Pirates Struggle Offensively Against Lutes

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Pacific Lutheran University held on to the top spot in the Northwest Conference volleyball standings on Friday night as the visiting Lutes defeated Whitworth University 25-13, 25-9, 25-23 in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

PLU, ranked 18th in the latest AVCA Division III top-25 poll, improved to 9-5 overall and 5-0 in the NWC. The Pirates dropped their sixth straight match to fall to 4-12, 0-5.

The Lutes never trailed in the first set after jumping to a quick 6-0 lead. PLU hit .385 as a team, while Whitworth struggled to a -.074 percentage. Two-time NWC Player of the Year was in on a block then had the kill that ended the set at 25-13.

PLU got even hotter in the second set, hitting .522 as a team with only a single attack error in the stanza. The set was tied 4-4 before PLU went on a 14-1 run on the way to a 25-9 final.

PLU looked like it might make short work of the third set also after taking a 5-1 lead. But the Pirates fought back to tie the set 11-11 on Bree Riddle's service ace. The score remained close the rest of the way with the final tie coming at 22-22 after a kill by Whitworth's Tracy Schwada. Katy Tauscher ended the set at 25-23 with a kill after a Pirate over-pass.

Erin Bremond led a balanced PLU offense with nine kills and she also was in on six block assists. Kelsie Moore had eight kills, while Hanna and Kelcy Joynt had seven kills each. Sarah Beaver, the current NWC volleyball Student-Athlete of the Week, dished 25 assists while Brenna Archibald had a match-high 10 digs.

Schwada had a strong match for the Pirates, finishing with seven kills and no errors for a .500 hitting percentage. Kaimi and Ka'ipo Rocha had four kills apiece. Randi Stephens finished with five block assists.

Whitworth will host 19th-ranked Puget Sound at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, while PLU travels to play at Whitman College in Walla Walla.