SPOKANE, Wash. – Lindsey Short had 16 kills while hitting .441 to lead Whitworth to a 3-1 win over visiting Willamette in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday night in the Fieldhouse.
Short finished with 18.5 points to help Whitworth improve to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in the NWC. She had only one hitting error in 34 attempts for the sterling attack average and she added one solo block and three block assists. The Pirate right side hitter was the difference in Whitworth's 25-16, 25-14, 20-25, 25-20 victory over the Bearcats (5-7, 2-3 NWC).
After Willamette jumped ahead early in the opening set, the Pirates used a 6-1 run to take an 8-6 lead on Bryanna Dodson's ace. Alyssa Baird's kill increased the lead to 17-10 and Sofie Fox served an ace to end the game in the Pirates' favor. Lauren Kremer had four kills, an ace and three block assists to total 6.5 points in the set.
Whitworth never trailed in the second game after running out to a 7-0 lead on a kill from Dodson. Short's kill increased the margin to 19-6 before the Bearcats used a 5-1 run to pull within 20-11. Dodson closed out the set for the Bucs with her fourth kill of the second game. Baird also had four kills for Whitworth.
The third set was the most competitive of the match with seven ties and two lead changes. After Willamette opened a 5-2 lead, the Pirates went on a 12-6 run to go ahead 14-11 on Haylie Steele's ace. The Bearcats answered with a 9-4 run to retake the lead 20-18 on Callie Chong's ace. Willamette then scored the final five points to win their only set of the night. Chelsea Velez had four kills in the game for the Bearcats.
Whitworth led virtually the entire way in the fourth set, which was tied only once when Willamette used a quick 4-0 run to make the score 16-16 after a block. The Pirates scored four of the next five points to retake control. Paige McKenzie and Kaylee Winterroth ended the match with a block. Short had five kills in the final set for the Bucs.
Whitworth hit .218. In addition to Short's big night, Kremer had 14.0 points on 10 kills, two aces and four block assists. Madison Pridon had 25 assists and Fox had 18 while splitting time as setter. Led by Winterroth's six block assists, the Pirates posted 11 team blocks and also served 10 aces.
Velez led Willamette with 12 kills, while Lexie Scott had nine with four block assists. The Bearcats hit .073 as a team and served eight aces.
Whitworth will look for its fifth straight win when the Pirates host George Fox on Saturday night.
