Opening its season on a happy note, the Whitman women's volleyball team rallied for a 3-1 victory over George Fox as the Puget Sound Invitational got underway Friday morning in Tacoma, Wash.
After dropping game one 30-25, the Missionaries took the next three games by scores of 30-17, 30-27 and 30-9. "We were nervous to start the match, but once we got rid of the jitters we played progessively better as the match played out," Whitman coach Dean Snider said.
Middle blocker Rosa Brey, an All-NWC player last fall in her first college season, kicked off her sophomore campaign in fine fashion, collecting 14 kills to go with 10 digs, five blocks and two service aces. "Rosa wasn't playing at the top of her game, but she still had her dominant moments," Snider said.
Lydia Hayes, who also earned all-conference honors a year ago, had a strong game at outside hitter. The 5-foot-10 junior chipped in with 10 kills, 14 digs, three blocks and two aces.
The Missionaries also got a boost from right-side hitter Alex Graves, who added eight kills while hitting above .200 in her first college match. She also had a match-high 20 digs, four aces and three blocks. "We're very pleased with the way Alex played in her first match at his level," Snider said. "She was solid."
Kate Borsato, one of only two seniors on the Whitman roster, handed out 36 assists from the setter's spot. Sophomore Kristan Brown, Borsato's back-up at setter, slipped into the libero role and finished with 16 digs and three aces. Other contributors included junior Leslie Compean, who combined eight kills with 15 digs, and junior Kaelyn Merkel, who picked up 17 digs.
As a team, Whitman finished with 103 digs, 22 more than George Fox. The Missionaries also outpointed the Bruins in blocks (22-10) and in service aces (13-4).
Graves wasn't the only first-year player to have an impact for Whitman. Middle blockers Maryn Juergens with her serving and Allison Sordahl with her blocking in game four also made good contributions, Snider said. "We were able to get 11 of our 13 players into the match," he said.
Whitman plays its second match of the tournament at 3 p.m., squaring off against tournament host Puget Sound.
Living up to its billing as the preseason favorite for the Northwest Conference title, the University of Puget Sound held off Whitman 3-1 Friday afternoon in the Puget Sound Invitational in Tacoma, Wash. Playing on their home floor, the Loggers were victorious 30-25, 30-20, 28-30 and 30-25.
"I like the way our team battled and the court presence we showed on the floor," Whitman coach Dean Snider said."We worked very hard, but I don't think we were as sharp as we can be. We defended pretty well with 108 digs, but we really need to work on solidifying our passing game. For our attack to be as effective as it can be, we need to pass better."
Junior Lydia Hayes was a bright spot for Whitman, slamming a match-high 23 kills to go with 25 digs. "Lydia played a good match in the front row as well as the back row," Snider said.
Leslie Compean had 10 kills while hitting .235. "Leslie struggled early in the match but got stronger as it continued," Snider said. "She was quite effective toward the end, and Kate Borsato set a good match for us also."
Monica Groves with 20 kills powered Puget Sound's offense. Jamie Eggers and Joann Ricken added 11 kills apiece, while Eggers also rounded up 20 digs. "You have to give Puget Sound credit," Snider said. "They forced the issue a little bit, and they're a good team. But I think we can also play at a higher level."
In the pivotal first game, Whitman rallied to within 26-25 before Puget Sound closed out the scoring with four straight points. In game three, the Missionaries pulled out the win on the strength of a 10-2 scoring spurt late in the game. That spree gave Whitman a 28-27 lead and kills by sophomore Rosa Brey and Hayes finished off the Loggers.
Puget Sound rolled to a 20-12 lead in game four before Whitman mounted its final comeback bid. Brey's kill narrowed the deficit to 26-22, but the Missionaries drew no closer as the Loggers evened their tournament record to 1-1. Puget Sound lost in five games earlier in the day to SUNY-Brockport, while Whitman was winning its first match in four games over George Fox.
Other stat leaders for Whitman against Puget Sound included sophomore Kristan Brown, who had 26 digs as the libero, and first-year right-side hitter Alex Graves, who had 15 digs and seven kills.
Whitman plays two more matches Saturday, facing SUNY-Brockport at 9 a.m. and Pacific Lutheran at 1 p.m.
After dropping a 32-30 decision in game one, the Whitman women's volleyball team bounced back to claim a four-game victory over the State University of New York-Brockport in Saturday morning volleyball action at the Puget Sound Invitational in Tacoma, Wash.
Scores in games two through four, all in Whitman's favor, were 30-26, 30-28 and 30-14.
The match started at 9 a.m., but "our women played well right from the get-go," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "It's not always easy to get up for one of the early tournament matches. Kudos to our girls for bearing down and pulling out a victory."
With the win, Whitman improved its record in the season-opening tournament to 2-1. The Missionaries play their fourth and final match at 1 p.m. against Pacific Lutheran.
Rosa Brey, a sophomore middle blocker, had a big match for Whitman, hitting .364 with 16 kills. The 5-foot-10 sophomore added 10 digs and eight blocks.
Lydia Hayes, a junior outside hitter, had 17 kills with 20 digs, both of which were match-high numbers. The Missionaries also got good contributions from Kaelyn Merkel (nine kills, 10 digs) and Alex Graves (eight kills, 11 digs). Meg Clark had 16 kills for Whitman, which finished with an 80-64 advantage into total digs.
Sophomore setter Kristan Brown distributed 46 assists along with five blocks. "For a sophomore, Kristan did an outstanding job running the court," Snider said.
After the first three games were decided by a total of eight points, Whitman blew out Brockport in game four. The Missionaries combined to hit .552 in that final game. As a team, Whitman collected 24 blocks, twice as many as Brockport.
Brockport was 18-18 last season, which included a 7-1 mark and second-place finish in its conference. "Brockport is a solid, scrappy team," Snider said. "We had to play well to beat them."
With senior Kate Borsato handing out 49 assists and junior Kaelyn Merkel sparkling at outside hitter in place of an injured teammate, the Whitman women's volleyball team outplayed Pacific Lutheran 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Puget Sound Invitational in Tacoma, Wash.
The teams split the first two matches, with Whitman winning game one 30-27 before the Lutes worked overtime for a 33-31 victory in game two. The Missionaries took charge with a relatively easy 30-18 win in game three, but Pacific Lutheran battled long and hard before falling 34-32 in the deciding fourth game.
"We put Kate back in as setter after Kristan Brown led us to a victory earlier in the day," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Kate set a great match, helping us hit .275 as a team. That's our best hitting percentage so far, and we had four hitters finish with double-digits kills. We're very fortunate in that we get great court leadership from both of our setters."
Starting at outside hitter for injured Leslie Compean, Merkel hit .316 with 15 kills. She also had 25 digs. "Kaelyn did an outstanding job," Snider said.
Compean set out Saturday's matches, resting strained abdominal muscles. "She played yesterday and it was sore," Snider said. "She probably could have played today, but we don't want to make it worse."
Lydia Hayes paced Whitman's attack with 21 kills. Rosa Brey had 11 kills and Alex Graves 10. The Missionaries also capitalized on 13 service aces. Borsato had five and Hayes four.
With Merkel's 25 digs leading the way, Whitman finished with a total of 103 digs. Hayes and Graves added 20 digs each, while Brown had 18.
Whitman, which won three of its four matches in the two-day tournament, could finish in a tie for the tourney's best record. Two matches had yet to be played after Whitman downed Pacific Lutheran.
Mount St. Joseph, ranked No. 19 nationally in NCAA Div. III, worked its way past Whitman in three relatively close games -- 30-25, 32-30, 30-24 -- Friday afternoon as the Mount St. Joseph Volleyball Invitational got underway in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Lions, who upset No. 12-ranked Ohio Northern last weekend, improved to 4-1 on the season. Whitman slipped to 3-2. Both teams play a second tournament match later today. Whitman battles Thomas More College (Crestview Hills, Ky.) while Mount St. Joseph squares off with Capital University (Columbus, Ohio).
Rosa Brey, Whitman's sophomore middle blocker, turned in a strong performance, slamming a match-high 15 kills while hitting .333. She also had three of Whitman's five blocks.
Junior Leslie Compean and first-year right-side hitter Alex Graves added eight and seven kills, respectively. Graves also had 13 digs.
Junior Lydia Hayes, Whitman's kill leader thus far this season, sat out the match with a strained left quadriceps. "Mount St. Joseph is a tough team, but we played pretty well against them, especially without Lydia on the floor," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Lydia's leg can be sore at times, and she has trouble getting it to loosen up."
Sophomore Kristan Brown picked up a match-up 15 digs to pace the Missionary defense. Junior Kaelyn Merkel was next in line with 14. As a team, Whitman had 65 digs, eight more than the Lions. Senior setter Kate Borsato finished with 37 assists and seven digs.
Claire Alfers, a senior outside hitter, hit .333 for the Lions en route to 12 kills. As a team, Mount St. Joseph hit .280, well above Whitman's .085 mark. The Lions also got key contributions from from 6-foot-2 senior Becky Breetz (8 kills, .368) and AVCA All-American Katie Feldkamp (7 kills, .462), also a senior.
Mount St. Joseph has won eight of the last nine Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season titles. The Lions were 27-10 last season, advancing as far as the NCAA Div. III regional tournament.
Led by 6-foot-1 first-year middle blocker Leslie Hoelscher, last week's AVCA National Player of the Week, the Thomas More Saints rallied past the Whitman women's volleyball team in four games Friday evening at the Mount St. Joseph Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Whitman won the opening game 30-19, but then surrendered the next three by scores of 30-21, 30-27 and 30-27. The Missionaries fell to 3-3 on the season while the Saints upped their record to 4-3.
"We probably took this team for granted just a little bit," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Thomas More is a solid team with a very strong first-year middle blocker, but it's a match I think we let slip away. We could have played much better than we did, and I expect a lot more each time we step on the floor. We fell short of that in this match."
With the match even at one game apiece, Whitman jumped in front 17-11 in game three. Thomas More bounced back to win that game, however, and then forced the Missionaries to play from behind for much of the deciding fourth game.
Lydia Hayes, who missed Whitman's first match earlier in the day with a left leg injury, returned to the floor against Thomas More, combining 16 kills with nine digs, three service aces and three blocks. Rosa Brey added 11 kills, 12 digs and eight blocks for the Missionaries.
"It wasn't an outstanding defensive match for us," Snider said. "We only had 68 digs over the course of the four games, which is below our early season average."
Located in Crestview Hills, Ky., Thomas More competes in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The Saints were 8-4 in conference play last fall, placing third as part of a 19-16 season.
Whitman faces two tough opponents, Carnegie Mellon and No. 1-ranked Juniata, in Saturday's final day of the tournament.
Bouncing back from a disappointing loss to Thomas More on Friday, the Whitman women's volleyball team got back on track Saturday morning with a four-game victory over Carnegie-Mellon University at the Mount St. Joseph Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Missionaries won 30-27, 30-24, 25-30, 30-25, improving their season to 4-3. The Tartans, who dropped to 3-5 on the season, play in the University Athletic Association, one of the successful NCAA Div. III athletic conferences in the nation.
"This was a good win for us," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Carnegie-Mellon is a solid team with a very good attack. They beat Thomas More yesterday, the team that beat us late in the day."
With senior setter Kate Borsato handing out 50 assists, Whitman finished the match with four players in double-digit kills. Sophomore Rosa Brey hit .419 with 15 kills, 10 digs and two blocks. Junior Lydia Hayes had similar numbers with 14 kills, 10 digs and two service aces. The Missionaries also got 12 kills from senior Emily Seider, who hit .476, and 11 more from first-year player Alex Graves, who hit .321.
"We played well," Snider said. "It was nice to get our first win at this tournament."
Carnegie Mellon is located in Pittsburgh, Pa.
It was three quick games and out for the Whitman women's volleyball team Saturday afternoon as it faced Juniata, the nation's top-ranked NCAA Div. III squad, in the Mount St. Joseph Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Eagles ran their early season record to 8-0 with a 30-21, 30-17, 30-17 victory over Whitman, which saw its record fall to 4-4.
"We kind of got clobbered," Whitman coach Dean Snider admitted. "They served us very tough, and we had trouble with our service receive. They also blocked and defended very well. They outplayed us in almost every facet of the game.
"I think we saw volleyball played at its very highest Division III level, and now we have something to work toward," Snider added.
Lydia Hayes and Rosa Brey led Whitman in kills with eight and seven, respectively. Senior setter Kate Borsato had 20 assists.
Juniata, located in Huntingdon, Pa., has won 25 consecutive Commonwealth Conference volleyball titles. The Eagles sailed through a 37-2 season a year ago, losing in the NCAA Div. III national championship to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. This season, Juniata is led by three returning AVCA All-Americans.
Whitman, which has yet to play a home match this season, stays on the road next weekend when it opens Northwest Conference play. The Missionaries are at Willamette Friday evening and at Linfield on Saturday afternoon.
Opening Northwest Conference play on the road, the Whitman women's volleyball team rolled to a solid 30-24, 30-25, 30-20 victory over Willamette Friday night in Salem, Ore.
Leslie Compean and Emily Seider enjoyed high percentage hitting nights to pace the Missionaries, who improved to 5-4 on the season. The Bearcats slipped to 3-7 overall.
Compean, a junior, nailed 14 kills while hitting .423. Seider, a senior, added nine kills and did not commit a single attack error, hitting .692 in the process. Seider, who also had four block assists, began the weekend with a .295 hitting percentage on the season, the fourth-best mark in the NWC.
Senior setter Kate Borsato finished with 37 assists and seven digs. Junior Lydia Hayes chipped in with eight kills and three service aces, and sophomore Kristan Brown had 13 of Whitman's 51 digs.
As a team, the Missionaries hit .295 while holding the Bearcat attack to a .090 hitting percentage. It was Whitman's best hitting night of the season thus far.
Whitman faces a tougher challenge when it plays at Linfield at 5 p.m. Saturday in McMinnville, Ore. The Wildcats are 8-0 on the season and ranked No. 10 nationally in NCAA Div. III.
There was a fine line between winning and losing as the Whitman women's volleyball team dropped a close five-game decision to Linfield Saturday evening in McMinnville, Ore. The scores were 24-30, 30-28, 30-18, 30-32, 15-13.
"This was a tough one to lose," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "It was a match I can quite comfortably say we should have one. We dominated game one and we dominated two-thirds of game two before letting it slip away. We let them get back on their game."
Linfield, ranked 10th nationally in one NCAA Div. III poll, improved to 9-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Northwest Conference play. Whitman slipped to 5-5 and 1-1.
Whitman had four players finish with double digits in kills. Lydia Hayes led the way with 21. Rosa Brey had 16 kills, Leslie Compean 15 and Emily Seider 11. Seider, one of the conference leaders in hitting percentage, hit .526 for the match.
"We really drove the ball well through the middle," Snider said.
Kate Borsato, Whitman's senior setter, handed out 59 assists to go with 14 digs and four blocks. Kristan Brown and Alex Graves keyed the defense with 19 and 17 digs, respectively. The Missionaries also got 15 digs from Compean and 11 each from Hayes and Kaelyn Merkel.
Brey had five of Whitman's 17 blocks. Seider added four blocks.
"This match was a good battle for us, but we're not satisfied with a five-game loss to Linfield," Snider said. "They are a good team, but we think we can beat them. The loss leaves a bitter taste for us, and we're hopeful we can learn some lessons from this one. "
After playing their first 10 matches of the season on the road, the Missionaries host a pair of NWC foes next weekend in Sherwood Center. Whitman plays George Fox at 7 p.m. Friday and Lewis & Clark at 5 p.m. Saturday.
With middle blocker Rosa Brey slamming 12 kills while hitting .550, and Whitman hitting a season-high .356 as a team, the Missionaries made quick work of George Fox in a 3-0 Northwest Conference victory Friday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 30-19, 30-18, 30-21.
Whitman, now 6-5 on the season and 2-1 in the NWC, hosts Lewis & Clark at 4 p.m. Saturday. George Fox takes records of 3-10 and 0-3 to a Saturday afternoon match at Whitworth in Spokane.
"Rosa Brey was dominant tonight, absolutely dominant," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "They couldn't touch her. She's a dominant player in this league, and she's only a sophomore."
The Missionaries also got 10 kills each from juniors Lydia Hayes and Leslie Compean. "Lydia and Leslie gave us a great one-two punch on the outside, and they blocked well at critical times," Snider said. "With 50 kills in three games with a high hitting percentage, this was an outstanding hitting night for the entire team."
Kate Borsato, Whitman's senior setter, made the offense go, handing out 35 assists. She also chipped in with five kills on just eight attempts and one attack error, good for a .500 hitting percentage of her own. "Kate continues to get stronger and more confident with her setting," Snider said. "She's distributing the ball in a great random pattern, and she's finding her hitters in the right spots and creating splits in the defense."
Whitney Kolb with 10 kills and Jennifer Panico with eight paced the George Fox attack. Kolb hit .318 for the match for the Bruins, who hit just .150 as a team. Amy Knight contributed 26 assists and a team-high eight digs.
Two first-year players, Alex Graves and Allison Sordahl, also made solid contributions for Whitman, which was playing without middle blocker Emily Seider, one of its senior captains. Seider is away from campus this weekend for a family funeral.
"One of our questions tonight was how we would do without Emily, who had two great matches for us last weekend," Snider said. "Allison stepped into the void and did an excellent job."
Sordahl, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker from Anchorage, Alaska, led the Missionaries with four blocks. She added five kills on eight attempts, hitting .500 in a supportive role.
Alex Graves, a right-side hitter from Palo Alto, Calif., combined eight kills with five service aces. Whitman scored seven consecutive points off her serve in each of the first two games.
"Alex is a tough, tough server," Snider said. "The jump float is a tough serve to return, if you place it well and put some force behind it. We scored a lot of points off her serve tonight. Lydia Hayes also did a good job serving."
Sophomore libero Kristan Brown keyed Whitman's defense with 11 digs. Junior Kaelyn Merkel had eight digs.
First-year right-side hitter Alex Graves put on a show Saturday afternoon in Sherwood Center, sparking the Whitman women's volleyball team to a 3-0 Northwest Conference victory over a scrappy Lewis & Clark contingent. The Missionaries rallied for a 31-29 victory in game one and then finished off the Pioneers by taking the next two games 30-27 and 30-22.
Graves hit .476 with 12 kills, nine digs, four blocks and three service aces. "This was a great match for Alex," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "She hit a great percentage and we scored a slew of points off her serving. She led us in blocks and was one of our leaders in kills and digs. It's nice when one of your first-year players can have that kind of impact."
Graves was one four Missionaries to post double-digit kill numbers. Nailing 14 kills each, junior Leslie Compean and sophomore Rosa Brey hit .323 and .344, respectively. Junior Lydia Hayes kicked in with 13 kills. "When we spread the ball around like that, we become very difficult to defend," Snider said.
Fresh from a victory Friday night at Whitworth, Lewis & Clark was the aggressor in game one, racing away to a 21-14 lead. But Whitman got two kills each from Graves, Brey, Compean and first-year middle blocker Allison Sordahl to cut the gap to 23-22. The score eventually deadlocked at 26, 27 and 29 before the Missionaries scored the final two points on a kill from Hayes and service ace from Kate Borsato.
Borsato, Whitman's senior setter, had 49 assists on the night. For the second time in as many matches, Whitman hit above .300 as a team.
Game two was another dogfight that featured 10 tie scores. With Whitman clinging to a 26-25 lead, Compean's slammed back-to-back kills to propel the Missionaries to another tight win.
In game three, Whitman pulled away from a 7-7 tie and never again trailed.
Nicki Smith, a junior outside hitter, led the Pioneers with 11 kills. Sara Kettler, a 6-foot-2 middle hitter, hit .500 with nine kills, and 6-foot sophomore Andrea Chase had eight kills and 18 assists.
"Lewis & Clark is a much improved team," Snider said. "They have a couple of strong outside hitters, and they're blocking at the net is very effective. They outplayed us a little bit when it came to digging the ball and blocking at the net. They made it hard for us to put the ball down.
"We all felt we can and need to play better than we did today," Snider added. "But we still had a great hitting match, and we still came away with a three-game victory. That's a great place for our program to be."
Defense overcame offense as Pacific Lutheran held off Whitman for a 3-2 Northwest Conference volleyball victory Friday night in Tacoma, Wash. The scores were 30-22, 30-27, 21-30, 23-30, 15-12.
Winning their sixth consecutive match, the Lutes improved to 11-4 on the season and 5-0 in conference play. The Missionares, who had downed Pacific Lutheran 3-1 in an early-season tournament match, fell to 7-6 and 3-2 in the NWC. Both of Whitman's conference losses have come in hard-fought 3-2 decisions.
"This was another tough loss for us," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Again, we felt as if this was a match we let slip away. But if we are going to call ourselves a contender, we need to jump up very soon and beat one of these contending teams."
After Pacific Lutheran jumped in front 2-0, Whitman rallied to take the next two games. "As the match continued, we played consistently better," Snider said. "The fifth game was close, but the Lutes made three blocks that were critical to them winning that game. Once we get to a fifth game, we need to find a way to win."
Pacific Lutheran's defense was stout throughout the match. The Lutes finished with an 11-5 edge in team blocks and they collected 88 digs, 11 more than the Missionaries.
Whitman's balanced attack accounted for 76 kills and a .225 hitting percentage. The host squad had 65 kills and a .173 hitting percentage.
Five Missionaries reached double digits in kills, led by Leslie Compean's 21. Rosa Brey had 16, Lydia Hayes 13, Alex Graves 11 and Emily Seider 10. With just two attack errors in 21 attempts, Seider hit .381 for the night. Compean hit .300 and Brey .286.
Kate Borsato contributed 54 assists and 13 digs for Whitman. Kristan Brown's 20 digs paced the Missionary defense. Graves had 10 digs.
Stacie Matz led the Lutes with 23 kills and 21 digs. Katie McGinn added 20 kills and 11 digs. Six Lutes reached double digits in digs.
With Whitman having an off night at both ends of the floor, the Puget Sound women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-1 Northwest Conference victory Saturday evening in Tacoma. The scores were 30-26, 27-30, 30-18 and 30-22.
The Loggers raised their record to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the NWC. Whitman slipped to 7-7 and 3-3.
"We never got on our game tonight," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "It seemed to be one of those nights where we struggled offensively and defensively. When you struggle at both ends, it makes it very difficult to win."
Down two games to one, Whitman nearly pulled itself back into the match in game four, racing away to a 17-11 lead. Any thoughts the Missionaries had of forcing a deciding fifth game, however, soon went by the wayside. The Loggers reeled off six consecutive points, pulled ahead for good at 19-18 and then tallied 11 of the final 15 points to win going away.
Whitman also worked its way to an 18-12 lead in game one. The Missionaries still led 23-18 before the Loggers finished on a 12-3 run to claim the opener.
Game two was close all the way and had 11 ties and four lead changes. Puget Sound led 19-16 before Whitman finished strong for the 30-27 win. Kills by Leslie Compean and Rosa Brey capped the game-two victory.
The Loggers dominated game three, collecting 19 kills against just attack errors.
Compean had a god night for the Missionaries, hitting .208 with 15 kills. Brey added 10 kills and five blocks. Whitman also got nine kills from Lydia Hayes and seven from Emily Seider.
Kristan Brown and Kaelyn Merkel had 15 and 14 digs for the Missionary defense. Alex Graves contributed 10 digs, and Kate Borsato handed out 37 assists.
Whitman travels to Spokane on Wednesday to face Whitworth. The Missionaries, who have played just two matches at home thus far this season, then return to Sherwood Center to host Pacific next Saturday. Starting with Pacific, Whitman plays six of its next eight matches at home.
The Whitman volleyball team's road woes continued with a 3-2 Northwest Conference loss at Whitworth Wednesday night in Spokane. With Whitman faltering badly at the service line, the Pirates held serve on their home floor with a 30-24, 21-30, 30-25, 28-30, 15-12 victory.
"The story of the match is that we missed 17 serves," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Anytime you make that many easy-play errors, you don't deserve to win."
The Missionaries, 7-8 on the season and 3-4 in NWC play, have suffered all four of their conference losses on the road, and three of those setbacks have come in five games. Meanwhile, Whitworth elevated its record to 3-4 in conference and 4-14 overall.
With the match even at one game apiece, Whitman was guilty of four service errors in the pivotal third game, which the Pirates won by five points. The Missionaries rallied to win game four and led 6-3 early in game five. After the teams deadlocked at 8-8, Whitman misfired on its next two serves as the Pirates pulled away for the win.
"We played well enough in most facets of the game," Snider said. "We attacked at a high level, we blocked well and we played a strong defensive game. Missing 17 serves just puts you in a bad position."
On its side of the court, Whitworth committed just four service errors and accumulated nine aces, five more than the Missionaries.
Whitman outhit its host .192 to .129 and collected 73 kills, 10 more than Whitworth. Lydia Hayes led the Missionary offense with 22 kills. Rosa Brey added 16 kills and Leslie Compean 14. Kate Borsato had 59 assists and 13 digs.
With three players combining for 89 digs, the Pirates finished with a slight 106-99 edge in digs. Cassie Moore led the way, setting a new Whitworth school record with 36 digs. Nikki Bardwell chipped in with 31 digs, just one off the old school record.
Sophomore Kristan Brown and first-year Alex Graves paced Whitman's defense with 23 and 19 digs, respectively. A total of six Missionaries reached double digits in digs. Brey was active at the net for Whitman, combining two solo blocks with four block assists. The Missionaries held a 10-9 advantage in team blocks.
Whitman hits the midpoint in the conference season on Friday when its hosts Pacific at 7 p.m. in Sherwood Center. After that, the Missionaries play five of their final eight conference matches in Sherwood.
Game five continues to be a heartbreaker for the Whitman women's volleyball team.
Pacific provided the heartache Friday night, scoring a 30-26, 30-25, 25-30, 25-30, 15-13 victory over the Missionaries in Sherwood Center. The lost dropped Whitman to 7-9 on the season and 3-5 in the NWC. Four of those conference setbacks have come in five games, with the Missionaries losing the deciding fifth game in each case by no more than three points.
"We've got a big game five monkey hanging on our backs," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Pacific played well, but we beat them in almost every statistical category. We outhit them in both total kills and overall hitting percentage. We outblocked them, we outdug them and we had more service aces. But when it comes down to game five, we seem to make the additional one or two mistakes that eventually cost us the match."
Up 14-13 in game five after a Whitman attack error, Pacific closed out its victory on a kill by senior middle blocker Megan Van Domelen. With Van Domelen collecting a match-high 18 kills while hitting .486, the Boxers improved to 2-5 in the NWC and 5-12 overall.
Rosa Brey, Whitman's sophomore middle blocker, hit .387 with 17 kills, 13 digs and seven blocks. For the second time this season, five Missionaries reached double digits in kills. Juniors Leslie Compean and Lydia Hayes had 17 and 16 kills, respectively, while first-year right-side hitter Alex Graves had 12 and senior middle blocker Emily Seider had 11. Seider hit a team-high .400.
Three teammates joined Pacific's Van Domelen in double-digit kills. Sophomore Melissa Dunn combined 17 kills with 19 digs. Junior Jill Peacock had 15 kills and sophomore Caitlin Gollehon added 10 with a .533 hitting percentage.
Both setters had a good night. Kate Borsato finished with 61 for Whitman, while Anela Iseke had 50 for the Boxers.
With game five tied at 4, Pacific reeled off four consecutive points to take charge. Van Domelen and Peacock each had a kill in that run, in addition to making a block at the net. Sparked by two kills from Graves and a service ace from Seider, the Missionaries answered with a 6-2 run that knotted the score at 10. After the two sides traded attack errors, two kills from Compean and one each from Peacock and Gollehon evened the game at 13 and set the stage for Pacific's final push.
Whitman jumped in front 13-8 in game one, but Pacific inched its way back and caught the Missionaries at 17-17. The teams deadlocked at 18, 19, 20 and 21, but the Boxers fashioned a four-point run to lead 24-21. After two kills from Hayes and one from Brey cut Whitman's deficit to 25-24, Pacific got two kills apiece from Dunn and Van Domelen to grab a 29-26 lead. Peacock's kill finished game one.
The Boxers held the early advantage in game two, moving in front 15-11. Whitman rallied for a 22-20 lead and the two teams forged the last of 12 tie scores at 24-all. After Peacock and Dunn slammed two kills apiece, Joanna Delanty's kill gave Pacific the game and a 2-0 lead.
Game three was close until Whitman ran off nine straight points for a 19-11 lead. Three kills from Brey and two from Compean fueled the spurt, and the Boxers drew no closer than three points the rest of the way.
The Missionaries led most of the way in game four, building an 18-13 lead and then outlasting Pacific down the stretch. The Boxers pulled even at 23-23, but Graves rang up two more kills and joined with Seider for a block at the net to finish the win.
"After digging ourselves a big hole early in the match, we did a good job of getting ourselves back into it," Snider said. "We know we can come back, but we need to find ways at the end to win. The bottomline is that our conference is extremely competitive. You need to be ready to play at a high level every night or you run the risk of losing to another good team."
Friday's match was Whitman's only competition of the weekend. Pacific plays Friday night at Whitworth.
The Missionaries host Willamette and Linfield next Friday and Saturday in Sherwood Center. Both matches start at 7 p.m.
With middle blockers Emily Seider and Rosa Brey combining for 33 kills and hitting percentages above .440, the Whitman women's volleyball team slugged its way past Willamette 3-1 Friday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 25-30, 30-16, 30-23, 30-24.
"This is the first time we've ever had two middles lead us in kills," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Both Rosa and Emily were dominant tonight."
Brey, a sophomore, finished with a match-high 18 kills, hitting .441. She also had eight digs and six blocks. Seider, a senior, collected 15 kills while hitting .448.
"You always hope your middles hit for a high percentage, but they handled a high volume tonight and still hit above .440, which is tremendous percentage," Snider said. "They are very hard to defend. Rosa is particularly athletic and Emily is particulary wily."
Willamette seized the early momentum, rolling to leads of 11-5 and 19-10 in game one. With the Bearcats in front 29-17, Whitman reeled off eight straight points to make the final score closer than it was. Mary Butler and Julie Stutzman sparked Willamette's first game win with five kills apiece.
"We started slowly, but I wasn't surprised," Snider said. "We were coming off four very tough losses. I'm more pleased that we found a way to pick ourselves up and play well."
After the Bearcats jumped in front 3-0 in game two, Whitman scored 10 of the next 13 points for a 10-6 lead. Willamette closed to within 11-9 before the Missionaries pulled away for an easy win.
Game three was close most of the way, although Willamette led 10-6 at the outset. With the score all even at 19-19, Whitman closed out the game on an 11-4 run.
The Missionaries eased in front 10-6 and 15-11 in the fourth game, but the Bearcats rallied for an 18-17 lead. Whitman responded with a match-clinching 7-0 run that included kills by Brey and Seider, along with Kristan Brown's fourth service ace of the night.
Brown, a sophomore, enjoyed her best night as a setter, handing out 56 assists. She also had nine digs. "Give Kristan a lot of credit," Snider said. "She set a great match for us, and she served very well with four aces and no errors."
"Willamette played an excellent defensive game, but I was also very pleased with our defense," Snider added. "We finished with 86 digs, which is a good number for four games. We did a nice job with ball pursuit."
Leslie Compean chipped in with 11 kills and 13 digs for Whitman. Lydia Hayes had a team-high 17 digs to go with seven kills and three blocks. Kaelyn Merkel contributed 14 digs, while Alex Graves combined 13 digs with seven kills.
Jessica Durham paced Willamette with 12 kills and 15 digs. The Bearcats also got eight kills and 13 digs from Stutzman and eight kills each from Butler and Jordyn Smith. Alona Lyamin finished with a match-high 24 digs, and Brittany Ashby had 42 assists and nine digs.
Willamette plays at Whitworth Saturday, while Whitman hosts second-place Linfield at 7 p.m. Saturday in Sherwood Center. The Missionaries dropped a five-game decision to Linfield last month in McMinnville, Ore.
With Rosa Brey smashing 18 kills and hitting well above .400 for the second time in two nights, the Whitman women's volleyball team rolled to a 30-28, 30-23, 30-28 Northwest Conference victory over 10th-ranked Linfield Saturday night in Sherwood Center.
Whitman, which suffered four five-game NWC losses earlier this season, evened its record at 9-9 overall and 5-5 in conference. The Wildcats dropped to 8-2 in the NWC and to 15-2 overall.
"From start to finish, that's the highest level of play we've had in a match this season," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "That is a very good team we beat in three games, and they played well tonight. We just played a mentally tough match, and we played a little bit better than Linfield in each of the three games."
Earlier this season in McMinnville, Whitman won two of the first three games at Linfield before the Wildcats rallied to win in five.
Linfield seized the early momentum in Saturday's rematch, racing away to an 18-9 lead in game one. But first-year right-side hitter Alex Graves sparked a Missionary rally, drilling a kill and then serving Whitman to a 6-0 run. Later, with the Wildcats leading 26-20, Whitman uncorked a 7-1 spurt to even the count at 27-all. Following a Missionary service error, kills by Kate Borsato and Brey put Whitman on the doorstep of a big comeback victory. Linfield surrendered the final point on a setting error.
Game two was all Whitman with the Missionaries building leads of 11-4, 20-12 and 26-15 en route a 2-0 lead.
The Missionaries threatened to blow open game three as well, bolting to an 18-11 lead. The Wildcats bounced back, forging ties at 19, 24 and 25 before easing in front 26-25 and 27-26. After Linfield's Katelyn Baker and Whitman's Lydia Hayes traded kills, the Missionaries closed out the match with another kill from Hayes and the final two from Leslie Compean.
Compean, a 6-foot-1 junior, had seven of her 14 kills in the third game. "Leslie also had no errors in game three," Snider said. "She's played so well for us all season, and there's no way we win that third game tonight without her contribution. Linfield contained her for two games, but then Leslie busted out in the third game when we really needed her."
Meanwhile, Brey hit .433 and led the Missionaries in digs (12) as well as kills. The sophomore middle blocker also had three blocks at the net. "Rosa is a just a special athlete," Snider said. "There are times when she's the only athlete on the floor who can do the things she does."
Hayes, a junior outside hitter, added 16 kills for the Missionaries while hitting .333. "To win this match, we needed Lydia to play at a high level, and she responded," Snider said. "She's a tremendous volleyball player with super skills."
Kate Borsato, Whitman's senior setter, finished with 52 assists, an average of more than 17 per game. Borsato also had nine digs, as did Graves and sophomore Kristan Brown. "Kate had another stellar night with her setting, and as a team we played excellent defense."
Baker had a strong night for the Wildcats, collecting 15 kills and 10 digs while hitting .452. Molly Taylor had 12 kills, and Lauren Kreiger chipped in with eight kills and 11 digs. Michell Wyatt led Linfield with 12 digs, while Chelsey Gellatly handed out 31 assists.
A slow start sent the Whitman women's volleyball reeling to a four-game loss at George Fox Friday night in Newberg, Ore. The Bruins won 30-25, 30-20, 27-30, 30-23 to gain a bit of revenge for two losses to Whitman earlier this season.
George Fox improved to 8-14 on the season and 4-7 in conference. Whitman takes records of 9-10 and 5-6 into a Saturday afternoon match at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore.
Whitman scored the first point of game one, but a kill and two service aces by Elizabeth Anderson sparked the Bruins to a 7-2 lead and the home team never trailed again. After the Bruins took leads of 24-15 and 28-20, the Missionaries rallied with five unanswered points. The rally fizzled, however, with a Whitman service error and an attack error.
Game two was a similar story as the Bruins led from start to finish, hitting .319 to .062 for the Missionaries. Up 17-14, George Fox used a 6-0 spurt to take a comfortable 23-14 advantage and coast home for a 2-0 lead.
In game three, the Missionaries got their offense untracked by going to two of their big guns, Lydia Hayes and Rose Brey, who had seven and five kills, respectively. The game was a tight one as neither team held more than a four-point lead at any time, and there were 11 ties, the last at 27-27. Whitman used kills by Emily Seider and Alex Graves and an ace by Kate Borsato to secure the win and stay alive.
The Missionaries, racing away to a 14-6 lead in game four, seemed intent on forcing a fifth game. The Bruins methodically put an end to the those plans, closing their deficit to 22-19 before uncorking a 9-0 run that effectively salted away the victory.
Whitman's slow start was the key to the match, Missionary coach Dean Snider said. "We didn't begin the match with the passion and drive that it takes to win a Northwest Conference volleyball match," he said. "We're not going to win matches unless we show up ready to play them. The teams are too good for us to give anything less than our best effort."
Hayes had a good night for the Missionaries, collecting 17 kills with a .286 hitting percentage. She also had nine digs.
Brey and Leslie Compean added 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Graves added a team-high 20 digs along with seven kills. Other Missionaries in double digits in digs were Kaelyn Merkel 14, Kristan Brown 13, Borsato 12, and Meg Clark 10. Seider combined seven kills with six blocks.
Brown handed out 24 assists in setting the first two games. Borsato had the same number in setting the final two games.
After starting slowly Friday night in a four-game loss at George Fox, the Whitman women's volleyball team made sure that didn't happen Saturday afternoon at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. The Missionaries crushed their hosts 30-11 in game one and completed the sweep by winning the next two games 30-27 and 30-26.
Beating Lewis & Clark in three games for the second time this fall, Whitman evened its record at 10-10 for the season and 6-6 in the Northwest Conference. The Pioneers are 6-16 and 4-8.
"This was a very good match for us," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "We needed to bounce back after a poor outing on Friday, and that's what we did. We put together a very strong effort against Lewis & Clark on their home floor."
The Missionaries took charge in game one, hitting .480 as a group with just two attack errors. "We took the first game by storm," Snider said. "We dug well, we transitioned well, and then we put the kills away. We continued to play well in the next two games, even though Lewis & Clark picked up its level of play."
Game two was much more competitive, especially after the Pioneers scored four consecutive points to knot the score at 25-25. After a kill by Emily Seider and a service ace by Kristan Brown gave Whitman some breathing room, Rosa Brey's kill finished off the game.
Whitman led by as many as six points for much of game three. Lewis & Clark made it close at the end, pulling to within 27-24. Allison Sordahl, a first-year middle blocker, scored the final Missionary point with a block at the net.
"It was good to see Allison, a first-year player, play well in games two and three," Snider said. "In addition to her block at the end, she had all three of her kills in the third game."
Lydia Hayes paced Whitman's offense with a match-high 11 kills and four service aces. Seider added nine kills while hitting .571, and Brey finished with eight kills (.353 hiting percentage) and seven digs. Both Seider and Brey had three blocks.
Kate Borsato handed out 33 assists while adding five kills of her own with a .444 hitting percentage. Borsato also had five digs. Alex Graves led the defense with 10 digs; Brown added seven more.
Whitman finished the match with a team hitting percentage of .286. Lewis & Clark hit just .018 as a team.
The Missionaries return home next weekend to host first-place Pacific Lutheran at 7 p.m. Friday and Puget Sound at 6 p.m. Saturday. Lewis & Clark hosts Pacific next Friday and then plays Saturday at Willamette.
Staring down the momentum of Pacific Lutheran's 13-match winning streak, the Whitman women's volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit in games to grab a gritty five-game victory Friday night in Sherwood Center.
Handing the Lutes their first Northwest Conference defeat of the season, Whitman prevailed 27-30, 21-30, 30-24, 30-28, 15-11.
The loss dropped Pacific Lutheran to 12-1 in the Northwest Conference and 18-5 overall. Holding on to fourth place in the NWC, Whitman improved to 7-6 and 11-10.
The victory was Whitman's second in three meetings with the Lutes this season. The Missionaries won in four games during an early season tournament, although that match did not count in the conference standings. Pacific Lutheran then turned the tables in late September in Tacoma, winning a five-game decision in the first of the home-and-away conference series.
"I really don't think there is a lot of difference between the two teams, which shows in the results of our three matches," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "The two teams are evenly matched, and it comes down to who is playing well. They played very well early in this match, and we played better at the end."
Game one was close all the way with the two teams deadlocking 16 times on the scoreboard. Pacific Lutheran pulled ahead 27-25 on back-to-back kills by Kati McGinn and then closed out the game on a kill by Gina DiMaggio.
With Rosa Brey getting three early kills, Whitman jumped in front 8-4 in game two. But the Lutes drew even at 14-14 on Abby Mitchel's kill, which triggered game-clinching Pacific Lutheran runs of 6-0 and 15-3.
Whitman got untracked in game three, racing away to leads of 9-3 and 16-7. The visitors closed the gap to 24-20, but a service ace from Alex Graves and a kill by Brey kept the Missionaries on track for the win.
Pacific Lutheran took an early 8-3 lead in the fourth game, but Whitman got two kills from Seider and two more from Graves to momentarily stem the tide. The Lutes regained control, stretching their lead to 20-14 on a Stacie Matz kill. Down 22-17, the Missionaries reeled off six straight points, winning the last three on two kills by Leslie Compean and one by Brey.
With game four knotted at 25-25, Whitman pulled ahead on another Brey kill and a block at the net by Seider and Kate Borsato. Two more kills by Seider, offsetting Pacific Lutheran kills by Kelcy Joynt and Matz, gave the Missionaries a 29-27 lead. Following a Whitman service error, Seider teamed with Graves for a game-winning block at the net.
After the two sides battled to an 8-8 tie in the deciding fifth game, the match took a final swing in Whitman's favor. Compean slammed a kill and the Lutes misfired on the next three points, committing two attack errors followed by a bad set. With the Missionaries up 13-10, Borsato made a solo block and Whitman notched the final point on a Pacific Lutheran attack error.
The five-game triumph was welcome relief for a Missionary squad that had lost four NWC matches earlier this season in close five-game decisions. "It feels great to get the game-five monkey off our back," Snider said. "We had to be mentally tough to get this win."
Both teams had three players finish with double-digit kills. McGinn and Matz, Pacific Lutheran's two big guns, both finished with 19 kills and 20 digs. Brey countered with 16 kills for Whitman, which also got 11 kills from Seider and 10 from Graves, a first-year right-side hitter. Seider and Graves each had six blocks on the night.
"Alex Graves was really the story of the match," Snider said. "She hit .409, had three service aces and led us in both digs (15) and blocks (six). What can you say when you get that kind of a performance from a first-year player? You just shake your head, know that it doesn't happen very often, and be thankful when it does happen."
Whitman also got nine kills apiece from Hayes and Compean. "We didn't get as many kills on the outside as we normally do, but that's because Pacific Lutheran is such a remarkable defensive team," Snider said.
With Megan Kosel leading the way with 28 digs, the Lutes finished with a total of 87 digs.
Both setters had a strong night. Pacific Lutheran's Gina DiMaggio finished with 51 assists and nine kills while hitting .643. For Whitman, Borsato had 47 assists, two kills on just four attempts, 11 digs and three blocks.
Whitman, which has won four of its last five matches, hosts third-place Puget Sound at 6 p.m. Saturday in Sherwood Center. The Lutes travel to Spokane to play Whitworth Saturday.
With outside hitter Lydia Hayes combining 14 kills with 14 digs, and with middle blockers Emily Seider and Rosa Brey hitting well above .400 for the second time this season, the Whitman women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over Puget Sound Saturday night in Sherwood Center. The scores were 30-28, 30-17, 30-26.
The Missionaries, getting good contributions for everyone in the starting rotation, won for the fifth time in six matches, improving to 8-6 in the Northwest Conference and 12-10 overall. Puget Sound remains in third place, just a step ahead of Whitman, with a 9-5 conference record (14-7 on the season).
"We played very well, hitting .351 as a team and outdigging a very good defensive team," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Puget Sound's libero is probably the best defensive player in the conference, and we even had some success against her."
After game one deadlocked for a 15th time at 23-23, Puget Sound tallied four straight points on kills by Monica Groves and Lindsey Denman and two Whitman attack errors. The Missionaries rallied behind a pair of kills by Lydia Hayes and pulled ahead 29-28 on back-to-back kills by Leslie Compean and Alex Graves. A service ace from Hayes completed the comeback win.
Whitman spotted the Loggers two points to start game two before storming into leads of 10-3 and 21-8. The Missionaries hit .530 as a team in a game that ended on Emily Seider's kill.
With game three tied at 15, Whitman won six of the next seven points to lead 21-16. Kills by Seider, Graves and Compean fueled the spurt, which Hayes capped with another service ace. The Loggers rallied to within 25-23, but two more kills by Hayes extended the cushion back to four points. Seider's kill made it 29-26 before Hayes finished off the match with her fifth ace of the night.
"That was one of the most gutsy match point serves I've ever seen," Snider said. "Lydia wasn't just trying to get the ball in play. She stood up there, went for it and made a tough, tough serve."
Whitman as a team finished with eight aces, and the positive impact was offset only partially by 10 Missionary service errors, Snider said. "We served very well tonight. We missed some, but you have to take risks to put pressure on the other team, and that's what we did."
Compean, an outside hitter on the left side, finished with 11 kills and a .474 hitting percentage. "Hitting that percentage from the left side is remarkable," Snider said. "Leslie played very well."
Brey and Seided added nine and seven kills in the middle, hitting .471 and .462, respectively. Graves hit .294 with seven kills from the right side. In addition to handing out 45 assists, Borsato chipped in with five kills in just six attempts, good for a .667 hitting percentage.
Denman paced the Puget Sound offense with 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Eggers had 10 kills for the Loggers. Monica Groves, who entered the match averaging a NWC-high 4.51 kills per game, managed just seven kills on 25 attempts. "We made some adjustments and did a good job of defending the things that (Groves) does well," Snider said.
The Missionaries won the dig battle 48-40. Kristan Brown came up with 11 digs and Kaelyn Merkel added eight more.
The match marked the fourth time this season that Whitman has hit above .300 as a team. Saturday's .351 percentage was just a shade below a season-high effort (.356) last month against George Fox.
The Missionaries play their final home match of the season against Whitworth at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Whitman then travels to Pacific for its season finale on Friday.
The Loggers are at home next weekend, hosting Lewis & Clark on Friday and Willamette on Saturday.
|
|
|
|
The Whitman women's volleyball team made coach Dean Snider's final home match a memorable one, rolling over Whitworth in three quick games Wednesday night in Sherwood Center. Crushing the Pirates with a .515 hitting percentage, Whitman was victorious by scores of 30-14, 30-7, 30-17.
Snider, the winningest coach in the history of Whitman volleyball, is leaving the coaching profession to serve as the full-time athletic directors at Whitman. His 11th and final regular season ends Friday when the Missionaries play Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore.
"This was a match where the coach got to sit back and just go along for the ride," Snider said. "Our team played remarkably well from the first serve to the last point. This memory of my team playing so well in my final home match is one that will stay with me always. All I was able to say to the players in the team huddle after the match was `thank you.'"
Winning its fourth straight match and for the sixth time in seven matches, Whitman improved to 9-6 in the Northwest Conference and 13-10 overall. Despite losing five-game decisions in four NWC matches early in the season, the Missionaries can still finish as high as third in the conference. Wednesday's victory leaves Whitman just a half game behind third-place Puget Sound.
As a team, Whitman hit .424 in game one, .677 in game two and .457 in game three. "This is by far our season high for a team hitting percentage," Snider said. "I think you can go back 20 years at Whitman and not find a higher percentage. I don't recall coaching a team anywhere with a higher percentage."
Before coming to Whitman, Snider coached the women's team at Western Washington for four seasons. He also coached the men's team at Trinity Western University (Langley, B.C.) for three seasons.
Lydia Hayes and Rosa Brey sparked Whitman's sizzling offense with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Hayes, a junior outside hitter, finished with a .556 hitting percentage, seven digs and two service aces. Brey, a sophomore middle blocker, was even more deadly, hitting .737 while adding 10 digs and two blocks.
Kate Borsato, Whitman's senior setter, handed out 42 assists to go with three kills in just four attempts and no errors. Emily Seider, the only other senior on the roster, chipped in with seven kills (.500) and two blocks.
Junior Leslie Compean had seven kills (.300), 13 digs and two blocks, while first-year right-side hitter Alex Graves combined six kills (.429) with seven digs.
"Both Rosa and Lydia were dominating tonight, and Kate is amazing in that she continues to get better and better with each match of her senior season," Snider said. "Her confidence and composure are tremendous at this point. I think she's playing as well as any setter has ever played in this conference."
"It's hard to single out any of our players because they all played really well tonight," Snider added.
Holly Tomlin led Whitworth with six kills. Tamra Stark had five and Jill Solbrack four. The Pirates also got 14 digs from Cassie Moore and nine assists each from Holly Ridings and Jena Sarrat.
"Whitworth is a good team," Snider said. "They didn't look great tonight, but that had more to do with how well we played. They're the fifth place team in our conference, right in the middle, and they've beaten everyone they should beat. They jumped up and beat us in five games at their gym earlier this season. I thought they played a great match against the first time."
Whitworth, now 6-9 in conference and 7-19 overall, ends its season at Pacific on Saturday.
It took five tough games, but the Whitman women's volleyball team wrapped up its season with a fifth consecutive victory Friday night, beating Pacific 30-18, 26-30, 30-28, 25-30, 15-11 in Forest Grove, Ore.
"This one was a dogfight all the way," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "Pacific does a good job matching up with us."
Winning for the seventh time in eight matches, Whitman finished its season with records of 14-10 overall and 10-6 in the Northwest Conference. The Missionaries sit in fourth place in the NWC standings, although they could move into a third-place tie with Puget Sound if the Loggers lose their season finale on Saturday.
Friday's loss dropped Pacific to 5-10 in the NWC and 8-17 overall.
After Whitman won game one in a romp and Pacific evened the slate in game two, the Boxers appeared ready to take charge in game three. The home team inched in front 28-27, but a Pacific service error and an attack error, sandwiched around Rosa Brey's kill, gave Whitman the victory.
The Boxers stormed back to win game four, but Whitman never trailed in the deciding fifth game. Leading 7-6, the Missionaries got three kills from first-year right-side hitter Alex Graves and one each from Brey and Leslie Compean to move in front 13-9. Emily Seider, one of two seniors on the Whitman roster, finished off the victory with a kill. Kate Borsato, the other senior, got the assist on the final play.
"This was a good yet ironic way for us to finish the season, by winning in five games," Snider said. "Five-game matches haven't been our friend this season, so it was nice to come back and win one in five."
Earlier in the season, Whitman dropped a series of four NWC matches in five games.
Friday's hard-fought victory marks the end of coaching for Snider, who was recently appointed full-time athletic director at Whitman. The victory also comes on the heels of Whitman's easy romp over Whitworth earlier in the week in Snider's final home match.
"I really didn't have to do much coaching in my last home match," Snider said. "Tonight, my team made me coach, and it was very gratifying to work with them and help us find a way to win. We weren't playing at the top of our game tonight, but the players didn't use that as an excuse. They showed a lot of depth of character. They scratched and clawed and found a way to win, even when the ball wasn't rolling our way. This has been a great group to work with, and I'm very proud of them."
Brey, a sophomore middle blocker, had another dominating night for the Missionaries, drilling a season-high 21 kills while hitting .529. She also had 11 digs and seven blocks.
Graves finished with 15 kills, 14 digs, five blocks and three service aces. "Alex was clutch for us tonight, especially in game five," Snider said.
Seider hit .375 with 12 kills, and Compean balanced 10 kills with 16 digs. Kaelyn Merkel chipped in with 19 digs.
Borsato handed out 62 assists, concluding her Missionary career with a school-record total of 3,598.