The Whitman College women’s volleyball team opened its season with a victory Wednesday night, rolling over Eastern Oregon University in straight sets in Sherwood Center. Winning 30-23, 30-24 and 30-27, the Missionaries dropped the Mountaineers to 0-4 on the season.
With a roster featuring a dozen first- and second-year players, Whitman showed no sign of growing pains. Coach Dean Snider was impressed with the effort, saying “It looked like we had been playing together a lot more than just a week.”
First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean, making a smooth transition from the middle blocker position she played at Everett’s Cascade High School, provided the offensive thunder for Whitman. The 6-foot Compean finished with a match-high 18 kills and an impressive .429 hitting percentage.
Compean also had 16 digs, second only to senior Lyndsay Buckingham’s 19. Sophomore Natalie Kramer also had a big night with 12 kills.
Sophomore setter Kate Borsato, who handed out 40 assists, was the catalyst for a Whitman squad that hit .282 as a team. “That’s a great hitting percentage,” Snider said. “It couldn’t have happened without Kate [Borsato] setting a great game.”
Lydia Hayes, another of Whitman’s first-year players, contributed nine kills, while sophomore Emily Seider had six kills and a .417 hitting percentage.
Senior Kaki McLean led the Mountaineer attack with 14 kills. Other team leaders for Eastern Oregon were Jenna Elliott with 13 assists Emily Lee with nine digs.
Whitman travels to Salem, Ore., later this week for the Willamette Invitational. The Missionaries play two matches on Friday and two more on Saturday.
The Whitman College volleyball team dropped a five-game marathon to Puget Sound, one of its Northwest Conference rivals, as the Willamette Invitational got underway Friday morning in Salem, Ore. The Missionaries fell 27-30, 30-18, 30-28, 28-30, 15-11, dropping their season record to 1-1. The match does not count in the NWC standings.
Playing its first match of the season, Puget Sound lost the first game to the young Missionaries but then stormed back to capture three of the next four games. "We looked a little inexperienced," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "If we just cut down on the errors we should be fine."
First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean slammed 15 kills for the Missionaries. Sophomores Natalie Kramer and Emily Seider added 10 and seven kills, respectively.
Whitman's defense had its moments, posting 13 blocks in all, five of them by Seider. Senior co-captain Lindsay Buckingham also had a strong defensive game, totaling a team-high 24 digs. Kramer had 13 digs.
Snider remains optimistic that his young squad, which includes a dozen first- and second-year players, will continue to improve through the early part of its schedule. "We'll take our knocks early and be ready to battle when conference play begins."
Nationally ranked California State-Hayward handed the Whitman volleyball team a three-game loss as both teams played their second matches in Friday's opening day of the Willamette Invitational in Salem, Ore. The Pioneers, ranked No. 11 in NCAA Div. III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, rolled to a 30-26, 30-24, 30-19 victory over Whitman.
Cal State-Hayward improved to 3-0 on season while Whitman slipped to 1-2.
The Missionaries struggled with their offense. First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean accounted for six kills, leading the team in that category for the third time in three games. Two more rookies, Lydia Hayes and Kaelyn Merkel, each contributed three kills.
"Cal State-Hayward has a ton of experience," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "They have a real shot at making it to the final four."
The Pioneers have appeared in six consecutive post-season tournaments, putting together back-to-back 30-win seasons.
The tournament continues Saturday with Whitman playing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the morning and host Willamette in the afternoon.
The Whitman volleyball team began day two of the Willamette Invitational with a four-game loss to Clairemont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) 30-19, 30-15, 15-30, 30-27. The loss dropped the Missionary season record to 1-3.
“We came out flat,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said of his team's Saturday morning effort. “CMS is a good team, and very athletic, but we came out flat.”
After losing the first two games, Whitman rallied to take the third game handily. CMS then outlasted the Missionaries in a grueling fourth game.
Whitman setter Kate Borsato evenly distributed 29 assists to her teammates. Sophomore Natalie Kramer and first-year outside hitters Lydia Hayes and Leslie Compean shared the team lead with six kills apiece.
Whitman also got solid defensive efforts from senior Lyndsay Buckingham, who posted a match-high 14 digs, and sophomore Emily Seider, who contributed four blocks along with five kills.
“We are a young team,” Snider said, “and the biggest thing right now is that we need to learn how to compete 100 percent of the time.”
Whitman’s young volleyball team was no match for Willamette Saturday afternoon, falling in three games as the Willamette Invitational neared its conclusion in Salem, Ore. Losing 30-25, 30-14, 30-13, the Missionaries dropped to 1-4 on the season, while the Bearcats improved to 3-0 heading into their final tournament match against Cal State-Hayward.
Willamette, picked to finish second in the Northwest Conference, had a difficult time putting away the feisty Missionaries in the first game. After Willamette closed out game one, however, Whitman made unforced errors that caused the second and third games to slip away quickly.
“We couldn’t buy a kill against them after the first game,” Snider said. “It was a tough tournament to swallow.”
Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Kramer led the offense with six kills. Leslie Compean, a first-year outside hitter, added five kills and nine digs. Annie Kuvinka did a good job subbing for starting setter Kate Borsato, posting 19 assists and 15 digs. Lyndsay Buckingham led the team with 23 digs.
Whitman’s volleyball team opened the University of California-Santa Cruz Slugfest Invitational in tough fashion Friday morning, falling in three straight games to Southwestern University (Georgetown, Tex.) by scores of 30-16, 30-22, 33-31. The Pirates, ranked No. 22 nationally in NCAA Div. III, pushed their record to 5-0, while t he Missionaries slipped to 1-5 on the season.
“They played the game at a faster pace than we did,” said Whitman coach Dean Snider. “We needed to play at a faster pace, and by the third game, we did. They have a very athletic team with a lot of junior and senior leaders, and by that last game we were battling their starters head to head. I think we gained a lot form the experience.”
With Kate Borsato, Whitman’s sophomore setter, sidelined by a leg injury, replacement Annie Kuvinka filled in admirably. Kuvinka, also a sophomore, distributed 26 assists and added two blocks and nine digs.
Whitman generated a very balanced offensive attack, getting six kills each from senior Laura Williams, sophomore Emily Seider, and first-years Leslie Compean and Kaelyn Merkel. Lydia Hayes, another of Whitman’s first-year players, also had a good offensive game with five kills.
After dropping the first game, the Whitman women’s volleyball team bounced back nicely to beat the host team in four games Friday evening at the University of California-Santa Cruz Slugfest Invitational. Winning 22-30, 30-28, 30-28, 30-25, the Missionaries improved to 2-5 on the year, dropping the Banana Slugs drop to 2-7.
“It was a very good win for us, we had to earn our points,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. “They were a pretty solid team; they definitely didn’t give much away.”
Offensively, sophomore Natalie Kramer erupted for 15 kills to spark Whitman. First-year outside hitters Leslie Compean and Lydia Hayes added 12 and eight kills, respectively.
Sophomore Annie Kuvinka again piloted the Missionaries, handing out 36 assists. Whitman also posted its most impressive defensive statistic of the young season, amassing 16 blocks as a team.
“Coming from behind after dropping the first game showed a lot of character,” Snider said. “I’m proud of them.”
The Whitman women's volleyball team ran into another tough opponent at the University of California-Santa Cruz Slugfest Invitational on Saturday, falling to the University of Concordia-Moorhead in three games, 26-30, 17-30, 27-30. The Missionaries now hold a season record of 2-6. The Cobbers were a perfect 3- 0 in the tournament, raising their record to 4-1 overall.
"We battled them tough," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We had a good shot at taking games one and three, but we made a few too many errors."
Whitman was led offensively by first-year outside hitter Leslie Compean, who posted nine kills and nine digs. Sophomore Natalie Kramer had eight kills and digs, while first-year Lydia Hayes had seven kills of her own. Senior Lyndsey Buckingham had 16 digs.
Concordia-Moorhead, picked in a preseason poll to win the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, return four key players from a team that went 26-8 last year. It was Concordia's Newcomer of the Year last year, Rebecca Shane, who gave the Missionaries the most trouble Saturday, slamming down 16 kills to go with her three blocks.
"We used our tough preseason schedule to get us ready for the upcoming Northwest Conference season," Snider said. "I think we're ready for conference next week."
The Whitman volleyball team fell to defending champion Linfield in four games as the Northwest Conference season got underway for both schools Friday night in McMinnville, Ore. The scores were 27-30, 30-28, 30-28, 30-19.
Whitman slipped to 2-7 on the season while Linfield raised it overall mark to 3-4.
With the two teams fielding rosters dotted by 16 freshmen and nine sophomores, Whitman established itself first by winning the opening game. “We took control early and really neutralized their weapons well,” coach Dean Snider said.
Linfield bounced back to win the next two games by the minimum two-point margin. “In games two and three we were inconsistent,” Snider said. “We really needed to start generating more offense.”
Sophomore Emily Seider, who hit a whopping .692, finished with 20 kills and was one of four Missionaries with double-digit numbers in that statistical category. Sophomore Natalie Kramer has 11 kills, as did first-year Leslie Compean. Lydia Hayes, another of Whitman's first-year players, added 10 kills.
Sophomore Kate Borsato handed out 46 assists, while senior Lindsay Buckingham chipped in with 20 digs.
Whitman travels to Forest Grove, Ore., on Saturday to play Pacific.
The Whitman volleyball team outlasted Pacific in a grueling five-game battle Saturday night in Forest Grove, Ore. The scores were 19-30, 30-21, 30-21, 22-30, 15-13.
The win pushed the Missionary record to 3-7 overall, 1-1 in the Northwest Conference. The Boxers are 1-9 on the season, 0-2 in conference.
After dropping the first game, the young Missionaries battled back to establish control of the match and eventually pull out the win in five games. Whitman was led by the all-around performances of Natalie Kramer and Leslie Compean. Kramer finished with 16 kills and 17 digs, while Compean compiled 15 kills, including the final two of the match, and 22 digs.
The Missionaries also got a fantastic performance from senior defensive specialist Lyndsey Buckingham, who dug up 31 balls. And coach Dean Snider called first-year Lydia Hayes "the difference-maker," after Hayes saved a flurry of her 11 kills for the decisive fifth game.
Sophomore Kate Borsato distributed 54 assists in the five games.
"This is a big road win for us," Snider said. "We're happy with our road split, and now we'll come home to defend our home court next weekend."
The Missionaries host Lewis & Clark at 7 p.m next Wednesday in Sherwood Center.
With first-year players Leslie Compean and Lydia Hayes combining for 38 kills and hitting .333, the Whitman women’s volleyball team subdued Lewis & Clark in four games Friday night in Sherwood Center.
Winning by scores of 30-22, 26-30, 30-28 and 30-16, Whitman improved its record to 2-1 in Northwest Conference action and 4-7 overall. Lewis & Clark saw its record drop to 1-2 and 2-7.
"This was a good win for us,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. “We hit .322 as a team and played well in all aspects of the game.”
"Lewis & Clark is very much improved over last season,” Snider added. “They are going to win a lot of games in our conference.”
Compean, one of several first-year players on Whitman’s roster, combined 22 kills with eight digs and two blocks. “That was her best kill total of the season,” Snider said. “She was a dynamic force for us tonight.”
Hayes also had a strong night, slamming 16 kills. She also had 11 digs and four service aces. “It wasn’t just the aces,” Snider said. “We scored a lot of points when Lydia was serving.”
Whitman sophomore Annie Kuvinka, filling in for injured Kate Borsato at setter, triggered the offense with 58 assists. “Our high team hitting percentage was all about the good job Annie was doing at setting the ball,” Snider said. Kuvinka also had seven kills, hitting .429, along with nine digs, three service aces and three blocks.
Sophomore Erin Pounds was also highly effective at the net for Whitman, hitting .412 while contributing eight kills. She also had nine digs. “Erin was a critical factor in tonight’s match,” Snider said. “She hit a very high percentage, which helps keep the blocks honest.”
Senior Lyndsay Buckingham keyed Whitman’s defense with a match-high 16 digs.
Whitman hosts Willamette Saturday evening, while Lewis & Clark travels to Spokane to play Whitworth.
Visiting Willamette rallied from a 2-1 deficit to claim a hard-fought five-game victory over Whitman in Northwest Conference women’s volleyball action Saturday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 28-30, 31-29, 30-32, 30-25, 15-9.
The Missionaries dropped to 2-2 in NWC play and to 4-8 overall. The Bearcats improved to 3-1 in conference, 9-3 on the season.
“The difference in the game tonight was that we couldn’t stop the attack of Angie Sammons and Kristen Halleck,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. Sammons led Willamette with 27 kills while hitting a robust .426. Her attacking side-kick Halleck added 23 kills along with 20 digs.
The Missionaries had three players with double-digit kills. First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean led with 16 kills, while Lydia Hayes and Natalie Kramer added 15 apiece.
Senior defensive specialist Lyndsey Buckingham dug a match-high 32 balls to lead the Missionaries defensively. Compean posted 18 digs while sophomore Erin Pounds added 15 more. As a team, Whitman finished with 103 digs, four more than Willamette.
Celia Batlan paced Willamette in digs with 22. Jessica Drumm collected 49 assists for the Beartcats.
Whitman divided its setting chores between sophomores Annie Kuvinka, who had 37 assists, and Kate Borsato, who had 23.
“Willamette is one of the top teams in the conference,” Snider said. “We proved tonight that we can play with anyone. They just had more experience, and were able to stay more composed in the fifth set.”
The Whitman women’s volleyball team lost in three close games to Pacific Lutheran Friday night in Tacoma, Wash. Losing 32-30, 35-33 and 30-26, the Missionaries slipped to 2-3 in Northwest Conference play and to 4-9 overall. The Lutes, tied for first place, are and 4-1 in conference and 5-6 overall.
Whitman had their chances in the first game. The Missionaries scored six straight points to grab a 28-27 lead, but the Lutes took five of the next seven points to take the opening game.
Whitman battled from behind in each of the next two games, only to fall short in the end.
The Missionaries had a balanced attack, led by first-year outside hitter Leslie Compean’s 11 kills. Sophomore Natalie Kramer contributed 10 kills and 10 digs, while first-year Lydia Hayes had eight kills.
Sophomore setter Kate Borsato set the distribution pace with 20 assists. Senior Lyndsey Buckingham led the Missionary defense with 16 digs.
Whitman plays Puget Sound Saturday night in Tacoma, with the Missionaries hoping to avenge a tough five-game loss to the Loggers in the Willamette Invitational earlier in the season.
The Whitman women’s volleyball team fell in four games at Puget Sound Saturday night in Tacoma, Wash., losing 30-24, 30-21, 25-30, 30-27. The Missionaries are now 2-4 in Northwest Conference play and 4-10 overall. The Loggers share the same conference record as Whitman and are 3-11 on the season.
“We came out flat in the first two games,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. “When you fall behind early like that, it’s tough to come back.”
After digging themselves an early hole, the Missionaries stormed back to take game three behind big late-game kills from first-year player Leslie Compean and sophomore Natalie Kramer.
The young Missionaries held early leads in game four, but Puget Sound rallied to pull even at 15-15. Compean’s kill gave Whitman a 27-26 lead before the Loggers reeled off four straight points to win the game and match.
The Missionaries were led offensively by Compean’s 14 kills. Sophomore Erin Pounds and Kramer each added eight kills. Sophomore setter Kate Borsato handed out 30 assists, while defensive specialist Lyndsay Buckingham led all players with 31 digs.
Whitman travels to Spokane, Wash., this Wednesday, Oct. 6, to face Whitworth in a 6 p.m. match. The Missionaries then host George Fox at 7 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 8.
The Whitman women's volleyball team fell in straight sets 30-19, 30-24, 30-25 to a tough Whitworth team Wednesday night in Spokane, Wash. With the loss, the Missionaries slipped to 2-5 in Northwest Conference play and to 4-11 overall, while the Pirates improved to 5-2 in conference and 12-3 on the season.
Whitman started the match well, claiming a 15-13 lead midway through game one. The Pirates rebounded to win nine of the next 10 points, and the young Missionaries were unable to recapture their early momentum.
"They played a great game" Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "They really forced the issue on us, and shut us down at the net."
Whitworth recorded 11 blocks, limiting the Missionaries to just 38 total kills.
Leading the Missionary attack was first-year outside hitter Lydia Hayes, who recorded 13 kills, 12 digs and praise from her coach. "We got a great outing from Hayes" Snider said.
Emily Seider also had six kills for the Missionaries. Kate Borsato led Whitman with 29 assists, and Natalie Kramer and Lindsay Buckingham shared the team-high honors in digs with 13 each.
Whitman returns home this Friday to play George Fox in a 7 p.m. match in Sherwood Center.
Led by junior outside hitter Linzi Stolsig's 20 kills and 24 digs, George Fox rolled to a 3-1 Northwest Conference victory over Whitman Friday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 30-24, 26-30, 30-22, 30-21.
The Bruins improved to 4-3 in NWC play and 8-7 overall. Whitman dropped to 2-6 in conference and 4-12 on the season.
"It was a tough match for us," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We got off to a really slow start, but then we battled back in the second game."
Whitman errors made the difference in the two deciding games, Snider said. "We made a whole bunch of errors that helped squeak game three away from us, and game four as well."
First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean paced Whitman's offense with 18 kills. Sophomore Emily Seider added 13 kills, and senior Laura Williams had 11 kills while hitting .409.
"We had some really good play from our middles," Snider said. "Emily Seider was solid in the middle, and Laura Williams had one of her best attacking games ever. Leslie Compean also hit well from the outside."
Kate Borsato, Whitman's sophomore setter, made the offense go with 55 assists. She also had 13 digs.
Other kill leaders for George Fox were Shayla Armstrong with 13 and Traci Flitcraft with 12. Gina Coolen handed out 49 assists for the Bruins, and Haley Stapleton matched Stolsig with 24 digs.
Whitman senior Lyndsay Buckingham, who leads the NWC in digs, enjoyed a new-career high Friday night with 33 digs. "We played a really solid defensive game, and Lyndsay is doing a great job leading our backcourt," Snider said. "Thirty-three digs in four games is a signficant effort by Lyndsay."
"It's tough to lose on our home court, particularly against a team we think we have a chance to beat," Snider said. "We need to find way to reduce our errors a little bit. We've been close in a lot of games. With our young group, we expect to have a better second half. We're on the edge of playing some really good ball."
George Fox travels to Spokane to play Whitworth on Saturday. Whitman's next matches are Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15-16, when it hosts Linfield and Pacific.
The Whitman women’s volleyball team upset defending Northwest Conference champion Linfield in four games Friday night in Sherwood Center, winning 30-27, 30-28, 33-35, 30-13. The Missionaries improve to 3-6 in conference, 5-12 overall. The Wildcats fall to 5-4 in conference, 7-8 overall.
After capturing the first game, the Missionaries raced to a 27-15 lead in game two. The Wildcats clawed back to within one point at 28-27 before Whitman closed out the game for commanding 2-0 lead.
Game three was neck and neck the whole way. Both teams fought off game points at the end, but Linfield kept the match alive by winning 35-33. The Wildcats seemed to run out of fuel in game four, however, as the Missionaries jumped to a 20-6 lead and were never threatened.
“We were hoping we could draw on our experience from the first round of conference matches and use it to win in the second round instead of waiting until next year,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. “It’s nice to have a game where multiple players were hitting on all cylinders and not just one or two.”
Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Kramer sparked Whitman with 20 kills, 16 digs and five service aces. First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean combined 18 kills, hitting .317, with 17 digs.
Whitman sophomore middle blocker Emily Seider added 16 kills, hitting .467, and five blocks. Lydia Hayes, a first-year outside hitter, chipped in with 14 kills and three aces. Senior Lyndsay Buckingham, who leads the NWC in digs, added 22 to her total.
Sophomore setter Kate Borsato distributed a whopping 69 assists for the Missionaries. That’s the highest single-match assist total in the NWC this fall. “Kate really ran the offense very well for us tonight,” Snider said. “She was great.”
Linfield also had four players post double-digit numbers in kills. Lyndsay Harksen led with 15 kills and added 29 assists.
Whitman hosts Pacific at 7 p.m. Saturday. Linfield travels to Spokane to play Whitworth.
The Whitman women’s volleyball team won its second straight match Saturday night, defeating Pacific in five games 25-30, 30-26, 29-31, 30-24, 15-8. Whitman finished its weekend with records of 4-6 in the Northwest Conference and 6-13 on the season. Pacific slid to 1-9 in conference, 2-16 overall.
“I was really pleased to see out girls respond well to the game one and game three losses,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. “We talked about how we wanted to sweep this weekend at home, and we got the job done.”
Four Missionary attackers posting double-digit kills for the second time in as many nights. Sophomore Natalie Kramer led with 15 kills, followed by two first-year players, Leslie Compean and Lydia Hayes, with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Sophomore Emily Seider added 10.
“We needed some production from the middle,” Snider said. “We were glad to see Emily step up and hit such a high percentage.” Seider hit .421, one night after hitting .467 against Linfield.
Kate Borsato, Whitman’s sophomore setter, distributed 50 assists, pushing her two-match weekend total to 119. Borsato's setting enabled Whitman to post a team hitting percentage above .200 for second consecutive match.
Senior Lyndsay Buckingham led the Missionary defense with 32 digs. Compean had 16 digs and Kramer 14. Seider accounted for seven of Whitman’s 17 blocks.
The Whitman women's volleyball team swept the season series from Lewis & Clark Friday night, beating the Pioneers in five games in Portland, 30-32, 30-26, 30-29, 30-12, 15-10. Earlier this season, in the first meeting between the two schools, Whitman won in four games in a match played in Walla Walla.
Now riding a three-match win streak, the Missionaries are 5-6 in Northwest Conference play, 7-12 on the season. The Pioneers are 3-14 overall, 2-9 in the NWC.
After falling behind two games to one Friday night, Whitman stormed back behind first-year outside hitter Lydia Hayes. With Hayes serving, the Missionaries converted 12 consecutive points in the fourth game, five of those points coming on aces. Hayes had 13 of the 14 Missionary service aces on the night, setting a new NWC high this season for aces in a single match.
"What a job by Lydia Hayes tonight," coach Dean Snider beamed following the match. "She was really dynamic and dominating. Lewis & Clark wasn't playing bad defense. Lydia really forced the issue."
In addition to her baker's dozen of aces, Hayes also contributed 10 kills, three digs and three blocks.
First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean led the Missionary attack with a match-high18 kills. Sophomores Emily Seider and Natalie Kramer added 13 and 11 kills, respectively.
Kate Borstao, Whitman's sophomore setter, had 52 assists, marking the third consecutive match in which she hit the 50-assist plateau. Borsato's setting helped the Missionaries hit .265 as a team. She also converted five of her own eight kill attempts for a .625 hitting percentage,
Lyndsay Buckingham led Whitman defensively with 20 digs. Compean had 11 and Kramer 10.
"I'm really pleased with our performance," Snider said. "We made the big plays when we needed to, as we've been doing over the last few matches."
Whitman looks to push its win streak to four Saturday night when it faces Willamette in Salem, Ore. The Missionaries hope to avenge a tough five-game loss they suffered in the first meeting of the two teams earlier this season in Walla Walla.
The Whitman women's volleyball team had its three-match win streak snapped Saturday night, losing in three games to Willamette in Salem, Ore. The scores were 30-28, 30-19, 30-15.
The loss leaves the Missionaries at 5-7 in the Northwest Conference and 6-13 on the season. The second-place Bearcats are to 10-2 in the NWC and 16-5 overall.
On the heels of a five-game victory Friday night, Whitman gave Willamette a tough battle in Saturday's first game but then seemed to run out of steam.
Sophomore Natalie Kramer led the Missionaries with 10 kills and 13 digs. First-year Lydia Hayes had another solid game with eight kills.
Senior Lyndsay Buckingham picked up 23 digs, boosting her NWC-leading average to 5.63 digs per game. Sophomore setter Kate Borsato finished the night with 24 assists.
The story of the match, however, was Willamette's one-two punch of Angela Sammons and Kristen Halleck. Sammons and Halleck finished the night with 20 and 18 kills, respectively.
"We had a real tough time stopping their top two tonight," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We seemed to lack energy tonight. For some reason we couldn't compete with this top-level team."
Sammons and Halleck burned Whitman with a combined 50 kills in the first meeting of the two schools earlier this season in Walla Walla. Willamette won that match in five games.
"We'll take the split on the road and look forward to our home match Friday," Snider said. Whitman hosts Pacific Lutheran, the NWC leader, next Friday in Sherwood Center. Home matches follows on Sunday against Puget Sound and the following Wednesday against Whitworth.
Running its Northwest Conference winning streak to 11 matches, Pacific Lutheran rolled to a 3-0 victory over the Whitman women’s volleyball team Friday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 30-21, 30-26, 30-20.
The first-place Lutes take records of 12-1 in the NWC and 13-6 overall into a Saturday night match at Whitworth. Whitman, which hosts Puget Sound Saturday night, is 5-8 in conference and 7-14 on the season.
With game one tied at 7-7, the serving of Stephanie Turner launched Pacific Lutheran on a mini-run that gave the Lutes the lead for good. The Missionaries responded in game two, scoring five straight points on Natalie Kramer’s serve for a 20-15 lead. But the visitors quickly recovered, pulling even at 25 and then winning five of the next six points to claim game two.
With the momentum on its side, Pacific Lutheran rolled through the third game to close out the match.
Outstanding defense was one of the keys for the Lutes, who piled up 21 more digs (58-37) than the Missionaries despite attempting more attacks.
“PLU is number one for a reason,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. “We played well, yet it seemed like we could never get a kill. They just played great D.”
Leading Whitman’s attack was sophomore Natalie Kramer with 10 kills. Emily Seider and Lydia Hayes added nine and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore Kate Borsato handed out 31 kills.
Senior libero Lyndsay Buckingham led the Missionaries in digs with 13. First-year outside hitter Leslie Compean had nine digs.
Whitman’s Saturday night match with Puget Sound starts at 6 p.m. in Sherwood Center.
The Whitman women’s volleyball team rallied after a slow start but eventually fell in five games to Puget Sound Saturday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 30-25, 30-27, 21-30, 27-30, 15-5.
The Missionaries slipped to 5-9 in Northwest Conference play and to 7-15 overall. The Loggers are 5-9 in conference, 6-16 on the season.
Saturday’s deciding fifth epitomized the Missionary night -- a slow start followed by a late rally. After dropping the first two games, Whitman stormed back to capture games three and four. In game five Puget Sound jumped out to a commanding 7-0 lead en route to closing out the Missionaries.
“We came out sluggish,” Whitman coach Dean Snider said. “Even though we got things rolling in games three and four, we couldn’t recover form our slow start.”
For Whitman, Leslie Compean and Natalie Kramer provided both the offense and defense. Kramer, a sophomore, led the Missionaries in two categories with 21 kills and 18 digs, while the freshman Compean added 20 kills and 16 digs of her own.
Sophomore Setter Kate Borsato had 58 assists as well as nine digs, and senior Lindsay Buckingham had 17 digs. Senior Laura Williams, playing in her second to last home game, also made a nice contribution for Whitman with eight kills and three blocks.
Puget Sound’s Nikki Esposito came up with kill after kill, finishing the night with 27. Alena Bennett added 18 kills. Emily Sabelhaus contributed 64 assists, and Rachel Gross and Stephanie Ferris led the Loggers with 18 digs apiece.
“We look forward to closing out our season with a bang with wins in our last two matches,” Snider said.
Whitman plays its final home match at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Whitworth. The Missionaries then finish the season on Friday against George Fox in Newberg, Ore.
The Whitman women's volleyball team fell to Whitworth in three straight games -- 30-26, 33-31, 30-21 -- Wednesday night, wrapping up its home schedule for the season. The Missionaries are now 5-10 in the Northwest Conference, 7-16 overall. The Pirates, third in the NWC with an 11-4 record, are 18-5 on the season.
Game one saw both teams mount scoring streaks. After trailing 18-9, the Missionaries battled back to knot the game at 26. But a four-point Pirate run put an emphatic end to Whitman's comeback bid.
In game two, after the two teams traded points throughout, it was Whitman who found itself with two game points. The Pirates fought both off, however, benefiting from two Missionary service errors, and eventually took the game 33- 31.
Game three was decided by an early run. With the score tied at 10, the Pirates reeled off 10 of the next 13 points en route to closing out the match.
"This was a tough match to swallow," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We battled back only to fade at the end of game one, we gave them game two with our errors, then the slow start killed us in game three. We match up well with them athletically, but they out-did us competitively."
With 15 kills, first-year outside hitter Leslie Compean was one of three Missionaries in double-digits in 15 kills. Emily Seider and Lydia Hayes each added 10 kills. Kate Borsato sparked the offense with 39 assists.
Defensively, senior libero Lyndsay Buckingham paced Whitman with 16 digs in her final Sherwood Center match. Compean added 13 digs of her own.
Whitman plays its final match of the season this Friday against George Fox in Newberg, Ore. The match starts at 7 p.m.
With its comeback attempts falling short in all three games, the Whitman women's volleyball team ended its season with a 30-22, 30-26, 30-17 loss Friday night to George Fox in Newberg, Ore. The Misisonaries finish their season at 5- 11 in the Northwest Conference, 7-17 on the season. The Bruins improve to 8-7 in conference 13-11 overall.
Sophomore Natalie Kramer led the Missionaries in kills with 12, with first-year player Kaelyn Merkel adding six. Kate Borsato led Whitman in assists with 33.
Senior Lyndsay Buckingham finished her night with 22 digs, upping her NWC- leading digs per game average to 5.51. That sets a new Whitman school record for digs per game over a single season, breaking the mark (5.23 dpg) set by Mandy Rockwell in the fall of 1997.
Senior middle blocker Laura Williams also played her final match as a Missionary, collecting two blocks.
"Bucky and Laura really had great careers for us," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Bucky led us in digs again tonight, and will probably lead the conference this year. Laura, on the other hand, has been big at the net her whole career for us."
"We had a young team this year," Snider said. "Were looking to refine a few things and then come back strong next season. We gained a lot of invaluable experience this year."