SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University closed the 2023 volleyball regular season in dominating fashion, sweeping visiting Linfield University on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates (15-9 overall, 12-4 NWC) hit .364 in the 25-18, 25-14, 25-12 win and take some momentum into next weekend's first-ever Northwest Conference volleyball tournament. The Wildcats finish the 2023 season 8-16 overall and 4-12 in the NWC.
Whitworth got stronger as the match progressed, hitting .225 in the first set, .341 in the second set and .586 in the final game.
Logan Spencer had six kills in the opening set, helping the Pirates lead from the first point. She and Ella Jimenez combined for ten kills in the game, two more than Linfield had as a team. Kaity Barr was in on two of the Pirates' three blocks.
The second set featured five ties and four lead changes in the early going. The Wildcats took an 8-6 lead on a kill by Araeya Watanabe before Whitworth used a 9-2 run to go ahead 15-10 on a kill by Jimenez. The Bucs never trailed again in the match. After Linfield got back within 15-14, the Pirates scored the final ten points of the set. Jimenez led the way with eight kills in the second game.
The final frame was all Whitworth after the Pirates jumped ahead 9-2 following a kill from Spencer. The Bucs hit .586 with 18 kills and only one error in 29 attacks. Spencer and Cassidy Franklin had five kills each in the third set.
Jimenez finished with 14 kills, a .400 hitting percentage and 15.0 total points. Spencer added 12 kills, a .476 hitting percentage and 13.0 points. Josephine Thompson (26) and Mya Rodriguez (14) combined for 40 assists. Whitworth's hitting percentage of .364 was the second-highest of the season for the Pirates.
Watanabe led Linfield with seven kills. The Wildcats finished with a hitting percentage of .061.
The second-seeded Pirates will take on third-seeded George Fox in the second NWC semifinal at PLU on Friday at 7:30 pm. The winner will play the winner of #1 Pacific Lutheran and #4 Willamette on Saturday at 6:00 pm, with the winner earning the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
