PORTLAND, Ore. – Whitman College's volleyball team swept host Lewis & Clark College by a 3-0 score Friday evening at the Pamplin Sports Center, taking down the host Pioneers by nearly identical scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-18 in the penultimate Northwest Conference match of the season for both teams. Megan Bafus paced four Missionaries that reached double-digits in kills, leading Whitman with 13 in the second-to-last contest of her collegiate career.

Entering the night tied within the conference standings Whitman (10-14, 6-9 NWC) edges ahead of Lewis & Clark (11-13, 5-10) with another sweep after winning the previous match on October 10 by the same score on the Missionaries' home court in Walla Walla, Washington.

Friday evening's match turned in Whitman's favor at roughly the same spot in each game.

Whitman overcame an 8-5 deficit in Game 1 with a 6-0 run and held on for the six-point victory then broke a 12-12 tie in the second game with three consecutive points for a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Early runs provided the Missionaries with leads in Game 3 but Lewis & Clark refused to go away, pulling even after each Whitman string. A 12-9 lead fell by the wayside when the Pioneers answered with three points to square the game at 12-12 but again the Missionaries rattled off a couple of points to pull ahead and this time made it stick, eventually out scoring the home team 10-4 down the stretch to finish off the match.

Most often the key player knocking down points in those critical stretches was Bafus. The senior notched two of her team-high kills in the 3-0 run that provided her team with a 15-12 lead in the second game, then added the second and third points on kills during Whitman's 3-1 run to break open the 12-12 tie in the third.

Bafus wasn't a one-woman wrecking crew, though, as Abby Seethoff, Natalia Zea and Shae Kanakaole each collected 10 kills apiece, helping Whitman compile a 48-35 advantage in kills over the three games.

While net play on the attack was a strong suit for the Missionaries in the win, defensive play off Lewis & Clark attacks factored into the victory as well. Whitman came up with 72 digs, 10 more than the Pioneer defense, with four players reaching double-digits. Hannah Linsenmayer totaled a match-high 25 digs but 12 each from Anna Dawson and Kanakaole and 10 more from Seethoff helped Whitman establish an advantage away from the net.

That defense, along with eight block assists, helped the Missionaries limit L&C to an attacking percentage of just .144 for the night while Whitman rolled up a .283 attack percentage led by Bafus' 37-percent night.

The Missionaries, riding a two-match win streak, head to George Fox University for the final match of the season -- and careers for seniors Bafus and Franny Gardner -- Saturday at 6 p.m. on the Bruins' home court in Newberg, Oregon.