SPOKANE, Wash. – Logan Spencer had 10 kills and Cassidy Franklin added nine to lead Whitworth to a dominating win over visiting Puget Sound in a match up of 2022's co-Northwest Conference volleyball champions on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates (7-6 overall, 4-1 NWC) hit .300 as a team while holding the Loggers (10-3, 3-2) to a .056 clip in the 25-14, 25-15, 25-23 win.

Whitworth jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set after consecutive blocks by Kaity Barr.  The Loggers climbed back to within 10-7 after two straight kills by Logan Winn, and within 13-11 after two Sarah Johnson kills in a row.  The Pirates closed the set on a 12-3 run, winning the frame on Barr's kill.  Cassidy Franklin had three kills in the set for the Bucs.

Whitworth never trailed in the second set either, going up 6-1 after a kill by Ella Jimenez and a UPS ball handling error.  The Loggers scored five straight to tie the set 6-6 on Erin Fagan's kill, but they never jumped in front.  Puget Sound was still within 10-8 when the Pirates used an 11-1 run to pull away.  Amblessed Okemgbo had consecutive kills in the middle of the run, then she and Franklin combined on a block for a 21-9 lead.  Okemgbo and Spencer had three kills apiece in the second set.

The final set featured 13 ties and eight lead changes and was more reflective of both teams.  The Loggers went ahead 12-9 and forced a Whitworth timeout, which the Pirates turned into a 4-1 run to tie the frame 13-13 on a kill by Jimenez.  UPS went back ahead 15-13 after an ace by Samantha Keightley before the Pirates took control with a 7-2 run, going ahead 20-17 on an Okemgbo kill.  The Loggers retook the lead for the final time at 22-21 on Winn's ace before the Bucs closed on a 4-1 run, capped by a Puget Sound ball handling error.  Spencer had five kills in the final set, while Franklin had four.

Spencer hit .421 in the match while Franklin hit .600.  Jimenez finished with nine points on six kills, an ace, one solo block and two block assists.  Josephine Thompson returned to action after missing the last three matches and had 16 assists, while Mya Rodriguez added 14.  Barr had three solo blocks and two block assists, while Taylor Miche led the Pirates with 15 digs.

Johnson led the Loggers with eight kills.

Whitworth will host league-leading Pacific Lutheran on Saturday night in another key NWC showdown.