Pirates Struggle Defensively Against Missionaries

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitman College posted its best offensive numbers in more than a month as the visiting Missionaries swept Whitworth University 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Wednesday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Whitman (5-17 overall, 2-13 NWC) ended an 11-match losing streak by hitting .257 as a team, the Missionaries' best team hitting percentage since a September 18th win over Willamette.

Kaimi Rocha (So., OH, Pukalani, Hawaii) had a match-high 15 kills for the host Pirates (9-17, 5-10), but it wasn't enough to overcome Whitman's balanced attack.

The Missionaries jumped out to an early lead in the first set, going up 8-3 after consecutive Pirate attack errors and 18-10 on a kill by Katie Richards that forced a Whitworth timeout. Trailing 23-15, the Pirates climbed to within 24-18 on a kill by Tracy Schwada (Sr., RS, Whitefish, Mont.), but Olivia Nielson ended the set with a kill.

Whitman again gained an early lead in the second set after another kill by Richards and a Whitworth attack error gave the Missionaries an 8-3 lead. But Whitworth fought back to tie the set at 9-9 on a kill by Randi Stephens (Jr., MB, Bozeman, Mont.) and the rest of the set would be nip and tuck. Neither squad led by more than three points and there were eight lead changes. Whitworth took a 22-20 lead after a kill by Stephens and a ball handling error against Whitman, but the Missionaries outscored the Bucs 5-1 the rest of the way. Whitman won on Alex Graves' service ace.

After Courtney Brewer's kill gave Whitman a 5-4 lead early in the final set, the Missionaries kept the Pirates at arm's length the rest of the way. A block by Graves and Courtney Brewer made the score 18-10 before Whitworth rallied to within 19-17 on a kill by Morgan Veleke (Sr., OH, Kennewick, Wash.). Leading 21-19, Whitman scored the final four points to put the match away. Carrie Cecil had the match-winning kill.

Graves led Whitman with 10 kills and 13 digs. Brewer and Cecil had nine kills each and Richards dished 32 assists.

Rocha's 15 kills came on only 25 attempts and she finished with a hitting percentage of .560 to go along with 12 digs. Veleke had nine kills and led the Bucs with 14 digs, while Bree Riddle (So., S, Spokane, Wash.) had 24 assists.

Whitworth will conclude its season on Friday night when the Pirates host Pacific University (Ore.) at 7:00 p.m. Whitman will finish its season against the same school on Saturday.