SPOKANE, Wash. – On a night when the offense was not firing on all cylinders, Whitworth's blocking game stepped forward to lift the Pirates to a 3-1 win over visiting Whitman on Tuesday night in a Northwest Conference volleyball match at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates (11-2 overall, 3-0 NWC) defeated the Blues (1-9, 0-3) 25-10, 26-28, 25-21, 25-14 thanks to 14 blocks, one off the season high.

The opening set was a continuation of Whitworth's dominating play over the weekend.  The Pirates hit over .500 in the set and ran away from an 11-7 lead by outscoring Whitman 14-3 the rest of the way, including a run of 8-1.

Whitworth's offensive efficiency disappeared in the second set as the Blues took a 19-12 lead after one of several Pirate attack errors.  Whitworth fought back to take a 23-22 lead on an ace by Cassidy Franklin and had set point at 26-25, but Whitman scored the final three points.  Quinn Pulver had two of those kills.

The Pirates led 16-8 in the third set after an ace by Taylor Miche.  It was Whitman's turn to fight back, getting within 22-21 on another kill by Pulver.  Whitworth scored the final three points of the set, winning on an ace from Mya Rodriguez. 

Whitman took a 9-8 lead in the fourth set before the Pirates took control with a 7-1 run.  A block from Franklin and Ella Jimenez gave the Bucs a 15-8 advantage and Whitworth cruised home from there, winning the match – appropriately – on a block by Franklin and Lindsey Short.

Cassidy Franklin was in on nine of Whitworth's 14 blocks, while Jimenez had four and Lauren Kremer had four.  Jimenz led the Pirates in kills (10) and points (14.0), while Amblessed Okemgbo had eight kills.  Abigail Hudson had one of her best matches of the season with eight kills and three blocks.  Taylor Miche had 20 digs to add to the strong defensive effort.

Pulver led Whitman with 11 kills and Jamie Bartok had 17 digs.

Whitworth will return to action on Friday night with a match at Linfield University.