Whitman rips Redlands: 15-7, 15-7, 15-5
Whitman topples La Verne: 10-15, 15-7, 15-7, 15-13
Whitman rallies past La Verne: 8-15, 11-15, 15-0, 15-12, 15-11
Whitman falls to UC-San Diego: 15-12, 15-5, 15-10
Competing in the Whittier College Tournament in Whittier, Calif., Whitman opened its season by splitting a pair of matches against California schools.
The Missionaries started slowly in their first match against the University of La Verne, dropping their first two games. Whitman rallied to win the next three games, however, to post the victory.
Playing their second match soon after completing their first one, Whitman fell in three games to the University of California-San Diego, the defending NCAA Div. III national champion.
"The University of La Verne also has a good, solid program, so we we're pleased with that victory," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "La Verne won its conference championship last year and then advanced to the third round of its regional tournament. We started a bit slow against them, but then we really pulled it together and played beginning with the third game."
The Missionaries also played reasonably well in the three-game loss to San Diego. "We put up a pretty good showing," Snider said. "We sided out against them pretty well, we did a good job scoring against them, and we played aggressively. We didn't play quite as consistently as they did across the three games, though, and that was the story."
Another positive point from Whitman's first two matches was the solid play of everyone on the roster, Snider said. "I had hoped we could be a deep team this season, and as it's turning out, I think we will be. We played everyone and felt good about how everyone performed. We can continue working on finding the right combinations for different situations."
Individual statistics for Whitman's first two matches were not immediately available.
Linfield edges Whitman: 15-13, 15-9, 10-15, 11-15, 20-18
Whitman rips Redlands: 15-7, 15-7, 15-5
Whitman topples La Verne: 10-15, 15-7, 15-7, 15-13
By losing a tough five-game match to Linfield College to start the second day of the Whitter College Tournament, Whitman dropped into the consolation round later in the day. The Missionaries made the most of that opportunity, however, by ripping the University of Redlands in three games and toppling the University of La Verne in four games to claim the consolation round championship.
Whitman's Mandy Rockwell, who had 22 kills against Linfield, was named to the all- tournament team. "It was the same Mandy as always," Whitman coach Dean Snider. "She did her thing and did it well."
"Overall, it was a very positive weekend for us, even though we were disappointed we didn't out the five-game match against Linfield," Snider said. "Not only did everyone play, everyone played well. We used all sorts of player combinations at times to pick up the intensity when necessary, and our talent level never really suffered. That's the first time in my three years here that we've able to say that."
After losing the first two games to Linfield Saturday morning, Whitman rallied to win the next two. Then, in the deciding fifth game, Linfield outlasted the Missionaries in a 20-18 marathon. "As a team, we didn't quite pull it out," Snider said.
Whitman's Leslie Crandell, a freshman from Redding, Calif., helped spark the comeback against Linfield with eight kills and three blocks in the fourth game. "She played on the right side and really dominated," Snider said. "It was an outstanding clutch performance."
Crandell also had a good game in Whitmam's quick three-game victory over the University of Redlands to open consolation round play. She had six kills, while another freshman, Claire Novotny, played the setter's role the last two games of the match and finished with 15 assists. "Redlands wasn't as strong as the other teams, and we were able to roll over them pretty easily," Snider said.
In facing the University of La Verne in the consolation final, Whitman dropped the first game but then rallied to win the next three games. The Missionaries also played La Verne in Friday's opening round-action, winning in five games.
Sophomore Valerie Hamm had 13 kills and three blocks to spark a well-balanced offense in Saturday's rematch with La Verne. Rockwell had 12 kills and four blocks, while Barby Ream contributed 11 kills and five blocks. Heather Cushing totaled 41 assists.
George Fox University opened its Northwest Conference volleyball season with a three- game victory over Whitman in Sherwood Center by the scores of 15-10, 15-5, 15-12. But Whitman coach Dean Snider felt the two teams were more evenly matched than the three- game sweep indicates.
"I feel we missed a bit of an opportunity to surprise them tonight," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Had we played at the top of our game, I think we could have given them a much better match."
The Bruins took charge early in the first game, jumping to a 7-0 lead before Whitman rallied for a 10-10 tie. George Fox then reeled of five unanswered points to nail down the first-game victory.
After losing game two, Whitman grabbed leads of 3-0 and 7-2 in game three. The Missionaries held their last lead at 10-9 before George Fox outscored Whitman 6-2 to close out the game and match.
Mandy Rockwell, Whitman's all-conference outside hitter, led the Missionaries with 13 kills, 13 digs and two blocks. "Mandy is a solid, solid player," Snider said. "She's always going to play well, and tonight was no exception."
Barby Ream added nine digs and eight kills for the Missionaries. Heather Cushing contributed 29 assists.
Whitman leaders:
Kills: Rockwell 13, Ream 8, Williams 6, Hamm 6
Digs: Rockwell 13, Ream 9
Blocks: Rockwell 2, Roth 2
Assists: Cushing 29
Whitman evened its Northwest Conference volleyball record at 1-1 with a win over Pacific University Saturday afternoon in Sherwood Center. The Missionaries easily handled the Boxers 15-3, 15-5, 15-9, and improved their season record to 4-3.
"We got a chance to play everyone today," said Whitman head coach Dean Snider. "We needed to play well today and we did for most of the match. We gave them a couple of rallies but for the most part held them in check."
Whitman's attack was balanced with five regular starters sitting out the final game. Valerie Hamm, Heather Cushing, and Barby Ream led the Missionaries with six kills each. Freshman Claire Novotny led the team with 24 assists.
Jeni Brown paced Whitman with eight digs. Hamm added seven digs and Paula Cleveland had six.
Whitman leaders:
Kills: Valerie Hamm 6, Heather Cushing 6, Barby Ream 6, Mandy
Rockwell 5, Leslie
Crandel
5
Digs: Jeni Brown 8, Hamm 7, Paula Cleveland 6, Crandel 5,
Rockwell 5, Claire Novotny
5
Blocks: Hamm 3, Ream 2, Ashley Gelvin 2
Assists: Novotny 24, Cushing 10
Eastern Oregon University scored the final four points of the night to grab a 15-13 victory in the deciding fifth game to claim a non-conference victory over Whitman in Sherwood Center.
"If we would have had any consistent play at all, we would have won," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We played Jekyll-and-Hyde volleyball."
After Eastern Oregon won the first game, the Missionaries grabbed leads of 11-0 and 14- 1 before winning the second game 15-7. The Mountaineers came charging back in game three, bolting to a 14-0 lead and winning 15-3. "We stopped competing," Snider said. "We expected them to hand it to us, and they didn't."
With rally scoring in effect, the fifth game featured seven ties. Whitman held leads of 9-6 and 12-10 before Eastern Oregon took charge down the stretch.
"We have enormous potential," Snider said. "What we need to do is go out and pursue that potential and push ourselves until we get where we want to be."
Mandy Rockwell paced Whitman with 23 digs and 14 kills. Valerie Hamm added 13 kills and eight digs. Others in double figures in the digs were Jeni Brown with 19, Paula Cleveland with 18, Barby Ream with 15 and Kelly Williams with 11.
Whitman improved its Northwest Conference record to 2-1 with an easy win over Linfield 15-9, 15-4, 15-7. The Missionary women improved their overall record to 5-4.
Mandy Rockwell led the Whitman attack with 15 kills. Sophomore Kelly Williams added nine kills while junior Barby Ream had seven.
The Missionaries totaled eight service aces including three by sophomore Jeni Brown.
"Whitman played one of its better matches of the season," Linfield coach Shane Kimura said. "Its just too bad it had to come against us."
The win served as revenge for a five-game loss to Linfield at the Whittier College Tournament two weeks ago.
Whitman Leaders:
Kills: Rockwell 15, Williams 9, Ream 7
Blocks: Ream 4, Roth 2
Assists: Cushing 30
Willamette sent Whitman home on a losing note Saturday afternoon with a 15-5, 13-15, 15-8, 15-4 win. Whitman drops to 2-2 in Northwest Conference play and 5-5 overall.
Barby Ream contributed 13 kills along with 19 digs and five blocks for Whitman. Kelly Williams added 12 kills, 11 digs and 4 blocks.
Whitman Leaders:
Kills: Rockwell 14, Ream 13, Williams 12
Digs: Ream 19, Cleveland 17, Brown 16, Williams 11, Rockwell
11
Blocks: Ream 5, Williams 4, Gelvin 2
Assists: Cushing 52
Trailing 6-3 in game one, Whitman rallied for a 15-8 victory and rolled to a four-game Northwest Conference victory at Whitworth Wednesday night. Valerie Hamm fueled the first- game comeback with five kills.
Mandy Rockwell had six of her team-high 18 kills in game three, which Whitman dominated by jumping to a 14-5 lead. The Missionaries closed out the match with a 15-11 victory in the fourth game.
Rockwell was one of four Missionaries who hit double digits in kills. Kelly Williams had 15, Hamm 11 and Barby Ream 10.
The University of Puget Sound, the defending Northwest Conference champion, withstood a stiff Whitman challenge in the first two games before closing out a three-game victory over the Missionaries in Sherwood Center. UPS improved to 4-1 in conference play while Whitman fell to 3-3.
The Loggers jumped ahead 10-3 and 14-6 in the opening game before Whitman rallied to close the gap to 14-11. UPS took the next point, however, to cut short the comeback.
In game two, Whitman grabbed the early upper hand, takinga 5-2 lead. But the Loggers knotted the score at 7-7 and ran off six straight points to take control and eventually win the game.
After inching in front 5-4 to start game three, Puget Sound exploded for nine unanswered points and cruised to victory.
Barby Ream paced Whitman with nine kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Heather Cushing had 26 assists and nine digs for the Missionaries, while Mandy Rockwell added 14 digs and five kills.
The Missionaries improved their Northwest Conference record to 4-3 with a five-game win over Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday afternoon at Sherwood Center.
"This was an essential win for us if we want to make the playoffs," said Whitman coach Dean Snider. "This is really big for us. We fought back from a couple of deficits to finally beat them."
Mandy Rockwell led the Missionaries with 18 kills and 20 digs. Barby Ream added nine kills, 11 digs and five service aces. Freshman Leslie Crandel contributed five kills, 16 digs and three service aces.
"It was just one of those days when everything was working," said Crandel. "I was feeling good about my serve and just let loose. I figured I had nothing to lose."
"We got a great game from Leslie," said Snider. "She did everything well, especially her serve. It is great to get such play from a freshman."
Jeni Brown with 33 digs and Paula Cleveland with 20 added considerable backbone to the Missionary defense.
Whitman led game one 5-3 until PLU rattled off 11 consecutive points, eventually winning 15-6 to gain the initial advantage. Whitman stormed back in game two, winning the first six points. The Lutes narrowed the margin to 8-5 before Whitman won seven of the final eight points to take the game.
The third game was the closest of the match. The Lutes led 10-9 and then caught fire late to win it 15-11. Whitman again responded in game four, winning six early points in a row to take a 9-2 lead. PLU crept back to 9-5 before Whitman won six of the final seven to win 15-6.
In the fifth and final game, the score was tied at 6-6 before Whitman won eight of nine points in the rally scoring format to take a 14-7 lead and coast to victory.
Whitman Leaders:
Kills: Rockwell 18, Ream 9, Kelly Williams 8
Digs: Brown 33, Cleveland 20, Rockwell 20
Assists: Cushing 41
Barbie Ream's 14 kills and 18 digs were not enough to propel the visiting Missionaries to victory over Lewis & Clark College, which shook off a first-game loss to win in four games Friday night.
Heather Cushing contributed 29 assists for Whitman while freshman Leslie Crandell added 14 digs. Mandy Rockwell also had 14 digs to go along with nine kills for the Missionaries.
George Fox remained unbeaten in the Northwest Conference with a three-game victory over visiting Whitman Friday evening. The Bruins survived game one, 15-13, before winning the next two games by more comfortable margins.
"George Fox is a tough opponent, but we played very well in game one," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Barby Ream was outstanding throughout with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .474 percent."
Ream also had five blocks and five digs. Mandy Rockwell, who had nine kills, was one of four Missionaries with six digs. The other three were Jeni Brown, Heather Cushing and Valerie Hamm.
Led by senior Mandy Rockwell, Whitman rebounded from a first-game loss to take a four-game Northwest Conference victory at Pacific University Saturday afternoon. The victory leveled Whitman's conference record at 5-5 and moved the Missionaries into a tie for fourth place with Pacific Lutheran Univeristy.
"This was a good and much needed win," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Mandy was firing on all cylinders, and Claire Novotney set a great game for a freshman with 47 assists."
Rockwell hit 40 percent and nailed a season-high 23 kills. She also led Whitman with 16 digs and added two service aces.
Kelly Williams contributed 13 kills, 12 digs and two aces. Barby Ream had six blocks along with 11 digs and eight kills. Freshman Leslie Crandell chipped in with 10 digs, seven kills and three digs.
The rising tide of Whitman volleyball fortunes, evident in a number of ways in recent seasons under third-year coach Dean Snider, hit a new crest Tuesday evening when the Missionaries downed Central Washington University for the first time since 1987. Playing in Ellensburg, Whitman won a two-hour, five-game marathon, 15-4, 12-15, 15-12, 7-15, 19-17.
Whitman's non-conference victory snapped the school's string of 15 consecutive losses to Central Washington.
While Central is struggling through a losing season, the Wildcats compete a strong conference that allows athletic scholarships, Snider noted. "Central is a good team playing in a very good league."
Mandy Rockwell led Whitman with 18 kills and 21 digs. Freshman Allison Roth had 17 kill, six digs and three blocks. Heather Cushing sparked the offense with 52 assists.
Kelly Williams and Ashley Gelvin added nine kills each. Williams also had 15 digs. Paula Cleveland had 16 digs and t hree service aces. Leslie Crandell, another freshman, had 13 digs, two aces and six kills.
Whitman played Wednesday's match without four regular contributors, including Barby Ream and Jeni Brown who were sidelined with the flu. Snider credited the rest of the team for playing well and making few errors.
The visiting Linfield Wildcats rolled to a three-game Northwest Conference volleyball victory over short-handed Whitman in Sherwood Center Friday night. The scores were 15-6, 15-11, 15-9.
Valerie Hamm had 17 digs and eight kills to lead Whitman. Allison Roth added 11 digs and seven kills for the Missionaries.
Whitman also got 13 digs from Mandy Rockwell and 11 digs from Paula Cleveland, while Kelly Williams had seven kills and seven digs. Heather Cushing (so., Yakima, WA) had 24 assists for Whitman.
Whitman played without two its key players, Barby Ream and Jeni Brown, both out due to illness. "Playing without Barby and Jeni hurt us in the middle," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We played pretty well in the middle, just not well enough to beat them."
Whitman won the first meeting between the two schools last month. That match, which was played at Linfield, also ended in three games.
"Linfield is a really good team, we have to give them credit," Snider said. "We came out playing a little tense which affected our passing and serves."
The Whitman women gave the Willamette Bearcats all they could in the second game of a Northwest Conference volleyball match in Sherwood Center Saturday afternoon. But the visitors from Salem, Oregon, outlasted the Missionaries 16-14 in that second game and added easy wins in games one and three to take the match.
"Willamette played a tough game," said Whitman coach Dean Snider. "They have such great ball control, it makes it tough to get a kill."
Heather Cushing, Whitman's setter, had 17 digs to go with 33 assists for the Missionaries. "Heather played a great game," Snider said. "She really helped us along with her intensity."
ly Williams added 12 kills and five digs for the Missionaries. Mandy Rockwell contributed 22 digs and nine kills. Barby Ream (jr., Seattle, WA), after missing Whitman's last two games due to illness, returned to slam nine kills and collect seven digs. Allison Roth had 15 digs and seven kills for Whitman.
Mandy Rockwell had 15 kills and 17 digs as Whitman downed Cascade College of Portland in four games in a non-league volleyball match in Sherwood Center Monday night.
Whitman used freshman Claire Novotny as its setter in place of Heather Cushing to give Novotny some non-league experience. Novotny responded with 43 assists.
"Claire did a fine job setting for us tonight," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "She set us up to the outside and that is where we had most of our kills."
Valerie Hamm contributed 12 kills to the Whitman attack. Kelly Williams had nine kills and 20 digs, while Jeni Brown added 23 digs for the Missionaries.
"We wanted to control the net tonight and we did with 14 blocks," Snider said.
Whitman rolled to easy victory in the first game, winning nine of the first ten points, eventually winning the contest 15-5. Cascade rallied to tie the second game at 14 before Whitman won 16-14.
The Thunderbirds took game three 15-8 and led most of game four before Whitman rallied to win it 15-12.
"Hopefully we can maintain our intensity for an entire match this Wednesday against Whitworth," Snider said.
Whitman College blew past Whitworth 15-5, 15-4, 15-7, in Sherwood Center Wednesday night.
Mandy Rockwell led the Missionary effort with 11 kills and 26 digs.
"We gained a big advantage on the defensive side," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Our digging was outstanding and we dominated them at the net."
Valerie Hamm added nine kills and nine digs for Whitman, while Kelly Williams contributed seven of each.
Heather Cushing set for Whitman in games one and two before giving way to freshman Claire Novotny in game three. Cushing had 17 assists and Novotny added 13.
"We played relaxed and confident," Snider said. "Our setters did a tremendous job of moving the ball around, making it a great night for our hitters."
"We jumped on them from the start, never giving them a chance to get in the game," Snider said. "In games past we have had the tendency to relax a little too much, but tonight we maintained our intensity throughout the game.
Whitman won the prior meeting between the two teams in four games earlier this year in Spokane.
Whitman split the first of two Northwest Conference games at the University of Puget Sound, but the host Loggers won the final two games to take the match.
Mandy Rockwell had 16 kills and eight digs for the Missionaries. Barby Ream added nine kills and three blocks.
Claire Novotny and Heather Cushing split time at the setter position. Cushing, seeing the majority of the playing time, contributed 30 assists. Novotny played in one game and added 14 assists.
In their second match of the day, the Whitman Missionaires fell in four game at Pacific Lutheran University. The two teams split the first two games, but the Lutes eked out a 16-14 in the third game to gain the upper hand.
Whitman received excellent net play from Barby Ream, who had 17 kills and 18 digs, and Mandy Rockwell, who had 14 kills and 22 digs.
Heather Cushing added 37 assists for Whitman.
With its three seniors in the starting line-up, Whitman ended its volleyball season on a winning note Friday night in Sherwood Center, pinning a three-game Northwest Conference loss on the Lewis & Clark Pioneers. The victory avenged a four-game loss the Missionaries suffered earlier this season at Lewis & Clark, and it also left Whitman with a winning record for the season at 13-12.
Senior Mandy Rockwell, a first-team all-conference player last year, closed out her stellar four-year volleyball career with match-high totals in both kills (11) and digs (16). Senior Paula Cleveland had nine digs and two service aces, while senior Ashley Gelvin had five kills in 11 attempts with no errors.
"Ashley had a great final match," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "She his .455, which is an outstanding percentage. All three seniors played well and had a nice finish to their college volleyball careers."
Kelly Williams had seven digs and collected 10 kills while hitting .368. Barby Ream added six kills with no errors and three service aces. "Jeni Brown also had a good game from the service line," Snider said. "She had three aces, and she served for several points each time she was at the service line." Brown also added 11 digs to Whitman's defense.
Valerie Hamm had seven kills and 10 digs for the Missionaries, while Heather Cushing collected 29 assists to go with eights digs. Claire Novotny, who also saw time at setter, had eight assists.
"Game one was very close and competitive," Snider said. "We started to pick up the pace a bit in the second game and played a real dynamic offense in that game. We kept it rolling in game three and had a nice lead. Everyone got to see some playing time at that point.
Freshman Leslie Crandell closed out the match with her only service ace of the night.
"We finished with a 13-12 record, so we stayed on the positive side, and finished on a positive note," Snider said. "We missed the playoffs, but it was a good season nontheless. We're looking forward to seeing how far our younger players can carry us next year. They will have some big shoes to fill."