WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A five-point run late in the fourth game looked to give the edge to Whitman College's volleyball team Wednesday night at the Sherwood Athletics Center, but the Pirates from Whitworth University rallied to steal the game and capture a 3-1 Northwest Conference victory over the host Missionaries despite Shae Kanakaole's match-high 18 kills for the home team.

The loss drops Whitman to 8-12 overall and 4-7 in the league while Whitworth improves to 16-2 and 9-2, respectively, and lifts the Pirates to the top of the conference standings.

Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Missionaries recovered from an 11-7 deficit in Game 4 with a 4-0 run ignited by a Kanakaole kill off an assist from Riley Jordan. Whitworth, however, answered with its own 4-0 run to leap back ahead, 15-11. The Pirates maintained a lead and eventually pushed ahead to a 22-19 advantage before Whitman fought back to erase the deficit with five consecutive points, pulling within one point of evening the match.

Abby Seethoff got the ball rolling with her 11th kill of the night. Megan Bafus followed with her ninth kill before Seethoff evened the score at 22-22 with her 12th kill. A Franny Gardner service ace then moved the Missionaries in front for the first time since a Seethoff kill had given her team a 2-1 lead early in the game. Bafus and Natalia Zea teamed up for a block on the next point to extend the run and elevate Whitman to within one point, 24-22, of completing the rally and sending the match to a Game 5.

Whitworth isn't leading the league by accident, though, as it fought off consecutive game points to tie the score. Bafus' 10th kill of the night moved Whitman back in front, 25-24, but the Pirates responded with consecutive points to move within a point of clinching the match.

Zea and Seethoff saw to it that the match wouldn't end right then with a block to tie the score at 26-26, but Whitworth finally eked out two more points to steal the game, 28-26, and earn a difficult road win against a scrappy Missionaries squad.

The night began with a back-and-forth game in the opener. Whitworth broke in front early but Whitman pulled even at 4-4. The score would be tied four more times including at 23-23, behind a 4-0 run by the Missionaries to tie the score, before the Pirates would finish off the win, 25-23.

As soundly as Whitworth won Game 3 (25-9), giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead, Whitman was just as impressive in a Game-2 win to even the match in the game prior. Tied at 8-8 in the second Whitman strung together nine straight points to take command and finished off the win, 25-15, on back-to-back kills from Bafus and Seethoff.

Kanakaole was one of three Missionaries to climb into double-figures on the attack. Seethoff finished with 12 and Bafus added 10. At the net defensively, Zea and Bafus each registered 1.5 blocks of Whitman's 5.0 for the night. In the back court Hannah Linsenmayer came up with a match-high 21 digs with Kanakaole's 17 and Seethoff's 11 adding to the team's total of 66 digs.

The Whitworth attack was spearheaded by Cassandra Mendoza's 15 kills but she wasn't alone at the net as both Brenna Bruil and Nicole Leonard chipped in 14 kills apiece. Maddye Dinsmore set up the attack with a match-best 54 assists.

Whitman rolls back into action Friday night on the road at Pacific (Ore.) University in a 7 p.m. Northwest Conference contest.