Box Score McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Whitworth University volleyball team used a balanced offense to defeat Linfield College 25-9, 25-20, 25-19 in Northwest Conference action Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Friday evening. Whitworth improves to 11-9 overall, with a 5-3 record in the NWC, while Linfield falls to 4-10 on the season, 0-7 in the NWC.
"We played with a lot of intensity and urgency tonight," Whitworth head coach Kati Bodecker said. "We passed well and we were able to get into a great rhythm offensively."
Senior Kristine Kardell opened the night with a kill to get the Pirates on the scoreboard first. Two Wildcat attacking errors gave Whitworth a 3-0 lead in the set before a Pirate attacking error gave Linfield its first point of the night. Whitworth controlled the tempo of the set, while Linfield struggled to find offense. Of the Wildcats' nine points in the first set, seven came from Whitworth errors. Despite the errors, the Pirates hit .259 in the set, getting three kills from senior Jalana White and two kills each from Kardell, junior Tori LaBrie, and senior Briauna Stadeli.
Following Kardell's lead, Tori LaBrie opened the second set with a kill to put Whitworth up 1-0. Back-to-back kills from sophomore Nicole Leonard and Kardell gave Whitworth a 10-4 lead and forced a Linfield timeout. After a 3-0 Linfield run pulled the Wildcats within 17-10, Kardell hit one of her six kills in the set to stop the Wildcat offense.
Linfield looked to make a comeback out of the break between sets two and three, going up 3-0 after back-to-back Whitworth attack errors. Jalana White's kill knotted the score 5-5 as the Pirates went on an 8-3 run to take the lead in the set. The Wildcats threatened the Pirates late, after a Sam Hammons kill made it 18-16, but Briauna Stadeli and Kristine Kardell hit consecutive kills to put distance between the teams. Freshman Haley Vick ended the night with her second kill of the season to give the Pirates the straight set victory.
"It was really fun to watch. Everyone on the team was able to contribute. They played united and inspired each other with their play," Bodecker said.
Whitworth hit .273 on the night with 42 kills and six team blocks. Linfield finished the night with a -.053 hitting percentage and had just 19 team kills.
Kristine Kardell led the Pirates with 11 kills, while Jalana White added 10 kills. Tori LaBrie hit eight kills, while Briauna Stadeli hit .667 with six kills and no errors. Senior Whitney Santos had 12 digs for Whitworth, while sophomore Maddye Dinsmore passed out 29 assists. White, Stadeli and senior Anna Buck each had a service ace for Whitworth.
Kailana Ritte-Camara led the Wildcats with six kills, while Courtney Wanamaker had 10 digs for Linfield. Audrey Frazier had nine assists and two aces for Linfield.
Next up, Whitworth remains on the road, traveling to Oregon for a pair of Northwest Conference games against Willamette and Lewis & Clark. The Pirates face the Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 18th and the Pioneers at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 19th.
