SPOKANE, Wash. – In a match-up of teams tied for second place in the Northwest Conference volleyball standings, the Whitworth Pirates made a big statement about how strong they are finishing the season with a sweep of visiting George Fox on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates (13-7 overall, 10-2 NWC) avenged a painful five-set road loss to the Bruins (13-6, 9-3) last month in Newberg, Oregon with the 25-14, 25-23, 25-17 win and took over sole possession of second place in the league standings behind Pacific Lutheran.

George Fox jumped to a 5-2 lead in the opening set after an ace by Taylor Dekoning.  But Whitworth responded with a 12-1 run, including two kills and three block assists from Cassidy Franklin, to go ahead 14-6 on a kill from Ella Jimenez.  The Pirates continued to roll through the opening game, finishing it off with a kill from Abigail Hudson.  Whitworth hit .400 in the first set while holding the Bruins to .059.  Jimenez had five kills in the game.

The Pirates appeared on the way to an easy win in the second set, taking an 18-10 lead on a kill from Kaity Barr.  But George Fox fought back, pulling within 23-22 on a kill from Kassandra Staton.  After the Bruins got within 24-23, Whitworth won the game on another kill from Jimenez.  Whitworth had four more blocks in the second set, and Franklin was in on three of those.

The final set seemed like it would go to the wire with 13 ties and five lead changes up the to a 17-17 tie, which came after a Whitworth hitting error.  The Pirates stormed to the finish with the final eight points of the match, including two kills each from Jimenez, Barr and Hudson.  Barr's kill finished off the match for the Bucs. 

Jimenez led the way with match-highs of 11 kills and 12.5 points.  Franklin had 9.5 points with six kills and a match-high seven block assists.  Barr had nine points with eight kills, including no errors and a .667 hitting percentage, and two blocks assists.  Mya Rodriguez (17) and Josephine Thompson (14) combined for 31 kills and Thompson served two of Whitworth's five aces.  Taylor Miche had a match-high 15 digs.

Staton led George Fox with seven kills and 8.0 total points.  The Bruins, who came into the match with the NWC's highest average hitting percentage, where held to .071 on the night.

Whitworth will hit the road for matches at Puget Sound and league-leading Pacific Lutheran next weekend.