SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University rallied twice in the fifth set to pull out a 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 16-14 victory over visiting Pacific Lutheran University on Friday night.

The Pirates improved to 2-0 this season while the Lutes fell to 2-1.  Whitworth and PLU have won or shared every NWC title since 2003.

Madison Lee had 24 kills to lead the Pirates, while Abby Wolverton added 14 and Alon A'leu chipped in ten.  Saylor Anderson dished 35 assists and served four aces, while Joelle Forbes added 24 assists.  Defensively, Aleana Gallagher had 24 digs, while A'leu was in on five blocks.

Lauren Wilson and Sianna Iverson had 11 kills each to lead PLU, while Breeze Bartle had nine.  Emily Zink and Hope Baldyga combined for 43 assists.  Bartle was in on ten of the Lutes' 14 blocks and Halle Hetzler had 31 digs.

PLU took a 9-6 lead in the decisive set before Whitworth rallied to go ahead 13-11.  The Lutes scored three straight and were serving for match point at 14-13 before the Pirates ended the match with three straight points of their own.