest Conference volleyball record in school history with a 25-15 25-21, 21-25, 25-19 win over visiting Lewis & Clark College in its regular season finale on Friday night.

The Pirates (21-2 overall, 16-0 NWC) take a 16-match winning streak into the NCAA Division III Tournament next weekend.  Whitworth will find out when and where it will play in the opening round when the field is announced at 9:30 am on Monday morning.

Kaity Barr had 12 kills and nine blocks to lead the Pirates with 17.5 points.

Whitworth never trailed in the opening set, grabbing an 8-3 lead on Joelle Forbes' service ace. After L&C got within 10-7 on a kill from Debi Chun, the Pirates answered with a 5-1 run, capped by a combined block from Barr and Abigail Hudson.  Another block from Barr and Maddie Lee made it 18-11 and Lee closed out the set with a kill.  Whitworth hit .297 in the frame.

The Pirates jumped ahead 11-6 on Saylor Anderson's ace in early in the second set.  L&C fought back to force a tie at 18-18 on a dump by setter Sydney Ricardson.  Whitworth retook control with four straight points, sparked by consecutive kills from Lee.  Cassidy Franklin had the set-winning kill.

L&C (6-12, 5-10) would not go quietly, especially after the Pioneers pushed Whitworth to five sets last month in Portland.  L&C led from the start and took a 19-13 lead on a kill from Chun.  The Pirates fought back to tie the frame 20-20 on Kaitlyn White's service ace.  With the set tied at 21-21, L&C scored the final four points, including an ace from Izzy Willis.

The Pioneers took an 8-5 lead on a kill from Isabel Artiaga early in the fourth set.  Whitworth tied the set 9-9 and the teams traded leads eight times the rest of the frame.  L&C took its final lead (17-16) on a kill from Kate Kimbro.  The Pirates took control from there with a 7-1 run, including a couple kills from Barr and an ace by Eva Millan.  Lee ended the match with her final kill.

Lee also had 12 kills for Whitworth, while Jaye Hodge added nine and Franklin had eight.  Anderson served five aces and dished 28 of the team's 49 assists.  Millan finished with 28 digs to lead the defense. 

Kelsey Parker led L&C with 11 kills, while Chun had eight.