Kelsey Bumgarner, Whitworth Sports Information Intern

Complete box score and play by play

Bardwell missed a double-double by one kill

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- After a slow start, visiting Whitworth University defeated Whitman College in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Wednesday night 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-10).

The Pirates had several contributors: Nikki Bardwell (Sr., OH, Colville, Wash.) had nine kills and 12 digs, Kaimi Rocha (Fr., OH, Pukalani, Hawaii) 11 kills and one block, Holly Tomlin (Sr., MB, Kirkland, Wash.) slammed down 10 kills, Ka’ipo Rocha (Fr., MB, Pukalani, Hawaii) added nine kills, and Bree Riddle (Fr., S, Spokane, Wash.) dished out 25 assists. Whitworth hit .295 for the night.

Alex Graves led the Missionaries with 18 kills and 18 digs. Breanne Robirds contributed 10 kills and eight digs, Krystin Norman had 35 assists, and Kelsie Butts had 18 digs. Whitman hit .125 in the match.

The first set started off evenly, tied at 7-7. Whitman pulled slightly ahead before two kills by Tomlin tied the set 18-18. Whitman then took control, led by Graves’ two service aces and a kill, leading the Missionaries to a 24-19 lead. Robirds ended the first set 25-20 with a kill.

Whitworth came out fired up and took advantage of Whitman errors to pull ahead 9-3 in the second set. The Bucs stayed in a comfortable lead throughout the set, led by Ka’ipo Rocha’s four kills and Kaimi Rocha’s three kills. At the end of the set, Bardwell regained the serve for Whitworth on a kill, then went on to serve two aces to end it 25-19. (well done)

Again the Bucs came out strong in the third set. They pulled ahead 9-4, aided by more Missionary errors. Emily Nickels pulled Whitman within four with a kill, but a 13-5 run led by Bardwell’s four kills, along with two kills each by Kaimi Rocha and Tracy Schwada (Jr., RS, Whitefish, Mont.), put Whitman away 25-13.

Ka’ipo Rocha opened the fourth set with a kill, and other than an early kill by Graves to tie at 1-1, Whitworth continued to dominate the set. After pulling within 14-9 on another kill by Graves, Alli Giusti (Fr., DS, Spokane, Wash) took the Pirates on a 9-1 scoring run with two aces. Graves had one more kill, but the match ended 25-10 on a setting error by Norman.

Both teams will travel to Oregon to play Linfield this coming weekend. Whitman (0-16 overall, 0-7 NWC) plays Friday at 7:00 PM and Whitworth (10-9, 3-4) takes on the Wildcats Saturday at 7:00 PM.

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