FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Whitworth scored the final four points of the match, and held off two match points by Pacific University along the way, to pull out a five-set victory in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday night in the Stoller Center.
The Pirates (6-5 overall, 3-0 NWC) overcame 27 kills by Pacific's Mara Murphy to win 24-26, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14.
The Boxers (4-8, 0-3) rallied to win the opening set after the Pirates took a 23-21 lead on a block from Ella Jimenez and Cassidy Franklin. Pacific closed the set on a 5-1 run, the final two points on a Murphy kill and a block by Kayla Craft and Anneke Hanson.
Whitworth led the early going of the second set until Pacific tied the set 10-10. The set was tied five more times until the Bucs turned a 15-15 tie into a 20-16 lead. The rally included aces by Kaity Barr and Claire Hamer. Whitworth won the set on a kill by Jimenez.
Pacific led the early going of the third set until the Pirates fought back to tie the frame 11-11 with a block by Franklin and Mya Rodriguez. The Boxers answered with a quick 5-1 run and eventually led 23-16. Whitworth closed to within 24-21 before Pacific closed out the set on a Murphy kill.
When the Boxers took a 12-8 lead midway through the fourth set, it appeared Whitworth might be headed to a four-set loss at Pacific for the second season in a row. The Pirates regrouped with four straight points. The Boxers still led 18-16 when Whitworth closed on a 9-3 run to extend the match. Barr had consecutive kills in the final rally and the set ended on consecutive errors from the Boxers.
The Pirates took an 11-9 lead in the fifth set on Barr's kill, but Pacific used a 5-1 run to go up 14-12, one point away from clinching the match. A block from Franklin and Amblessed Okemgbo, followed by a Logan Spencer kill, tied the set. Franklin's kill gave Whitworth a match-point, which the Bucs converted to a win by forcing a final Pacific attack error.
Barr had a big match for Whitworth with 16 kills and only one error for a .652 hitting percentage. She added a pair of aces and one block assist for a team-high 18.5 points. Jimenez had 15 kills and Okemgbo added 13 kills in the balanced attack. Franklin finished with nine kills and no errors to post a .429 hitting percentage. Franklin also led the Bucs with a season-high eight block assists. Rodriguez dished 48 assists as Whitworth hit .208 as a team. Hamer had six of Whitworth's 12 service aces.
Murphy added three aces and a block to her kill total for 31 points. Kraft had 19 points on 13 kills, one solo block and eight block assists for Pacific.
Whitworth will conclude its road trip to Oregon with a match at George Fox on Saturday night.
