MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - With both Linfield and Whitman fighting for their first Northwest Conference win of the season, Saturday night's match between the two teams made for an instant classic. After a hard-fought battle, the Blues came away the victors by a score of 3-2 at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
The home team 'Cats began the first set on fire, jumping out to a 10-1 lead before Whitman began to battle back. Despite the Blues furious comeback, Linfield closed out the set 25-23 in a nail-biter.
The second set featured another tight battle between two NWC foes. There were two lead changes and three ties as Linfield found itself fighting to take the lead back time-and-again in route to a 25-22 Whitman victory.
The third set proved to be Linfield's best. The Wildcats found themselves leading 14-4 early in the set and never looked back, winning 25-12 thanks to four kills by
Journey DePonte and eight digs by
Marina Erosa in the set.
Feeling the pressure after losing two sets, Whitman played the fourth set with a fury they had yet to show in the match. The set started out back-and-forth featuring six ties and three lead changes before the blues began to pull away and eventually close out the set 25-20.
In a winner-takes-all fifth set, the 'Cats and Blues put on a battle for the ages. Whitman started the set strong and found themselves with a 9-4 lead before Linfield put together a run of their own. The Wildcats got to within two at 14-12 before Whitworth put on the finishing touches to come away victorious 15-12.
Journey DePonte and
Marina Erosa guided the Linfield attack throughout the match, each tallying 11 kills on the night. Erosa also recorded a team-high 22 digs.
Paige Richards contributed 12 digs to the defensive efforts for the Wildcats while
Katelyn Mawdsley added 2 block assists. As a team, Linfield's hitting percentage reached .176.
For the Blues, Arina Gushchina and Quinn Pulver led the way with 10 kills each and Sophie Broesamle added seven of her own. Gushchina also led the team in digs with 17 while Jackie Zapanta and Jamie Bartok added 15.
NEXT
Linfield is back in action on Tuesday against Lewis & Clark in Portland at 7 p.m.
