SPOKANE, Wash. -- Jamie Eggers and Monica Groves killed 15 balls each to lead visiting Puget Sound to a 29-31, 30-18, 36-34, 30-22 come from behind victory over Whitworth in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse. Eggers and Groves led four players who finished with double figures in kills for the Loggers (14-6 overall, 9-4 NWC). Lindsey Denman added 13 kills off of the bench, while Kalli Kamphaus had 11 kills. UPS libero Rachel Gross led all players with 29 digs, while setter Jamee Fred dished 51 assists and added 16 digs. Groves had a match-high five blocks.
Angie Florence also had 15 kills to lead Whitworth (7-17, 6-7), while Nikki Bardwell and Holly Tomlin added 13 kills each. Nicole Vander Meulen finished with 10 kills. Pirate libero Cassie Moore had 27 digs and Florence had 26, while Holly Ridings finished with 50 assists. Bardwell had three blocks for the Bucs. The Pirates looked like they might pull the upset in the first game, coming from behind to win 31-29. The Loggers led 9-5, 15-9, and 19-13 before Whitworth rallied. The Bucs finally tied the game 24-24 on a kill by Florence, and went ahead 26-25 on Florence's ace. Trailing 29-27, UPS tied the game on a kill by Eggers and a block from Groves and Joanna Ricken. But Tamra Stark's kill and an ace by Moore put the Pirates over the top. UPS rebounded to win the second game handily. The Loggers broke away from a 10-10 tie with a 7-1 run that included four Pirate errors and two Logger aces. After the Pirates got within 20-15, UPS ended the game with a 10-3 run. The match may have been decided in the back and fourth third game. The largest lead was three points (UPS 16-13) and there were 15 ties along the way. The Loggers served for the game at 29-27, but a Whitworth block and UPS attack error tied it up. Finally served for the game at 32-31, but UPS held on with a block by Kamphaus. The Pirates had two more chances to serve for the game, but the Loggers fought off both attempts. After the game was tied 34-34, UPS gained the win with an ace by Jess McPhee-Hayes and a kill by Groves. UPS took a 7-4 lead in the final stanza after back to back Pirate attack errors. Whitworth hung around and pulled within 17-15 after a kill by Florence, but the Loggers then went on to steadily increase their lead the rest of the way. Another Pirate attack error made it 25-19 and Eggers ended the match with an ace. Whitworth, which saw its season-best three match winning streak snapped, will host league-leading Pacific Lutheran on Saturday in the final home contest of the season for the Pirates. UPS will travel to Walla Walla to play Whitman, which pulled a 3-2 upset over PLU on Friday night. |
