FOREST GROVE, Ore.  Late in Friday evening's match Whitman's volleyball team looked as if it was going to stave off an upset from host Pacific (Ore.) University, but the Boxers rallied with a fifth-set win to steal a 3-2 victory from Whitman in Northwest Conference action at the Stoller Center.

Whitman (8-9, 5-4 NWC) pulled off its own rally in the fourth set to square the match at two games apiece, and hoped to ride the momentum from that win into a match victory on the home court of the Boxers (11-8, 5-4).

Pacific had won the first game, 25-18, but Whitman was the team that may have exited the set with momentum as it had fought back from a 10-point deficit at 15-5 to pull within three late, at 19-16, before the Boxers were able to scratch out the win.

Whitman led early in the second, only to slip behind at 10-9 on an attacking error. Neither Pacific nor Whitman could pull away, though, as the set saw 12 ties and three lead changes, the last of which was at 20-19 on a kill from Miranda Taylor.

The 25-22 second-set victory hinted at more good things to follow for Whitman, but it was the home team that came out of the 10-minute intermission to then nab the lead in the match again with a 25-20 win.

Backs to the wall Whitman rebounded with its own 25-20 win to push the match to a deciding fifth.

Pacific never trailed in that final set, however, finishing with a flurry in a 15-8 win that sealed the upset and pulled the Boxers even with Whitman in the league standings.

Taylor posted a team-high 11 kills in the match, but not far behind were Natalia Zea and Shae Kanakaole who each contributed 10. 

Zea was a force at the net on defense, helping Whitman establish an 11.0-5.0 edge in blocking for the night by registering one solo block and six block assists.

Perhaps the biggest edge that was established in the match was on the floor, though, as Pacific seemed to pick up everything, finishing with sizable edge in digs, 97-77. The continuation of play continually buoyed the Boxer attack which was led by the two-headed moster of Karlee Duncan and Tiare Kaopua. The pair tallied 42 of their team's 61 total kills.

Still within reach of the top of the conference standings Whitman will seek to gain a mark in the win column Saturday evening when it takes on host George Fox University, a team Whitman defeated 3-0 in 85 minutes on September 17.