SPOKANE, Wash.  Fighting for a spot near the top of the Northwest Conference volleyball standings, Whitman College traveled to the league leader Wednesday evening with hopes to inch closer to the top rung. That upward climb will have to wait until the next outing as host Whitworth University took a 3-0 match from Whitman in front of a vocal crowd in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Whitman (7-8, 4-3 NWC) entered the night tied for second in the league but slips into a tie for third after the loss while the Pirates (12-4, 6-1), who were in a tie for first before the match, leave with sole possession by winning their ninth of their past 10 matches.

The opening two games, 25-18 and 25-20, were endeavors in one team trying to outlast the other as neither put together lengthy strings of unanswered points.

Whitworth just seemed to chain together one more point than Whitman would muster with each run, whether it be a three-point string, a two-point string or just a single point. The deficit was mostly four points or less for Whitman in the night's opener until late, a pattern that would be matched in the second game as well.

The final game veered from the evening's prior script, however, as Whitworth broke out in front 11-3 before finally closing out Whitman by a 25-13 count.

Megan Henry and Shae Kanakaole registered game-high kills for Whitman with nine each, with Katie Sisson chipping in with six. Net play when on defense was stellar for the visitors who won the blocking battle against the Pirates, 6.0-3.0, as Natalia Zea put up a game-best four block assists for Whitman.

Whitworth stunted the Whitman attack by coming up with 48 digs, then fed Brenna Bruil, Cassandra Mendoza and Lauren Budde at the net all night as the trio combined for 34 of the Pirates' 45 kills.

Whitman will look to regain some footing in the league race Saturday in Portland, Oregon, where it will square off against host Lewis & Clark College which is immediately behind Whitman in the conference standings.