Complete Box Score and Play by Play

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Natalie Danielson hammered 18 kills and hit .625 to lead Whitworth College to a 30-22, 30-26, 30-15 win over visiting Pacific University in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball match on Saturday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The win was Whitworth's fourth in a row as the Pirates (8-2 overall, 4-0 NWC) held on to sole possession of first place in the NWC standings. The Boxers fell to 8-5, 1-3.

Natalie Danielson led Whitworth with 18 kills

Danielson had nine of her kills in the first game and finished with 18, a career best for a three game match. Julie Marsh added 11 kills for the Pirates, while Whitney Murphy and Holly Coleman dug 12 balls apiece. Bekah Hornor had 39 assists. Whitworth hit .308 as a team.

Melissa Dunn led Pacific with eight kills. Nettie Witheridge, the Boxers' libero, had nine digs. Anela Iseke dished 16 assists, while Lisa Twigg added 12 assists. Pacific's team hitting percentage was .081.

Whitworth struggled to shake the Boxers in the first game. After a kill by Iseke pulled Pacific to within 24-20, the Pirates went on a 6-2 run to win the game. Danielson ended the set at 30-22 with her ninth kill.

Pacific took an early 4-1 lead in the second game on back to back aces by Iseke, but the Pirates answered with a 7-1 run, including three kills by Brittney Bower. The game see-sawed back and forth until Whitworth turned a 19-18 deficit into a 23-19 lead with five straight points. Leading 28-26, the Pirates' final two points came on a Boxer service error and attack error.

Trailing 6-5 in the third game after a kill by Pacific's Hannah Gordon and a Pirate ball handling error, Whitworth went on a 9-0 run to open up a 14-6 lead. The Pirates stretched the lead to 19-10 on a kill by Danielson and ended the game when Hornor and Carey Guhlke combined to block Kelsey Coe.

The Pirates will travel to Tacoma, Washington next weekend to take on Puget Sound on Friday night and defending NWC champion Pacific Lutheran on Saturday.

Pacific returns to action on Thursday night when the Boxers host George Fox University.