McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield volleyball pulled off a reverse sweep in Spokane in the Wildcats' first meeting with Whitworth. The Pirates returned the favor in the sequel, a five-set thriller Thursday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
Linfield took the first two sets, winning 25-19 and 25-23. Whitworth bounced back with its back against the wall, winning 25-19 and 25-22 to force a fifth set. Set No. 5 was tied at 9-9, but the Pirates broke away, 15-12, to get their revenge on the Wildcats.
The 'Cats went off in the opening set with a .216 hitting percentage. They finished the frame with just three errors while the Pirates had a match-high 11. The 'Cats led by as much as four points, but the Pirates rallied to claim their first lead of the match at the 17-16 mark. The home team went on a 5-0 run to retake the lead and never looked back.
Whitworth hit .186 as a team compared to Linfield's .158. The Pirates got off the ropes in set No. 3, racking up 15 kills on a .294 hitting percentage before hitting .317 for 17 kills in the fourth set. The Pirates had 18 of the match's 33 blocks.
Maddie Lee shook off a slow start to finish with a team-high 17 kills on 50 attempts to go with 15 digs. Jaye Hodge picked up a double-double herself with 16 kills and 11 digs while Ella Jimenez hit .429 to add 15 kills. Evan Millan led all players with 21 digs.
Three Linfield players registered double digit kills.
Raelynn Hammock turned in a double-double of 21 kills and 14 digs. It was her fourth straight double-double and 13
th of the season. She has racked up 20 or more kills six times during her senior campaign.
Ellie Mead finished with 12 kills on a .385 hitting percentage. She and fellow middle blocker
Megan Stanek had seven blocks apiece while
Aylea Dixon had four to go with a match-high 43 assists.
Araeya Watanabe's 10 kills marked the first double digit performance of her collegiate career.
The win put Whitworth (17-6, 11-4 NWC) a game up on Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound for first place in the Northwest Conference standings. The Lutes took down the Loggers in four sets Wednesday night to come into a tie with their Tacoma neighbors with a 10-5 NWC mark.
NEXT
Linfield's (8-14, 4-11 NWC) season of improvement comes to an end Friday night when the 'Cats host the Whitman Blues at TWG. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The 'Cats will be honoring eight players on Senior Night:
Maya Nakasone,
Kayla Moss,
Aylea Dixon,
Megan Pallas,
Megan Stanek,
Kara Thomas,
Raelynn Hammock and
Ellie Mead.
