NEWBERG, Ore. – The 24th-ranked Whitworth Pirates survived a spirited upset bid from George Fox in their first match as a nationally-ranked team in 13 years, pulling out a five-set Northwest Conference volleyball marathon on Friday night at the Wheeler Sports Center.
The Bucs improved to 17-2 overall and 9-0 in the NWC with a 25-23, 25-18, 24-26, 23-25, 15-13 win over the Bruins (9-9, 6-4). Whitworth served for match point in the third set and led 12-4 in set five before watching George Fox rally twice.
Ella Jimenez had 21 kills and Amblessed Okemgbo added 16 for Whitworth, who will complete the weekend road trip at Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday night.
"I was proud of the shift in energy I saw from the fourth to the fifth set," said Pirate head coach Kati Bodecker. "Our focus wasn't where we wanted it to be for much of the match, but the fact that we found it and turned things around was impressive."
Whitworth pulled out the first set and led the entire way in the second game. After trailing for much of the third set the Pirates took a 24-23 lead on a kill from Lauren Kremer to set up match point. But the Bruins scored the final three points of the set to extend the match.
George Fox jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set and led the entire way. Whitworth tied it twice, at 8-8 and 17-17 before the Bruins went up 21-18. Whitworth scored the next three points to retie the game, but never went into the lead and GFU was able to send it to a fifth and deciding set after a kill from Addison Robertson.
Despite the fact that George Fox appeared to have all the momentum heading to the fifth set, it was the Pirates who took the initiative, jumping to leads of 8-2 and 12-4 after consecutive kills by Okemgbo. Whitworth would need every point of that lead as the Bruins rallied to within 14-13 before the Bucs got the winning kill from Cassidy Franklin.
"I told the girls that the sign of an elite team is to still have the confidence and ability to get it done when you are not playing your best but still getting the best from your opponent," Bodecker said. "Finding a way to win when things aren't going your way is what separates a great team from good teams."
Whitworth hit .227 as Josephine Thompson (33 assists) and Megan Lange (22 assists) combined for 55 assists in the match. The Pirates were able to win despite 15 service errors.
Robertson led the Bruins with a dozen kills.
