THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Whitworth hit over .300 as a team on the way to a sweep of Chapman University in the opener of the 15th annual Cal-Lu-Fornia Invitational volleyball tournament on Friday at California Lutheran University.
The Pirates (7-1) defeated the Panthers (5-3) 25-15, 25-20, 25-10. The Bucs will play Pomona-Pitzer (4:00 pm) and 9th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7:00 pm) on Saturday.
Whitworth never trailed in the opening set after jumping to a 9-1 lead. Chapman got as close as 15-11 before a 6-0 run put the set away. The Panthers jumped out quickly in the second set, going up 5-2 and 11-7. Trailing 12-9, the Pirates used a 7-1 run to take over the lead and never trailed again. Another 9-1 start led to a run-away third set.
Ella Jimenez led Whitworth with 13 points on eight kills (.316 hitting), four aces and a solo block. Lauren Kremer had 12.5 points thanks to 11 kills (.333) and three block assists. Amblessed Okemgbo also had 11 kills (.381). Josephine Thompson (16 assists) and Megan Lange (10) directed an offense that hit .302 in the contest. Taylor Miche had 14 digs.
Marly Johnson led Chapman with five kills. The Panthers only hit .009 as a team.
