SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth controlled both sides of the net to sweep visiting George Fox in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates (11-2 overall, 5-1 NWC) hit .273 as a team and limited the Bruins (2-11, 0-6) to only .028 hitting to win 25-14, 25-18, 25-15. The Bucs also had an 8.0 to 4.0 advantage in blocks.
Whitworth will take a five-game winning streak into a crucial trip to Tacoma next weekend at Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound.
The Pirates jumped out to leads of 11-3 and 17-6 in the opening set before the Bruins were able to get back within 19-12 on a block by Hannah Huffman and Audrey Schmitt. Whitworth then finished on a 6-2 run, getting the winning points on consecutive kills by Paige McKenzie.
George Fox led for much of the second set, taking a 13-11 lead on a Pirate error. The Bucs took control of the game with a quick 5-0 run, capped by Lauren Kremer's ace for a 16-13 lead. Whitworth continued to pull away from there, winning on a kill from Alyssa Baird.
The Pirates never trailed in the third set, pulling away from a 5-5 tie with an 8-1 run. Consecutive errors by the Bruins made it 20-10 in favor of the Pirates and Lindsey Short's kill ended the set. Whitworth hit .375 in the game.
Bryanna Dodson led the Pirates with 12.0 points on eight kills, three aces and two block assists. Baird added a team-high 10 kills. Olivia Paul joined Dodson with three aces, giving the pair six of Whitworth's ten service points. Kaylee Winterroth had four block assists for the Bucs.
Schmitt led GFU with eight kills and three block assists for a total of 9.5 points.
