SALEM, Ore. – Three Pirates reached double figures in kills to lead visiting Whitworth to a 3-0 sweep at Willamette in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Saturday night at Cone Fieldhouse.
The Bucs (21-2 overall, 13-1 NWC) won 25-14, 25-20, 25-14 to claim their 13th straight win and close in on a third straight conference regular season title. Whitworth leads the standings by one game with one weekend left in the schedule. The Pirates will host Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran next weekend, the two Tacoma schools tied for second place.
Bryanna Dodson had 11 kills while Alyssa Baird and Lindsey Short had 10 apiece to help Whitworth hit .296 as a team. The Pirates held the Bearcats to only .045 as Willamette fell to 10-11 overall, 7-7 in the NWC. The Bearcats still remain alive for fourth place in the final NWC standings, which would qualify for the NWC's post-season tournament.
Willamette led 5-2 early in the opening set before Whitworth fought back to tie the set 6-6 on a kill from Kaylee Winterroth. The game was tied five more times, the final time at 12-12 on a kill from Willamette's Lexie Scott. The Pirates then closed the first set on a 13-2 run, during which Dodson had three of her kills.
The second set played out similarly to the first, with several ties and lead changes over the first half of the game before Whitworth took control. The Bearcats led 15-13 after a Pirate attack error before Whitworth used a 5-0 run to go up 18-15 on a block by Winterroth and McKenna Adams. After Willamette got back within 21-20 on another kill by Scott, the Bucs scored the set's final four points with Short netting the winner.
Whitworth never trailed in the third set. It was tied once at 10-10 on Scott's kill. The Pirates answered with a 6-0 run and steadily pulled away. The Bucs hit .464 in the final game and got four kills from Baird.
Baird led Whitworth with 13.5 points, getting three aces and a block assist with her 10 kills. Dodson had 13.0 points, adding an ace and two block assists to her 11 kills. Short added four block assists to finish with 12.0 points. Lauren Kremer was dominant at the net, getting one solo block and seven block assists. Whitworth finished with 12.0 team blocks.
Scott finished with a match-high 15 kills for Willamette, but no other Bearcat reached double figures in points or kills.
Whitworth closes out the regular season at home next weekend against Puget Sound and PLU in a weekend that will determine the location of the 2026 NWC tournament and positioning for the top three seeds.
