SPOKANE, Wash. – Ella Jimenez pounded 14 kills and finished with 20.5 points to lead 23rd-ranked Whitworth to a sweep of visiting Linfield in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Saturday night at the Fieldhouse.
The Pirates improved to 20-2 overall and 12-0 in the NWC with the 25-18, 25-17, 25-16 win. The Wildcats fell to 5-15, 2-12.
Jimenez was overpowering throughout the match, hitting .500 with 14 kills and only three errors in 22 attacks. She added four service aces and was in on five block assists.
Whitworth hit .333 as a team and the Pirates were well above .300 in each of the first two sets. The third set was the closest of the night in terms of ties (8) and lead changes (6), but was the biggest margin for the Bucs.
Amblessed Okemgbo added nine kills and hit .467, while Cassidy Franklin had eight kills while hitting .438. Franklin added one solo block and three block assists. Josephine Thompson had 19 assists and Megan Lange added 14 to lead the Pirates to the plus-300 hitting percentage. Lange added four of Whitworth's ten aces. The Bucs finished with 8.0 team blocks.
Kailyn Hough led Linfield with six kills, while Camryn Hirst and Araeya Watanabe added five apiece. The Wildcats hit .118 as a team.
Jimenez had a dominating week with 32 kills in a pair of three-set sweeps, averaging 5.3 kills per set.
The Pirates will be on the road next weekend with matches at Lewis & Clark and Willamette.
