SALEM, Ore. – Whitworth posted a white-hot team hitting percentage of .397 during a road sweep of Willamette in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday night at Cone Field House.
Amblessed Okemgbo had 13 kills and hit .632 to lead the Pirates (10-7 overall, 7-2 NWC) to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 win over the Bearcats (9-7, 4-5), the Bucs' second sweep of the season against their hosts.
Whitworth broke away from an 8-8 tie in the opening set with a quick 4-1 run, going ahead 12-9 on a kill from Okemgbo. Willamette fought back to take a 19-18 lead on a kill by conference kill leader Olivia Cadien. The Pirates closed the game on a 7-2 run, getting their final four points on four Bearcat errors.
Willamette took a 15-13 lead in the second set after a service error and an attack error from Whitworth. The Pirates finished the second on a 12-3 run, going up 18-16 on a kill from Cassidy Franklin and 21-17 after a kill from Kaity Barr. Okemgbo's seventh kill of the match closed out the game.
Willamette took its only lead of the third set at 10-9 following a kill from Cadien. The Pirates responded with a 5-0 run, capped by a block from Barr and Okemgbo, for a 14-10 lead and never trailed again. Okemgbo's kill made it 18-11 before the Bearcats pulled back within 18-15. Whitworth finished strong again, closing with a 7-3 run. A kill and a block from Ella Jimenez ended the match. The Pirates hit .571 in the final set with 14 kills and only two errors in 21 attacks.
Okemgbo added two block assists to her kill total for 14 points. She only had one error in 19 attacks. Jimenez totaled eight kills (.500) and four block assists for 10 points, while Cassidy Franklin had eight kills (.583) and three block assists for 9.5 points. Mya Rodriguez (16) and Josephine Thompson (15) combined for 31 assists to direct the efficient offensive attack. Barr was in on eight of Whitworth's 12 team blocks.
Cadien led Willamette with 11 kills. The Bearcats hit only .040 with 30 kills and 26 errors in 99 attacks.
Whitworth will conclude the weekend with a match at Lewis & Clark on Saturday night.
