SPOKANE, Wash. - Whitworth University's seniors came up big in the final match of their careers, leading the Pirates to a season-ending 30-15, 22-30, 22-30, 30-23, 17-15 Northwest Conference volleyball win over visiting Lewis & Clark College on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Moore (top) and Ridings were big for the Bucs

The win broke a four-match losing streak for the Bucs, who finish the season 11-14 overall and 6-10 in the NWC. The Pioneers (9-16, 5-10) saw their three match winning streak come to an end and they will try to end their season on an up-note on Saturday at Whitman College.

Whitworth's two seniors - Cassie Moore (OH, Spokane, Wash.) and Holly Ridings (S, Spokane, Wash.) - contributed heavily to the Pirate victory. Moore had a team-high 16 kills with 28 digs and four block assists. Ridings posted a triple-double with 41 assists, 18 digs and ten kills. Bethany Castilleja (Jr., Lib., Kennewick, Wash.) set a Whitworth school record with 39 digs in the match. Nikki Bardwell (Jr., OH, Colville, Wash.) finished with 13 kills and 19 digs.

Lewis & Clark got a match-high 20 kills from Katherine Fiedler, the reigning NWC Player of the Week. Cayley Rasmussen came off of the bench for 14 kills, while Sara Kettler totaled 13 kills and seven block assists. Nicki Smith was the fourth Pioneer with double figures in kills with 12. Leah Collins finished with 34 digs and setter Lara Smith dished 58 assists.

Coming off of an emotional ceremony celebrating Moore and Ridings just prior to the match, Whitworth rolled to an easy win in the first game. The Pirates jumped to a lead of 9-3 on a kill by Sarah Rusch (Jr., MB, Walla Walla, Wash.) then led 21-8 after a kill by Holly Tomlin (Jr., MB, Kirkland, Wash.). The Bucs won the game 30-15 on a kill by Ridings.

But Lewis & Clark bounced right back, winning the next two games by identical 30-22 scores. In fact, the Pioneers never trailed in either set. L&C pulled away from a 22-20 lead in the second game by finishing on an 8-2 run and winning on a kill by Fiedler. The Pioneers controlled the third game much sooner, opening a 23-15 lead on a kill by Rasmussen and winning on another kill by Fiedler.

By contrast the fourth game saw 13 ties and seven lead changes. L&C took its last lead of the set at 22-21 on a Pirate attack error. From that point Whitworth outscored the Pioneers 9-1, winning on an L&C attack error. The Bucs benefited from 16 L&C attack errors in the game.

Like the fourth game, the deciding fifth stanza went back and forth with nine ties and three lead exchanges. L&C earned match point at 15-14 on a combined block by Fiedler and Kelsey Clark. But Whitworth scored the final three points to win the match, including a kill and an ace from Ridings.