SPOKANE, Wash. – Ella Jimenez and Amblessed Okemgbo had 12 kills apiece to lead Whitworth to a 3-1 win over visiting Whitman in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Wednesday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates bounced back from Saturday's four-set loss to PLU to improve to 8-7 overall and 5-2 in the NWC with a 25-15, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21 victory. The Blues fell to 3-11, 2-5 with their fifth straight loss.
Whitworth dominated the first set by hitting .357 with 12 kills while holding the Blues to -.034 and seven kills with eight errors. The Pirates had three blocks in the set, including a solo and assist from Jimenez. Cassidy Franklin led Whitworth with four kills in five attempts, while Jimenez added three kills. Lilli Thompson had four kills in the first for Whitman.
The Pirates never trailed in the second set, pulling away from a 4-4 tie with a 5-0 run. Whitworth stayed hot, hitting .312 with 14 more kills. Jimenez and Okemgbo had four kills apiece, while Logan Spencer had three kills in the second frame for the Bucs. Kenzie Martinez had four kills for the Blues.
The teams traded leads in the early going of the third set before Whitman turned a 6-5 deficit into an 11-6 lead with a 6-0 run. The Blues steadily pulled away to win the frame and avoid a sweep. Whitman hit a blistering .583 in the set with 14 kills in 24 attacks without an error. Whitworth hit .160 with only nine kills. Martinez had five more kills for the Blues, while Okemgbo had three for the Bucs.
Whitworth built an insurmountable 16-5 lead in the fourth set before holding off Whitman's rally. The Blues pulled within 23-20 after consecutive Pirate attack errors until Kaity Barr ended the match with her final kill. Whitworth hit .265 while holding Whitman to a .000 hitting percentage. The Pirates helped the Blues' cause with four service errors. Barr and Okemgbo had four kills apiece in the set, while Martinez had three for Whitman.
Jimenez finished with a match-high 14 points by adding a solo block and two block assists to her kill total. Franklin finished with nine kills, while hitting .571, and four block assists for 11 points. Barr also had nine kills (.533) with two block assists. Josephine Thompson dished 24 assists and served all six aces for the Bucs. Mya Rodriguez added 23 assists. Whitworth was able to overcome 10 service errors.
Martinez had a dozen kills for Whitman and added a service ace. Nicole Kelly and Lola Folk served three aces apiece for the Blues, who finished with 11 aces in the match.
Whitworth has to prepare quickly for Friday's road match at Linfield, which will conclude the first half of the NWC schedule for the Bucs.
