McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Ella Jimenez had 16 kills to lead visiting Whitworth to a sweep of Linfield in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.

The Pirates finished the first half of the NWC schedule with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-20 win to improve to 9-7 overall and 6-2 in the NWC.

The Wildcats (6-8 overall, 2-5 NWC) jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the opening set.  But then Whitworth found its footing, outscoring Linfield 21-6 the rest of the way.  A kill from Amblessed Okemgbo tied the set at 15-15 and Kaity Barr served consecutive aces to make it 21-16.  The Bucs closed out the set on a Linfield setting error.  Whitworth hit .500 in the frame with 11 kills and only one error in 20 attacks.

The Pirates pulled away from a 12-12 tie in the second set with a 6-2 run.  Logan Spencer's kill increased Whitworth's lead to 21-15 and the winning point came on a block by Abigail Hudson and Cassidy Franklin.

The Wildcats took a 5-2 lead to start the final stanza before Whitworth used a 6-1 run to take a lead it would not relinquish.  Jimenez had consecutive kills at the end of the run.  Another ace from Barr made it 16-11 before Jimenez closed out the match with her final kill of the night.

Jimenez hit .357 with only six errors in 28 attacks.  Okemgbo added nine kills and hit .333.  The Pirates were also dominant at the net with 11 team blocks.  Franklin was in on six of those, while Spencer had five block assists.  Barr served four of Whitworth's five aces.  Mya Rodriguez and Josephine Thompson finished with 16 assists apiece to lead Whitworth to a team hitting percentage of .298.  The pair foiled Linfield's defensive efforts as the Wildcats finished with zero blocks.

Araeya Watanabe led Linfield with seven kills. 

The Pirates will open the second half of their NWC slate with matches at Willamette and Lewis & Clark next weekend.