SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth held visiting Whitman to a .000 hitting percentage on the way to a sweep of the Blues in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Tuesday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates, who lead the NWC and rank among the top ten in all of NCAA Division III in opponent hitting percentage, improve to 16-2 overall and 10-1 in the NWC with the 25-19, 25-13, 25-14 victory. Whitman fell to 9-8, 7-4 and remains in fourth place in the conference standings.
Whitworth never trailed in the first set after jumping to a 5-1 lead on a kill from Lauren Kremer. The lead reached 10-3 on a Whitman attack error. The Blues fought back to within 14-10 on a kill from Sammy Holmer, but they got no closer. Lindsey Short's kill ended the set in the Pirates' favor. Short had five kills in the first game.
After Whitman scored the first two points of the second set, Whitworth went on an 8-1 run and never trailed again in the game. Alyssa Baird's kill increased the margin to 16-5 and Short's kill ended the set, her fourth of the second period.
The final set began as the most competitive of the match with five ties and four lead changes at the start of the stanza. Whitman took its final lead at 7-6 on a kill from Addie Belt. Whitworth answered with a 4-0 run before the Blues tied the set a final time with three points in a row. The Pirates pulled away from that 10-10 tie with an 8-1 run, going ahead 18-11 on a kill from Kremer. Another Kremer kill ended the match, her sixth of the final game.
Kremer finished with 11.5 points on nine kills, an ace and three block assists. Baird matched Kremer's point total with six kills, a career-high five aces and a block assist. She also led the team with 16 digs. Short led the Bucs with 10 kills. McKenna Adams had four block assists in her first extended action of the season as a right-side hitter.
Belt and Rowan Lee led Whitman with five kills apiece. Lee also had two block assists.
Whitworth will take a 10-game winning streak into Friday's match against visiting Pacific (Ore.).
