WALLA WALLA, Wash.  The University of Puget Sound entered Saturday night's Northwest Conference volleyball match at Whitman College unbeaten in league play. Which can no longer be said as Whitman took down the Loggers, 3-1, to deal UPS its first league loss.

Shae Kanakaole led the attack for Whitman (7-7, 4-2 NWC) with 18 kills. Only one other player, Hannah Stinson of UPS (10-4, 5-1), reached double figures on the attack with Stinson recording 10 in defeat.

Much like Friday night in a league loss at home, Whitman didn't get off to the start it wished for in Game 1 Saturday against the Loggers. Unlike Friday, though, it was the tail end of the game in which Whitman faltered, surrendering a 21-16 lead in falling 25-22.

That's where Friday's script was re-written on Saturday, however. Whitman traded the lead with the Loggers for much of Game 2 Saturday, trailing at most by three points before using a four-point run, a two-point spurt and then a three-point run to take command and even the match with a 25-22 victory.

Game 3's script followed the previous game, even hitting the turning point at the exact same score, with Whitman trailing 17-14. A five-point string erased the deficit and Whitman was able to then hang on to move ahead in the match with a 25-23 win.

Whitman didn't do much messing around in what would turn out to be the deciding game. Behind at 5-4 Whitman reeled off seven straight points to forge a six point lead. Natalia Zea put down a pair of kills to initiate the run and Megan Henry added a pair of service aces to help the string run along.

From that point forward the Loggers put together consecutive points only twice in falling further and further behind the surging group from Whitman that tasted the upset more and more each point.

The defense was a strong point all night long for Whitman as three players reached double figures in digs and the net play of the blockers resulted in a 14.0 to 11.5 advantage in total blocks. The defense was so dominant in the deciding game that it held Puget Sound to a negative number for its attack percentage.

The road doesn't get easier for third-place Whitman. Next up is a road trip to Spokane, Washington, where it will take on Whitworth University, tied for the top spot in the league with UPS, on Wednesday evening.