Gunning for a fourth consecutive winning season, the Whitman women's volleyball team got off to a good start Friday and Saturday, winning three of five matches at the Whitworth Invitational in Spokane, Wash. The Missionaries won two of three matches Friday and then split two matches Saturday.
Early Friday morning, Whitman rebounded from a first-game loss to Eastern Oregon University to win in four games, 14-16, 16-14, 15-10, 16-14. Next, the Missionaries rolled over Westminster College 15-5, 15-12, 15-5, before stumbling that evening to a three-game loss to the host team, Whitworth, 15-6, 15-10, 15-2.
On Saturday, Whitman pinned a loss on defending Northwest Conference champion Pacific Lutheran by the scores of 15-9, 15-10, 6-15, 15-12. In their final match, however, the Missionaries lost to Rocky Mountain College in three games, 16-14, 15-8, 15-11.
Rocky Mountain, an NAIA school in Billings, Mont., swept through the tournament undefeated to raise its early season record to 8-1. The three NWC teams in the tournament - Whitman, Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth - all finished with 3-2 tournament records.
Whitman head coach Dean Snider was pleased with his team's overall season-opening performance. "Anytime we finish a tournament with a positive record it is pleasing," he said. "This weekend was really all about getting better as a team and learning to play together. We continued to improve and the team bounced back against PLU after a tough loss the night before to Whitworth."
Whitman senior outside hitter Kelly Williams earned a spot on the all-tournament team. She paced the Missionary scoring attack, leading the squad in kills in each of the five matches. "Kelly played really well for us," Snider said. "But I don't think she played up to her potential . I think that once she gets in a groove from the outside she will really be deadly."
Williams tallied 20 kills and 14 digs in Whitman's first match against Eastern Oregon. She also hit double digits in kills with 10 against Rocky Mountain on Saturday.
The Missionaries played without the services of injured players Kristin Carter and Bryn Thorsen. Both players suffered ankle sprains during practice Wednesday. Carter is probable for Tuesday's home opener against Cascade College, while Thorsen will visit a surgeon Monday to investigate possible ligament damage.
All ten players on Whitman's active roster saw significant playing time during the tournament, including first-year members Elin Smith, Jill Huber, Denise Kirstein and Liz Nelson. "Our freshmen are our energy players," Snider said. "It will take all six people playing well for us to win this year, so I was really pleased with our depth off the bench. We know that everyone on this team can contribute."
Smith provided the team with two pieces of flair for the tournament, which was played in her hometown. On Friday she garnished the team with rainbow ribbon that brightly adorned each player's pony tail, and on Saturday she presented teammates with stickers "for extra hops."
The Missionaries shrugged off a shaky start to dispose of Cascade College in three games Tuesday night at Sherwood Center.
Winning by scores of 17-15, 15-6 and 15-9, the Missionaries improved to 4-2 on the season while Cascade fell to 0-3.
Down 14-10 in the first game, Whitman rallied back to tie the game at 15 before scoring the final two points to complete its comeback. As the Missionaries settled into a rhythm, games two and three proceeded quickly, with Whitman never trailing in either contest.
"Anytime we win in three is nice, but we need to do a better job with our serving if we hope to compete against the best teams in our conference," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. Whitman had ten aces on the night, compared to a whopping 15 service errors.
Senior captains Val Hamm and Kelly Williams paced the Missionary attack. Hamm had 15 kills and 14 digs, while Williams added 13 kills, ten digs and four blocks. "We had our best kill percentage of the season tonight, and it was nice to have our outside hitters doing well," Snider said.
Junior setter Claire Novotny had 43 assists in what Snider called her best-set match of the season. "Claire was running on all cylinders tonight," he said. "She was setting the middles when she needed to, and she was setting the outside when she needed to."
Whitman middle blockers freshman Jill Huber and junior Alison Roth combined for a strong evening. The Missionary twin towers totaled 18 kills and nine blocks. Huber added nine digs. "The middle attack was very potent tonight," Snider said.
This Friday and Saturday the Missionaries will play four matches in two days at the Gustavus Adolphus College Invitational in Saint Peter, Minn.
Playing in the Gustavus Adolphus College Invitational in Saint Peter, Minn., the women's volleyball team opened with a tough five-game victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS), 11-15, 15-13, 15-6, 7-15, 15-5.
Whitman coach Dean Snider was pleased with the way his team competed in its first five-game victory of the young season. "It was a good match for us to play, and a good match to win," he said. "CMS is a good attacking team and we really had to play solid defense to earn the victory."
Senior Jeni Brown led the defense with 20 of Whitman's 72 digs. Brown also had a streak of nine serves in a row at one point in the match. "Jeni's serving was very crucial for us," Snider said.
Outside hitter Kelly Williams led the Missionaries with 16 kills, while Whitman's other senior co-captain, Val Hamm, added 13 kills. Middle blocker Jill Huber combined 12 kills and four blocks. Megan Kanaga and Allison Roth also had four blocks apiece. Junior setter Claire Novotny recorded 50 assists in the match.
Immediately following their five-game marathon over CMS, Whitman downed the host team, Gustavus Adolphus, in four games, 12-15, 15-10, 15-5, 15-9.
Kelly Williams with 17 kills and Jill Huber with 16 kills and just two errors sparked the Missionary offense. Val Hamm had 20 digs for the Missionaries, and Claire Novotny tallied 50 assists for the second straight match.
Coach Dean Snider was impressed with the way the team competed after the day's long first match against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. "It was good to play so well after such a big match directly before this one," he said.
The Missionaries women's volleyball team continued its winning ways at the Gustavus Adolphus Invitational Tournament Saturday morning with a four-game victory over Carleton College, 15-4, 12-15, 17-15, 15-11.
According to coach Dean Snider, the Missionaries did what was necessary to win, even though their play was not always pretty. "We really had to scrap for this victory," he said. "Megan Kanaga played an outstanding match for us and really just willed the rest of the team on to victory."
Kanaga, a sophomore, led the team with six blocks and had 11 kills. Kelly Williams added 17 kills. Jill Huber had 13 kills and Val Hamm 12. Claire Novotny continued her hot weekend with 53 assists for the Missionaries. Hamm also had 20 digs.
In its final match of the Gustavus Adolphus tournament, Whitman made quick work of Buena Vista University, winning 15-13, 15-6, 15-5. The Missionaries won all four of its tournament mathes and finished the weekend with an 8-2 season record.
After a slow start in the first game, the Missionaries battled through an injury to setter Claire Novotny to complete the sweep. Novotny sprained her ankle in game two when she got tangled under the net with an opposing player. She is questionable for this weekend's Northwest Conference opener on Friday.
"Losing Claire was really tough for us," coach Dean Snider said. "She is really the main part of our offense, so it was huge for Elin Smith and Denise Kirstein to step into new roles the way they both did."
Smith finished the game as the setter and tallied 18 assists, while Kirstein filled the gap up front with a few key plays. Both Smith and Kirstein are first-year players.
Whitman dominated the match with 11 service aces. Val Hamm led the way with four aces and 11 digs. Kelly Williams, who was selected to the six-member all tournament team, again paced the offense with 12 kills.
Whitman opens its Northwest Conference season at home this Friday, Sept. 15, against Pacific University.
After battling back from an early first-game deficit, the Whitman women's volleyball team cruised to a three-game victory over Pacific University Friday evening in Sherwood Center. The scores were 17-15, 15-8, 15-7.
It was the Northwest Conference opener for both teams. In winning its sixth consecutive match, Whitman improved to 9-2 on the season, while Pacific dropped to 1-2 overall.
The Missionaries were paced by a strong all-around performance from senior captain Val Hamm, who finished with a team-high 16 kills and 18 digs. "Val was her usual self tonight," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Every time we needed a big hit, she came down with the kill, and every time we needed a defensive stop, there she was with the dig."
Snider was pleased with the way the Missionaries battled back in the first game. "It was nice to be able to pull out the victory after a slow start," Snider said.
Making her first start as a Missionary, freshman Elly Smith balanced the Whitman attack with 43 assists. Subbing for injured junior setter Claire Novotney, Smith also had four kills. "Elly did a super job for her first time in a big-game situation like tonight," Snider said. "She and Jill Huber were our freshman connection for the night."
Huber, a freshman middle blocker, had a big night for the Missionaries. She hit for a .375 percentage with 12 kills and 12 digs.
Senior co-captain Kelly Williams had 14 kills, 16 digs and four blocks. Jeni Brown added ten digs for the Missionaries.
Whitman resumes conference action at 2 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Lewis & Clark in Sherwood Center.
Following the same pattern as the night before, the Whitman women's volleyball team started slowly but eventually rolled to another victory Saturday afternoon, downing Lewis & Clark College in four games in Sherwood Center. The scores were 15-13, 14-16, 15-6, 15-10.
In winning its seventh consecutive match, Whitman raised its season record to 10-2, which includes a 2-0 mark in the Northwest Conference (NWC). Lewis & Clark dropped to 0-7 overall, 0-2 in conference.
After a slow start, the Missionaries clawed back behind the strong play of Kelly Williams to take the pivotal first game, before losing another close decision in game two. "The Pioneers played good defense," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "But we need to do a better job with our transition game for next week."
Whitman regained the momentum in game three and then finished off the visitors in the fourth game. Williams led the Missionary attack with 17 kills and a .371 hitting percentage. "Kelly hit really well today," Snider said. "She only played in three of the four games, but she swung well on the attack. She was a key component to our victory."
Val Hamm and freshman Jill Huber both hit double digits in kills for Whitman. Hamm combined 14 kills with 13 digs, while Huber managed 10 kills, seven service aces, and a team-high 19 digs. Huber also had four blocks. "Jill Huber gets better for us every game," Snider said.
Playing in place of injured junior setter Claire Novotny once again, freshman Elly Smith handed out 47 assists. Megan Kanaga also added 10 digs and two blocks for Whitman.
Novotny, who has missed three matches with a sprained ankle, is expected to return to the starting rotation by mid-week. Bryn Thorsen, Whitman's other injured player, is expected to miss at two to three more weeks due to a severe ankle sprain.
In its first road match of the young Northwest Conference season, Whitman fell in four games Friday night to Willamette University, 15-9, 13-15, 15-11, 15-10. The loss breaks a string of seven consecutive match victories for theMissionaries, who are now 10-3 overall and 2-1 in conference. Willamette raised its season mark to 3-5. The Bearcats are 2-2 in the NWC.
In what coach Dean Snider billed as a great defensive battle between two very solid teams, Whitman's lack of a solid attack may have been the key to the loss.
"We played a great defensive game tonight," Snider said. The Missionaries as a team had 137 digs in the four games, compared to only 111 digs for the Bearcats. "However, we struggled with our attack all night and that was the difference in the ballgame."
Kelly Williams, the Missionaries leader in kills, left the first game with a sprained ankle and did not return. She is doubtful for Saturday's match at Linfield. "Losing Kelly early like that was a tough blow for the team," Snider said. "We had some people step in and fill roles around her, and they all did a fine job."
Freshman Denise Kirstein saw extended minutes after the loss of Williams and ended with a career-high eight kills and 23 digs.
Jeni Brown led the Missionaries in digs with 37. Brown also collected 10 kills, a season-high. Val Hamm led the team with 15 kills and recorded 21 digs.
Claire Novotny and Elly Smith shared the setting duties for the Missionaries. Smith ended the match with 25 assists, while Novotny added 20. It was Novotny's first match after coming off an ankle sprain suffered earlier in the month.
Snider was pleased with the Missionary effort, but noted the loss was a tough one, nonetheless. "We fought and competed really well tonight," Snider said. "It was a long match with many good rallies, but Willamette is a good team. They'll get their share of conference wins this season."
Whitman travels to McMinnville, Ore., for a 2 p.m. Saturday game at Linfield. The Wildcats are now 3-0 in conference after defeating Whitworth in five games Friday night.
Linfield College made quick work of Whitman Saturday afternoon, polishing off the Missionaries in three games, 15-3, 15-13, 15-7. Whitman's second Northwest Conference loss of the weekend dropped the Missionary record to 10-4 overall, 2-2 in conference.
Linfield retained a share of first place in the conference, improving to 6-4 on the season and 4-0 in conference. It was the fourth straight victory for Linfield.
Whitman coach Dean Snider was disappointed with the Missionary attack, but he noted that Kelly Williams, the team leader in kills, missed the entire match due to a sprained ankle suffered in the previous night's match. "It really hurt us to play without Kelly," Snider said.
The Missionaries finished the match with more errors (25) than kills (23). "We just could not buy a kill today," Snider said. "Once it was a pass, then a bad set, then a missed hit. We were just unable to connect and make anything happen offensively today."
Val Hamm, Jeni Brown and Jill Huber led the Missionaries with five kills apiece. Hamm added a team-high 16 digs, two more than Brown.
Liz Nelson, a freshman, played extensively for the Missionaries and had two service aces and ten digs. Claire Novotny had 12 of the 14 Missionary assists.
Whitman's second loss in as many days left coach Snider frustrated. "Two in a row is tough on a team with high expectations," Snider said. "We are going to have to find a way to battle through this. The games don't get any easier from here."
Whitman hosts Pacific Lutheran at 7 p.m. next Friday and Puget Sound the following afternoon at 4. Both games will be in Sherwood Center. Puget Sound is currently tied with Linfield atop the Northwest Conference standings.
Defending Northwest Conference champion Pacific Lutheran University handed the Whitman College volleyball team its third consecutive defeat Friday night at Sherwood Center. The scores were 15-8, 15-11, 15-4.
PLU improves to 3-2 in the Northwest Conference, 7-6 overall, while the Missionaries fall to 2-3 in conference, 10-5 on the season.
In a match the Lutes controlled for most of the way, Whitman enjoyed its only significant lead early in game two. The Missionaries held a 9-3 advantage before PLU rallied back for its 15-11 triumph.
"We were blocking really well for awhile there at the start of the second game," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Then we got back to what plagued us throughout the match, and didn't really do much to slow down the Lute attack."
PLU's Erin McGinn and Suzanne Beauchene tag-teamed the Missionaries for 23 kills between them. "Our goal was to stop Beauchene tonight," Snider said. "But obviously we didn't follow that strategy."
Freshman Jill Huber led the Missionaries with nine kills and three blocks. Kelly Williams, playing for the first time since suffering an ankle sprain last Friday, led the team with nine digs. Claire Novotny had 28 of Whitman's 31 assists.
Both teams resume conference action Saturday afternoon. PLU travels to Spokane to play Whitworth, while Whitman hopes to right its ship against this year's NWC leader, the University of Puget Sound, at 4 p.m. in Sherwood Center. UPS ran its season record to 11-0 Friday night with a four-game victory at Whitworth.
The undefeated University of Puget Sound volleyball team proved its might Saturday afternoon in Sherwood Center with a three-game victory over Whitman. The scores were 15-5, 15-6, 15-4.
UPS improved to 12-0 on the season, 6-0 in the Northwest Conference. The Loggers are ranked No. 12 nationally in NCAA DIII, and No. 1 in the West Region.
With the loss, Whitman falls to 10-6 on the season, 2-4 NWC.
Despite Saturday's seteback, Whitman coach Dean Snider was pleased with the way his team performed after a more disappointing defeat on Friday to Pacific Lutheran. "All things considered, we played a very good match," Snider said. "UPS is a very very good team, but we improved a lot from last night."
Snider was particularly pleased with the Missionary play up front. "We blocked extremely well and had plenty of touches on the UPS attacks," Snider said.
Megan Kanaga led the Missionaries with five blocks, while Allison Roth finished with four. Jill Huber added three blocks and a team-high seven kills.
Snider said the Missionaries must improve on the attack if they hope to compete against Whitworth on Wednesday. "We just need to generate some kind of an attack now," Snider said. "We're going to go back to the drawing board and hopefully find a new way to win on Wednesday."
As a team, the Missionaries managed only 22 kills, while the Loggers doubled that total with 44.
Kanaga and Val Hamm each had five kills for the Missionaries, while Claire Novotny had 19 assists and a team-leading eight digs.
The Missionaries play host to Whitworth on Wednesday, Oct. 4, in Sherwood Center. Game time is 7 p.m.
Breaking a four-match losing streak in a big way, the Whitman women's volleyball team rolled over the Whitworth Pirates in three games Wednesday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 17-15, 15-11 and 16-14.
With the victory, the Missionaries upped their record to 11-6 on the season and 3-4 in Northwest Conference play. The Pirates fell to 9-7 overall, 4-3 in conference.
Whitman coach Dean Snider was happy to see his team bounce back by beating a strong opponent.
"This was a match we really needed to play well to win," Snider said. "Whitworth is a very athletic, very good team, but we really stepped it up tonight. This game was reminiscent of the way we played back at the beginning of the season."
Prior to its recent string of losses, Whitman had won seven consecutive matches.
"Tonight, we needed to play well as a team to win," Snider said. "Claire Novotny played extremely well setting the ball and Jill Huber and Megan Kanaga each had big games as well."
Novotny had 41 of the 45 Missionary assists and added 12 digs. After suffering an ankle injury earlier in the season, Novotny had been struggling of late with her confidence. "She really did it all for us tonight," Snider said. "Claire ran a very dynamic offensive scheme."
Kanaga, a sophomore, had seven kills and only one error, attacking at a .429 clip to pace the Missionary offense. She also had a team-high four blocks.
Huber led the Missionaries with 16 kills and hit for a ..345 hitting percentage. The freshman middle blocker had five service aces, eight digs and two blocks. "We talked about solidifying the middle attack tonight,' Snider said, 'and that's what Jill did for us."
Whitman's victory avenged a three-game loss to Whitworth in an early-season tournament hosted by the Pirates. That match did not count in the NWC standings. The two teams meet again in early November in Spokane.
Kelly Williams, one of Whitman's senior captains, contributed 12 kills and 12 digs.
A slow start proved costly as the Whitman's volleyball team dropped a Northwest Conference match in four games to George Fox Friday night in Newberg, Ore.
The host Bruins caught the Missionaries napping in games one and two, winning 15-7 and 15-9, before Whitman caught fire for a 15-4 victory in game three. With the Missionaries leading the pivotal fourth game by an 11-10 score, George Fox reeled off five unanswered points to close out the match.
"We started on a really flat note in the first two games," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We really didn't give ourselves a chance in the first two. Then, in the third game we played with lots of energy, played very well and dominated them totally."
The two teams battled on even terms in game four before the Bruins erased Whitman's final lead with a string of match-deciding points. "With a few lucky breaks and some good play on their part, they were able to pull out that fourth game," Snider said. "What hurt us the most, though, was the slow start. Beating teams in our conference isn't possible if you give the first two games away."
The loss dropped Whitman's record to 11-7 on the season and 3-5 in conference play. George Fox improved to 5-8 overall and 3-4 in the NWC.
Kelly Williams paced Whitman with 14 kills and a .243 hitting percentage. She also had 13 digs. Claire Novotny had 39 assists and three blocks for the Missionaries, while freshman Jill Huber had a strong night with 12 kills, 16 digs and five blocks. "We blocked pretty well," Snider said. "We finished with nine team blocks to their seven."
Valarie Hamm added 13 digs and seven kills for the Missionaries.
The women's volleyball team opened the second half of its Northwest Conference season on a successful note Friday evening, racing past Pacific in three games in Forest Grove, Ore. The scores were 15-10, 15-7, 15-9.
The victory, Whitman's second of the season over Pacific, improved the Missionary record to 4-5 in the NWC and 12-7 on the season. The Boxes dropped to 0-9 in conference and 2-11 overall.
As a team, the Missionaries hit for a .310 percentage on the night. Freshman Jill Huber led the way, hitting an impressive .429 with seven kills. Huber also had nine digs and three blocks.
After both teams started slowly, Whitman pulled into an 8-4 lead and eventually closed out game one. Senior captain Jeni Brown, who began the week with a conference-leading 29 service aces, started the second game with two more aces, and her teammates combined for 11 kills and a deadly .420 hitting percentage.
Whitman kept its momentum rolling in the third game, bolting to a 7-1 advantage, thanks in part to five straight points off Huber serves.
Whitman's other senior captains, Kelly Williams and Valarie Hamm, paced the offense with 17 and 11 kills, respectively. The same two players keyed the defense, with Hamm getting 12 digs and Williams 11.
The women's volleyball evened its Northwest Conference (NWC) record at 5-5 and improved to 13-7 on the season with a four-game victory Saturday night at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. The scores were 15-7, 15-4, 12-15, 15-9.
"We got off to a good start tonight, both in our attacking and defensive play," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We've struggled a bit defensively in recent matches, so it was nice to see play well in both areas."
Jill Huber, Whitman's freshman middle blocker, enjoyed one of her best matches of the season, collecting 20 kills while hitting for a .462 percentage. She also had 18 digs, six blocks and three service aces. "Jill had an outstanding night," Snider said. "She was the difference in the match. It seems as if she is getting better and better with each match. She makes freshman mistakes at times, but on the whole, she's improving very quickly, and she was definitely the dominant middle blocker on the floor tonight."
Huber was one of four Missionaries with double-digit kills. Kelly Williams and Val Hamm, two of Whitman's senior captains, added 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Denise Kirstein, another freshman, contributed 10 kills.
"Denise played very well tonight and showed a lot of composure for a freshman," Snider said. "She was the key player for us in the fourth game, when it was tied at 9-9 and still very much of a battle. Denise came up with a pass and kill, made another kill on the right side, and then made the block that led to a third point. She basically got us the lead, and Kelly took us home from there with some strong serving."
Claire Novotny triggered the Whitman offense with 59 assists. She also had nine digs and a service ace. "We had four players in double-digit kills and hit .240 as a team, and much of the credit for that goes to Claire and her distribution of the ball," Snider said. "Because of what she was doing, we we're hitting against a lot of split blocks or single blocks."
Led by Hamm's 21 digs, the Missionaries dug a total of 89 balls in a four-game match that took nearly two hours to complete. Williams had 15 digs while freshman Elly Smith added 14. Jeni Brown, Whitman's other senior captain, chipped in with 12 digs to give the Missionaries five players in double-digit digs.
The loss dropped Lewis & Clark to 1-9 in the NWC, a record that Snider said is misleading. "The fact that LC is 1-9 is a tribute to the strength of the conference, not an indication of what kind of team they have. They had three players in double-digit kills, and they made us work very hard for this win. They are developing a very good team."
In a mid-week break from its Northwest Conference schedule, the Whitman College women's volleyball team downed Walla Walla College in three quick games Wednesday night in College Place. Winning by the scores of 15-4, 15-3 and 15-1, the Missionaries upped their season record to 14-7.
Whitman head coach Dean Snider was happy with the overall performance of his squad. "I was pleased with our intensity from start to finish," Snider said.
Senior captain Val Hamm led a well-balanced Missionary attack with nine kills and six digs. Jeni Brown, another senior captain, added six kills and a team-high nine digs. Brown, who began the week tied with Hamm for the Northwest Conference lead in service aces, added four more against Walla Walla and now has 35 aces on the season. Freshman Liz Nelson also served four aces against the Wolves.
Junior Claire Novotny and freshman Elly Smith split the setting duties for Whitman. Novotny collected 13 assists in the first game before giving way to Smith, who added 13 more in games two and three.
The Missionaries resume NWC play at 7 p.m. Friday when they host Willamette in Sherwood Center. Whitman and Willamette are currently tied for fourth place in the conference with 5-5 records.
Whitman entertains second-place Linfield at 2 p.m. Saturday.
In a battle to stay in the top half of the Northwest Conference, the Whitman College women's volleyball team defeated Willamette University in four games Friday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 15-6, 15-8, 10-15 and 15-12.
The victory leaves the Missionaries (15-7, 6-5) in sole possession of fourth place in the Northwest Conference. The the Bearcats (8-11, 5-6) dropped into a tie for fifth place with Pacific Lutheran.
Whitman never trailed in winning the first two games. The Missionaries controlled the tempo behind the attack tandem of freshman Jill Huber and senior Jeni Brown. From her outside hitter position, Brown combined a team-high 24 digs with 12 kills.
Whitman coach Dean Snider was pleased with Brown's performance as an attacker. "Jeni got to see some extra time tonight and she really got on a roll, both offensively and defensively," Snider said.
Huber, a middle blocker and last week's NWC Player of the Week, led the Missionaries with 16 kills, hitting .237. "Both Jill and Claire Novotny turned in real solid efforts tonight," Snider said.
Novotny, a junior setter, accumulated 40 assists in distributing the ball to her teammates. Five Missionaries had five or more kills.
The Bearcats grabbed some momentum in the third game, taking early leads of 5-0 and 8-1 before the Missionaries closed to 10-9. Willamette then pulled away, however, to win 15-10.
Kelly Sorenson led Willamette with 18 kills and 27 digs. As a team, the Bearcats had 86 digs, 11 more than the Missionaries.
"Willamette is very strong defensively," Snider said. "On our attack, we assume a 2-for-1 concept, in that we need to have two good attacks for every kill we actually get because they're so tough on defense."
The fourth and final game was back-and-forth struggle from the start. The score was tied 9-9 and again at 12-12 before Kelly Williams sealed the victory for the Missionaries, serving the final three points. The Williams finished with nine kills, 15 digs and three blocks. The final game featured seven tie scores and five lead changes.
"That was a match we needed to win if we want to finish strong," Snider said. "So it was nice to come out and play so well as a team. Willamette plays tough and made us earn it tonight."
The Missionaries host second-place Linfield in a 2 p.m. match Saturday in Sherwood Center. The Wildcats (9-2 NWC) were upset by Whitworth College Friday night in Spokane. Willamette plays at Whitworth Saturday.
Riding a hot streak, the Whitman College women's volleyball team won its fifth match in a row Saturday afternoon with a three-game blanking of Linfield College at Sherwood Center. The scores were 15-12, 15-13 and 15-11.
With the victory, the Missionaries (16-7, 7-5) retain fourth place in the Northwest Conference, while the Wildcats (12-7, 9-3) slipped into a two-way tie for second place with Whitworth.
Both teams started strong in the first game, battling back and forth to a 9-9 tie before Whitman pulled away.
Linfield bolted ahead in the second game, rattling off the first six points. The Wildcats led 8-1 and 10-4, but the Missionaries mounted a comeback with a string of seven unanswered points to lead 11-10. The two teams traded serves before Whitman rallied for another three points, eventually winning 15-13.
Whitman appeared to have the match in the bag after scoring the first five points of game three, but Linfield rallied to tie the game at nine all. The Missionaries again finished strong, winning 15-11.
Jeni Brown continued her sweet-swinging weekend from the outside hitter position, tying for match-high honors in kills with 15 and leading Missionaries with 19 digs. "Jeni got a chance last night to play the attack for us, and today she continued to perform well," Whitman coach Dean Snider said.
Brown, who usually plays only on the back line, responded well to the change. She finished the weekend with 27 kills and 43 digs in seven games.
Jill Huber also finished with 15 kills for the Missionaries. The freshman middle blocker had four blocks in a dominating performance against a very strong Linfield middle. "We focused on blocking the middle, and the results obviously show that Whitman's middle outplayed Linfield today," Snider said.
Huber combined with Whitman junior Kristin Carter to shut down Linfield's tandem of Anna Gradek and Andrea Beck. Gradek and Beck combined for 21 kills but also had 13 errors. Carter had five kills and a match-high five blocks.
Claire Novotny anchored the Missionary offense with a solid game from her setting position. She tallied 47 assists on the afternoon. Novotny also managed six service aces, 14 digs and two blocks.
Val Hamm played in only two of the three games for the Missionary squad but ended with 12 kills, four blocks and six digs.
Liz Nelson played well in defense for the second straight night. Nelson had ten digs on Saturday and totaled 21 for the weekend.
"We executed our game plan extremely well today," Snider said about Whitman's play against Linfield, the West Region's No. 7-rannked NCAA DIII team. "Linfield is a quality team, but we match up well against them, and today we just outplayed them."
Snider was particularly impressed with his youth. "We started three freshman today, and each one of them showed composure," Snider said. "We have a lot of confidence in Liz Nelson on defense." Nelson, along with Elly Smith and Denise Kirstein each played significant roles in the weekend's success.
The Missionaries travel to Tacoma next weekend to resume NWC action against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound. UPS is currently undefeated in conference at 12-0.
Playing perhaps its best match of the season, the Pacific Lutheran women's volleyball team rolled over Whitman in three games Friday night in Tacoma. The scores were 15-11, 15-5, 15-2.
Friday's outcome, which snapped Whitman's five-match winning streak, left the Lutes and Missionaries tied for fourth-place in the Northwest Conference with 7-6 records. Whitman, now 16-8 on the season, plays at undefeated Puget Sound on Saturday, while Pacific Lutheran hosts second-place Whitworth.
"This was a tough match for us," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We didn't play very to start the match, and then it just continued on from there. Our passing game was poor, and on the other side, PLU was passing and playing right at the top of its game. They passed well and ran a great attack. They beat us in that part of the game, they beat us a little bit in blocking, and they beat us in the serving game. They just outplayed us."
The Lutes jumped in front 13-4 to start the first game. Whitman battled back to within 13-9 before PLU closed out the game.
Game two was deadlocked at 4-4 before a four-point surge put the Lutes in front for good. PLU then grabbed a 5-2 lead in the third game before scoring 10 unanswered points to wrap up the game and the match.
"We have been playing very well recently, and we thought we had a good chance at this one," Snider said. "It didn't turn out that way."
Jill Huber and Kelly Williams led Whitman with seven kills each. Huber added six digs and three blocks. Jeni Brown paced the defense with 12 digs, while Claire Novotny had 26 assists. Kristin Carter had four blocks for the Missionaries.
Dreams of upsetting undefeated and nationally ranked Puget Sound failed to materialize for the Whitman College women's volleyball team Saturday afternoon in Tacoma. The Loggers clinched the Northwest Conference title with a three-game triumph over the Missionaries, winning 15-7, 15-7 and 15-9.
The loss drops Whitman to 16-9 overall, 7-7 in the NWC, while the Loggers improved to 21-0 on the season and 14-0 in conference.
Whitman led 6-3 in the first game, but the Missionaries struggled to find a consistent attack for much of the afternoon. For the match, Whitman managed just 33 kills to Puget Sound's 58. Jill Huber led Whitman with nine kills and two service aces.
Whitman's outside hitters, Kelly Williams and Val Hamm, each had seven kills. Hamm led the team in digs with 11, while Williams contributed 10 and Jeni Brown nine.
The Missionaries hit only .109 for the day. The Loggers attacked at a .347 clip to dominate the floor.
Missionary setter Claire Novotny ended the match with 32 assists and two service aces.
Whitman coach Dean Snider was pleased with his team's effort. "We had a tough match last night when our players had a hard time getting off the bus and playing," Snider said. "But I thought we did a much better job today and I'm real pleased with the effort."
"UPS is a very good team; tops in the West Region and probably better than their ranking nationally," Snider said. "They are definitely a final four team, and maybe they even have a shot at the title."
"We battled well in this match and kept it interesting at times," he said. "There were several times when we wrestled back and forth scoreless. We just didn't score any points."
The Missionaries conclude the regular season this week with two matches, one on the road Wednesday at Whitworth in Spokane, and one at home Saturday with George Fox.
In its next to last match of the season, the Whitman women's volleyball team fell in three games to Whitworth Wednesday night on Spokane. The scores were 15-0, 15-10, 15-10.
The loss leaves the Missionaries standing at 16-10 overall and 7-8 in the Northwest Conference. The third-place Pirates are now 16-8 overall and 11-4 in the NWC.
Skunked in the first game, Whitman battled back with 10 points each of the the second and third games.
Hitting at a .409 clip for the match with 10 kills, freshman middle blocker Jill Huber continued to solidify a strong rookie season for the Missionaries. Huber leads Whitman on the season with a .244 hitting percentage, which is the third-best mark in the conference.
Claire Novotny had 24 of the 27 Whitman assists and tallied six digs. Ely Smith led the team with eight digs.
Whitman closes out its fall season at home Friday night against the George Fox University Bruins. The match begins at 7 p.m. in Sherwood Center. Friday will complete the careers of Missionary seniors Jeni Brown, Val Hamm and Kelly Williams.
Kelly Williams made her last collegiate volleyball match a memorable one, leading Whitman to a three-game sweep over George Fox Friday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 15-6, 15-8 and 16-14.
The victory boosted Whitman's final won-loss record to 8-8 in the Northwest Conference and 17-10 overall. George Fox, now 5-10 in the NWC and 7-14 overall, ends its season Saturday at Whitworth College in Spokane.
Williams, one of three senior captains, finished the night with a match-high 15 kills. Hitting for a .300 average, Williams attacked with precision and registered 11 digs to complete an all-around performance.
Whitman's other two captains, Val Hamm and Jeni Brown, also had strong final matches. Hamm finished with six kills and seven digs, while Brown had four kills, eight digs and a service ace as she split time between outside hitter and defensive specialist.
"Kelly normally leads us in kills, so that's nothing new, but she played very well on defense as well," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "It was great to see all three of the seniors finish in dramatic fashion tonight."
The Missionaries cruised to victory in Friday's first game, thanks in a big way to freshman middle blocker Jill Huber. Huber served 11 consecutive points as Whitman dominated the game from start to finish.
Huber ended the night with nine of the ten Missionary service aces, along with five kills, five blocks -- three of them solo. She also saw extended time in the back row and collected a match-high 14 digs.
"What can I say," Snider asked. "Tonight was a serving exhibition for Jill Huber. She continues to get better and better and has really turned into a court leader for us. She will only get better next year."
Claire Novotny registered all 29 of the Missionary assists. Ely Smith, another of Whitman's first-year players, had 13 digs.
While this season marks Whitman's fourth consecutive winning campaign, it is the first time one of Snider's teams have won more than 15 games. "It's been a great season for all of us," he said. "Hopefully we can come out strong again next year and pick up where we left off -- maybe accomplish another first, just like our total victories this year."