OSHKOSH, Wis. – The Whitworth volleyball team closed out its participation in the Mary Peterson Invitational with two more victories on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

The Pirates defeated Wisconsin-Stevens Point 3-1 and finished with a sweep of Lakeland (Wis.).  Whitworth improved to 6-1 this season and heads to the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic next weekend in Thousand Oaks.

Ella Jimenez hammered 23 kills and Taylor Miche had 26 digs to lead the Pirates to a 21-25, 25-10, 25-16, 28-26 win over UWSP in Saturday morning's first match.  Whitworth got within 22-21 in the opening set before the Pointers used a 3-0 run to close it out.  Sets two and three were all Pirates.  Leading 9-6 in the second frame, Whitworth used a 12-2 run to break it open.  Leading 12-10 in the third, Whitworth used a quick 5-1 run to get some breathing room. 

The match appeared on the way to a fifth set after the Pointers took a 20-11 lead.  The Pirates outscored UWSP 17-6 the rest of the way to storm back and end it in four sets.

Jimenez added an ace and two block assists for 25.0 points.  Cassidy Franklin finished with 18 points on 12 kills, three solo blocks, two block assists and two aces.  Miche added four assists to her season-high dig total.  Megan Lange (26) and Josephine Thompson (23) combined for 49 assists as Whitworth hit .277 in the match.

The Pirates closed the tournament with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-10 win over Lakeland.  Jimenez and Amblessed Okemgbo powered 11 kills apiece.

The opening set was the closest as Whitworth broke away from a 20-20 tie with a 5-1 run.  The Bucs led most of the way in the second set and scored the final five points to close it out.  Whitworth was never threatened in the third and had the final five points to finish out the match. 

Franklin led the Pirates with 12 points, nailing seven kills while adding a career-high four aces and a solo block.  Rachel Cram led Whitworth with 11 digs, while Megan Lange had 18 of the Pirates' 38 assists.