Complete Box Score and Play by Play SPOKANE, Wash. -- Natalie Danielson had 14 kills and Bekah Hornor narrowly missed a triple double to lead Whitworth College past visiting Linfield College 30-26, 30-27, 30-22 in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse. The loss was the first of the season for 8th-ranked Linfield (10-1 overall, 2-1 NWC). Whitworth improved to 7-2, 3-0.
Danielson led three Pirates in double figures for kills, as the team finished with a .217 hitting percentage. Carey Guhlke came off the bench for 10 kills, while Hornor dished 37 assists to go with 10 kills and eight digs. Danielson also led the Pirates with five blocks, while Julie Marsh finished with 16 digs. Lindsay Harksen led Linfield with 14 kills and dug a match-high 17 balls. Lauren Krieger added 12 kills and finished with a match-high seven blocks. Chelsey Gellatly totaled 32 assists for the Wildcats. Linfield hit .114 as a team. Whitworth pulled away late to win the first game. After Harksen put away a kill to pull Linfield within 21-20, Whitworth went on a 5-1 run to take a 26-21 lead, forcing a Wildcat timeout. Guhlke's kill ended the game in favor of the Pirates 30-26. Linfield took an early 8-3 lead in the second game when Lisa Brocard finished a kill. But the Pirates responded with six straight points to go in front 9-8. From there the game see-sawed back and forth until the Pirates used a 5-0 run to turn a 23-22 deficit into a 27-23 lead. Whitworth won the game 30-27 on a Wildcat service error. The Pirates controlled the third game, opening leads of 10-5, 15-8 and 22-14. The lead reached 27-17 on a kill by Whitney Murphy. But the Wildcats rallied, scoring five straight to pull within 27-22, making the Whitworth crowd of 475 slightly edgy. But after a Linfield service error, Hornor ended the match with a solo block and a kill. The Pirates will continue at home on Saturday night, hosting Pacific University. Linfield continues on the road, taking on Whitman College in Walla Walla. |
