Complete box score and play by play

SPOKANE, Wash. - On a night when they were recognized as All-Americans, Whitworth College's Natalie Danielson and Bekah Hornor came up with huge performances, leading the Pirates past Linfield College 30-25, 27-30, 30-27, 30-26 in a West Region semifinal of the NCAA Division III women's volleyball tournament on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Julie Marsh (15) hits over a block attempt

Photo from Kelly Bird, Linfield SID

Danielson, named First Team All-American by the AVCA tonight, finished with match highs of 25 kills and six blocks. Hornor, named Honorable Mention All-American, finished with a triple double of 49 assists, 15 digs and 11 kills. Julie Marsh added 11 kills and five aces, while Whitney Murphy and Cassie Moore came up with 16 digs apiece.

Whitworth finished with a 2-1 edge in the season series between Northwest Conference foes.

Katelyn Baker recorded a season-high 15 kills to lead the Wildcats. Lindsay Harksen, named AVCA Second Team All-American tonight, had 14 kills to go with a match high 21 digs. Lauren Kreiger added 12 kills and 16 digs. Chelsey Gellatley dished 44 assists.

After Whitworth took an 8-7 lead in the first game, the Pirates never trailed, but they were never comfortable either. A kill by Baker pulled the Wildcats to within 20-19 before Whitworth went on a 9-3 run to take control. Linfield fought off two game points before Carey Guhlke ended the game with a kill.

Linfield rebounded to take a 15-10 lead in the second game after a Pirate attack error. They continued to lead by five (23-18) after another kill from Baker. Whitworth fought back to take a 26-25 lead on a dump over the net by Hornor. But Linfield score five of the final six points to pull out the win after another kill by Baker.

Molly Taylor (8) attacks for Linfield

Photo from Kelly Bird, Linfield SID

After back to back Pirate attack errors in the third game, Linfield had a 13-11 lead. Whitworth fought back to take a 20-17 advantage on a Julie Marsh ace. Molly Taylor's block brought Linfield back within 26-25. But the Pirates got the win when Harksen's attack was long.

Leads in the fourth game swung as widely as the emotions of the crowd of 725 cheering both squads. Whitworth took an early 4-1 lead on another ace from Marsh. But Linfield fought back to lead 14-13 after a Pirate error. The Wildcats stretched the advantage to 21-16 after a kill by Gellatly forced a Pirate timeout. Whitworth responded with five straight points to tie the game on back to back kills by Marsh. Linfield retook a 24-21 lead when Taylor finished a kill. But the final momentum swing went Whitworth's way as the Pirates finished on a 9-2 run, ended on back to back kills from Danielson.

Whitworth (22-3), ranked 15th in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division III poll, advances to play top-seed and sixth-ranked La Verne in Saturday night's regional final. La Verne defeated Cal State East Bay in three games in the first semifinal.

Linfield, ranked 18th, ends its season with a record of 21-5. It was the first time the Wildcats advanced past the first round in their three appearances in the NCAA tournament.