Kelsey Bumgarner, Whitworth Sports Information Intern

Complete box score and play by play

Kaimi Rocha had 10 kills and 15 digs for the Bucs

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitman College upset host Whitworth University on Wednesday night in a Northwest conference volleyball match 13-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-19.

Alex Graves drilled 17 kills and dug 20 balls to lead the Missionaries. Katie Miller also had 15 kills and 22 digs, and Emily Nickels put down 10 kills and six blocks. Katie Richards handed out 42 assists to aid Whitman in hitting .115 in the match.

The Pirates were led by Kaimi Rocha (Fr., OH, Pukalani, Hawaii) with 10 kills and 15 digs. Ka’ipo Rocha (Fr., MB, Pukalani, Hawaii) had 8 kills and Nikki Bardwell (Sr., OH, Colville, Wash.) added 7 and 10 digs. Bethany Castilleja (Sr., Lib, Kennewick, Wash.) led both teams with 29 digs, while Bree Riddle (Fr., S., Spokane, Wash.) had 22 assists. Jordan Hoffnagle also contributed 11 assists and 12 digs. Whitworth hit .119 for the night.

Whitworth opened the first set with a 10-2 run. Graves served an ace to aid Whitman in generating a couple of points, but two successive blocks by Bardwell, Kaimi Rocha, Tracy Schwada (Jr., RS, Whitefish, Mont.) and Holly Tomlin (Sr., MB, Kirkland, Wash.) gave the Pirates momentum to gain a 20-7 lead. The set ended 25-13 on another Bardwell and Tomlin block.

Whitworth jumped ahead 4-2 again in the second set, but the Missionaries stayed close. Nickels tied the score 11-11 with a kill, and the teams were even 8 more times throughout the set. Miller put down 5 kills in the set and Graves had 4 kills as the Missionaries strove to even the match 1-1. Whitman eventually skimmed by Whitworth 25-23 on a Graves kill.

Whitworth jumped ahead 5-1 in the third set. But Miller had two consecutive kills to help Whitman get within 12-11. Another short run by the Pirates put them ahead 15-11 before the Missionaries rallied once more and tied the score 23-23. A tradeoff of kills by Tomlin and Graves kept the score tied at 24-24, and then Miller slammed down a kill and Nickels and Graves put up a strong block to win 26-24.

Nickels had 5 kills in the fourth set as Whitman put the Bucs away 25-19. The Missionaries pulled away to a 17-11 lead before a service ace and kill by Hoffnagle led a brief Pirate bid for a comeback. But a block by Breanne Robirds and Nickels put Whitman up 20-16. Nickels reached the match point with two more kills, and a Robirds kill finished the match.

Whitman returns home to host Linfield Friday at 7:00 pm in its season finale. Linfield will then travel to Spokane to face Whitworth on Saturday also at 7:00 p.m. and also the season finale for both schools.

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