SPOKANE, Wash. – Maya Nakasone had 20 digs to help the Linfield Wildcats take one set over the Whitman Pirates, who clinched the Northwest Conference regular season title with the 3-1 win on Saturday night and qualified for the NCAA tournament.
 
The Pirates controlled the match through the first two set, winning the first 25-9 and the second 25-10. The closest the Wildcats got in either of the first two sets was leading 2-1 to start the second on a kill by Raelynn Hammock, but the Pirates won the next five points to claim the lead in the set.
 
Traveling to eastern Washington for the first time this season, Linfield adjusted in the third and was the better team on the court during that set.
 
An assisted block by Hammock and Lori Cimmiyotti helped the Wildcats lead 11-5 in the third.
 
Whitworth kept getting close to Linfield, but never led in the third and Linfield closed out the third set, 25-23 on a kill by Hannah Waterman. That was the first set won by Linfield since October 12 at Puget Sound.
 
Coming into Saturday night, Whitworth had clinched a berth in the NCAA tournament and a share of the NWC title holding the tiebreaker over Pacific, with the 25-12 win in the fourth set, the Pirates clinched the NWC title leading four matches over the Boxers with two matches left in the regular season.
 
The Pirates landed 32 percent of their shots compared to seven percent for the Wildcats.
 
Nakasone' 20 digs in four sets raised her season average to 4.18 digs per set, which is fifth in the NWC.
 
Hammock had 10 kills, while Cimmiyotti and Waterman had six each, all three players also had a block in this one. Tamara Corona also had an assisted block.
 
Aylea Dixon had 28 assists and an ace. Dixon is sixth in the NWC with 6.65 assists per set and first in the NWC with 0.56 aces per set.
 
The Wildcats fell to 1-13 in conference play which is last in the NWC, while the Pirates improved to 13-1, which helped them win the NWC title.
 
UP NEXT
Linfield plays its last road match of the season against Pacific on Friday at 7 p.m. before returning home for the season finale against Puget Sound at home on Saturday at 6 p.m.