Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The opening match of the 2014 Whit Classic at the Sherwood Athletics Center went well for Whitman College's volleyball team as the hosts rolled to a quick 3-0 win over visiting Mills (Calif.) College but the Missionaries were downed, 3-1, by Lewis & Clark College late in the day to close out the first day of the two-day Classic with a split record, pushing their season mark to 2-1.

Whitman posted an attacking percentage of .448 in the win over Mills while also rolling up 16 service aces to dominate the non-conference match against the Cyclones. Hannah Linsenmayer posted a match-best five aces while also coming up with the match-high in digs (12). Abby Seethoff, with three aces, and Megan Bafus, Franny Gardner and Riley Jordan, each with two, were part of a group of five Whitties that collected at least a pair of aces.

Mills' defense and blockers were no match for the Missionaries at the net. Whitman even flirted with an attacking percentage of .500 in the final game before settling for a .448 mark. Kaileah Akker posted nine kills to lead all players while Shae Kanakaole added eight, Bafus chipped in with seven and Seethoff posted six in only two games. Conversely, Mills finished the match with only 10 kills and an attacking percentage of .045 though it did come up with a 4.0–1.0 advantage in team blocking totals.

Setting up the Whitman attack were Anna Dawson and Jordan who finished with 20 and 13, respectively, set assists.

The evening match, a non-conference outing against Lewis & Clark, was a different story for Whitman though neither team's numbers were nearly as pretty as the Missionaries' opening match of the day.

The visiting Pioneers led throughout much of Game 1 and were one point from the win before Whitman steeled itself and fought off five consecutive game points. Lewis & Clark finally gained the clinching point but a blueprint for success was at least visible.

A narrow 6-5 deficit in Game 2 flipped to Whitman's favor with six straight points to take an 11-6 lead midway through. The lead grew to nine at 24-15 but just like in the opening game the team trailing, this time the Pioneers, fought off a few match points, three to be exact, before Whitman would close out the game with a final point.

At that point in the match both teams had posted negative attack figures in the first game, and only Whitman, with a .122 mark, was able to avert another negative figure in the second game. The eight-minute changeover between the second and third games must have been a good one for Lewis & Clark, though, as they pounded out a 25-18 Game-4 win behind a .290 attacking mark, compared to .067 for Whitman, then closed out the match victory with a 20 percent mark in a 25-18 Game 4 victory. Whitman, by contrast dropped to a .032 attacking percentage.

Whitman's defensive play at the net in the loss was one positive to take away from the match. The team finished with 14.0 blocks, led by Natalia Zea's one solo block with six block assists. Kanakaole was also a major contributor at the net adding in a solo block with five block assists.

Dawson led the way for both teams chalking up 29 set assists in defeat.

Whitman, Mills and Lewis & Clark are back in action on Day 2 of the Classic on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. with a Lewis & Clark and Mills match-up. Whitman steps onto the court for the 1 p.m. contest when it will square off against Whitworth University in a non-conference match. The Missionaries close out the tournament with the 7 p.m. match against Whittier (Calif.) College.