FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Whitman College fell in a five set barn burner Saturday night to Pacific University. The Missionaries traveled to Forest Grove to take on the Boxers for their first of two meetings in Northwest Conference play. Pacific bested Whitman 3-2 in what proved to be an exciting match from start to finish.
 
Momentum had definitely carried over from the night before for Whitman (3-9, 1-5 NWC), who had a back-and-forth win Friday night over Linfield.  The Missionaries jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead on Pacific (4-9, 2-4 NWC) in a set decided by a score of 25-22. Whitman had a match-high 14 kills in the first set, led by junior Natalia Zea, who had five.
 
Whitman played a stellar second set to grab a 2-0 advantage over the Boxers. Zea, Abby Seethoff and Megan Henry combined for eight of the Missionaries' 12 kills in the set and sophomore Anna Dawson accumulated 11 of her team-high 36 assists. Whitman finished with a 26-24 win and was in control through the first two sets.
 
The third set could have clinched the match for the Missionaries, but the Boxers fought through for a 25-22 win and forced a fourth set. Whitman held a 22-18 advantage in the fourth set, but unfortunately Pacific's comeback succeeded. The Boxers took seven of the final eight points of the set and tied the match at 2-2.
 
After falling behind 2-1 in the fifth and final set, Whitman was unable to bounce back eventually falling 15-9 and 3-2 in the match. Though the Missionaries were unable to collect the win Saturday night, they can take several positives away from the contest. Four different Whits collected double-digit digs, one of which was Hannah Linsenmayer, who led all players and accrued a season-high 27.
 
In a team effort, the Missionaries held the advantage in blocks 12-5 and allowed the Boxers an attack percentage of just 11 percent. Henry, a first year student-athlete out of Highlands Ranch Colorado, reached both a season and career bests with 14 kills in a match that had four games decided by three points or less.
 
Things are looking up for the Missionaries who return home from their road-trip with their first conference win of the year and a long home stand ahead of them. Whitman will play its next four matches at home, the soonest coming next Friday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m against Lewis and Clark College.