SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth opened the 2025 volleyball season with a 3-1 win over Texas Lutheran in Friday's finale of the Whitworth Volleyball Classic.

The Pirates defeated the Bulldogs 25-19, 25-15, 16-25, 25-20, getting a combined 27 kills from Amblessed Okemgbo and Lindsey Short.

Whitworth won the first two sets in easy fashion, hitting a combined .377 as a team over the first two stanzas.  Okemgbo had nine kills and Short had eight to that point.

TLU (1-1) bounced back to win the third set by holding the Pirates to a -.044 hitting percentage.  Whitworth then closed out the contest in the fourth set, pulling away from a 21-20 lead by scoring the final four points of the match.

Okemgbo had 14 kills and an ace points and Short had 13 kills while hitting .290.  Lauren Kremer added 12.5 points on nine kills (.368), two solo blocks, a block assist and a service ace.  Mya Rodriguez dished 28 assists, while Josephine Thompson added 22 assists and 11 digs.  Olivia Paul led the team with 27 digs.

Andie Lozano-Lomeli had 11 kills and was in on three blocks for TLU.  Addison Gallegos had 18 assists and Naomi Gamboa 13 for the Bulldogs.

Whitworth will take on Carleton (Minn.) at 11:00 am on Saturday morning in its next game of the tournament.

Whitworth Volleyball Classic Friday Results –

TLU 3, Carleton 1

Northwest (Wash.) 3, Whitman 1

Whitman 3, Carleton 2

Whitworth 3, TLU 1