Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University volleyball team's bid to upset No. 16 Puget Sound came up short as the Loggers held off the Pirates for a 3-2 (25-16, 25-15, 20-25, 20-25, 15-13) win at Whitworth Fieldhouse on Friday evening. Puget Sound improves to 9-5 on the season, with a 4-1 record in Northwest Conference action, while Whitworth falls to 9-8 overall, 3-2 in NWC play.
"It's always frustrating to lose, but I'm proud of how our team responded after the second set," Whitworth head coach Kati Bodecker said. "We put ourselves in a position to win, which is the most important thing."
Puget Sound opened the evening with back-to-back kills to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first set. The Loggers seemed to cruise in the set after taking the early lead. A kill from senior Jalana White pulled Whitworth within four, 18-14, but the Pirates could not get any closer. Despite opening the second set with a block from senior Kristine Kardell, Puget Sound picked up where it left off in set one, sailing to a 25-15 set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. Whitworth hit -.031 in the second set, with just seven kills as a team.
Whitworth found itself down 2-0 for the second time in its last three matches, but the Pirates responded after the break, posting their best set of the match. Whitworth held a .378 team hitting percentage with 16 team kills. Sophomore Nicole Leonard led the Pirate rally, with seven kills on a .538 hitting percentage, while Jalana White added five kills on a .385 hitting percentage. Senior Briauna Stadeli created problems for the Loggers at the net, coming up with a solo block in the third and fourth set and re-directing several Puget Sound attacks.
Whitworth's momentum seemed to carry over into the fourth set, opening with a block from junior Tori LaBrie and Kristine Kardell, followed by a kill from LaBrie to put the Pirates up 2-0. Whitworth took an 8-2 lead on a kill from sophomore Maddye Dinsmore, forcing a Logger timeout. The Pirates went up 16-8 before Puget Sound was able to start working its way back into the set. A block from Jackie Harvey and Emily Convery made it a 20-17 set, but the Pirates held on, taking a 25-20 set victory on a kill from Nicole Leonard to force a fifth set.
Kristine Kardell opened the fifth set with a block to put Whitworth up 1-0, but the Pirates found themselves down 5-2 after consecutive attack errors. Rallying back to knot the score 7-7 on a Nicole Leonard kill, Whitworth looked to make a move to claim the victory. A Jalana White kill put Whitworth up 13-12, but Puget Sound responded with a kill of its own to tie the set 13-13. Back-to-back Whitworth attack errors helped the Loggers avoid the upset and claim the match victory.
"I certainly don't think we lost the fifth set because we were playing poorly; I thought we played aggressive. I'm proud of my team for making (adjustments). We just need to figure out a way to make that change earlier, or, more importantly, how to start out playing that way at the beginning of the match," Bodecker said.
The Pirates hit .113 for the match, with nine team blocks. Puget Sound hit .090 for the match with 9.5 team blocks on the night.
Nicole Leonard led the Pirates with a double-double, with 15 kills and 23 digs. Jalana White added 14 kills for the Pirates, while senior Whitney Santos had a match-high 26 digs. Maddye Dinsmore and Briauna Stadeli each had an ace for Whitworth. Dinsmore dished out 41 assists, while Stadeli and Kristine Kardell both had four blocks.
Jackie Harvey posted a double-double for the Loggers with 17 kills and 21 digs. She also had four blocks and an ace. Marissa Florant joined Harvey with a double-double, 10 kills and 22 digs. Jenni Brehove passed out 47 assists, while Christina Chun had 25 digs. Jalene Toy served a match-high three aces, while Emily Convery assisted on six blocks.
The Pirates will not get much of a break, as Whitworth hosts No. 15 Pacific Lutheran (9-5, 5-0 NWC) at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 5th in Whitworth Fieldhouse.
