WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College played a tight four-set match Friday night against the University of Puget Sound. After falling behind two sets to zero, the Missionaries battled back and nearly evened the score in the fourth, but the Loggers would not allow it taking the match 3-1.
 
The Missionaries collected 77 digs on the night, finishing just six shy of their season high, but ten more than their opponent. Whitman (4-11, 2-7 NWC) had four players with double figure digs and the team combined for 51 kills, again outgaining Puget Sound (8-9, 5-4 NWC) by one. Shae Kanakaole and Megan Henry finished one and two amongst all players with 17 and 11 kills respectively, while Kanakaole led all players in digs with 15.
 
Whitman fell behind early in the first set, but regained control at 6-5. The Missionaries held the lead until late into the set and totaled 12 kills throughout. The Loggers chipped away at the Whitman lead and took the lead at 22-21 and the Missionaries never regained control of the set falling behind 1-0.
 
The second set proved to be the exact opposite, with the Missionaries maintaining an early lead, but Puget Sound taking over 11-10. Whitman showed resilience, fighting their way back from six-down, cutting the Logger lead to one, 24-23 before falling 25-23.
 
After the ten-minute intermission, the Whitties came out with fight. Kanakaole and Henry combined for nine of the 12 Missionary kills in the set. Whitman held the advantage for a majority of the battle, surrendering the lead just momentarily 13-14, but quickly regaining control at 16-15, a lead they would not give up eventually winning the set and climbing back into the match 2-1.
 
The fourth set proved to be the final one, as the Whitman fell to the Loggers three sets to one. Whitman will regroup and be back on the court tomorrow night for a game against Pacific Lutheran. The game is set for 5:00 p.m. and the team will be supporting breast cancer awareness by sporting pink warm-ups.