Box Score WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A speed bump in the second game of the season wasn't nearly enough to derail Whitman College's volleyball team from a 3-1 season-opening win Friday night over visiting Walla Walla University in a non-conference match at Sherwood Athletics Center.
The Missionaries (1-0) pounded out a 25-5 win in the season's opening game but surrendered the second to the Wolves (0-1) by a count of 25-20. That loss was a quick wake-up call to an experienced squad breaking in only a pair of new setters as Whitman rolled to a 25-17 win in the penultimate game before closing out the match with a quick 25-12 win.
Returners
Shae Kanakaole,
Megan Bafus and
Natalia Zea led the Whitman attack with, respectively, 10, 7 and 7 kills apiece. But the big story in the match was the front-line defensive play as the Missionaries accumulated 13.0 blocks to just 3.0 for the Wolves.
Zea, who also added three digs and three service aces, came up with six block assists while Bafus chimed in with a solo block and three block assists, statistics matched exactly buy newcomers
Kaileah Akker and
Anna Dawson. Another first-year player,
Rachael Haggen, added a solo block and Kanakaole chipped in with three block assists to round out the Missionaries' dominant net play.
Defensive specialist
Hannah Linsenmayer, along with Dawson and Kanakaole, added back line help on defense accumulating a total of 23 digs between the threesome, more than half of the team's 41-dig effort during the win.
Dawson had a solid night in her first collegiate match, leading both teams in set assists with 19 while piling up six service aces to go along with her defensive efforts.
Whitman's strong start was dampened by the second-game let down. The Missionaries trailed in that game from the outset but pulled even at 17-17 before surrendering the win late. That loss clearly served as a wake-up call for head coach
Matt Helm's charges as the Missionaries opened the scoring in the third game and never trailed the rest of the way in recording the first win of the 2014 season.
Next up on the schedule is the
Whit Classic hosted by the Missionaries in Sherwood Center on Sept. 5-6. The Whitties will host Mills (Calif.) College, Whittier (Calif.) College, Lewis & Clark College and Whitworth University in non-conference matches over the two days of the Classic.
