WALLA WALLA, Wash.  It certainly was an exciting way to send a graduating class off.

Whitman College volleyball seniors Breanna Mehling, Shae Kanakaole and Natalia Zea played the final games of their careers Friday night at the Sherwood Athletic Center, where the trio helped the newly anointed Blues rally from a disheartening first-set loss to sweep the next three games in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21) Northwest Conference victory over visiting Lewis & Clark College in the final contest of the season.

The Pioneers (5-17, 4-11 NWC) themselves must have thought they'd found the key to defeating Whitman (11-13, 8-8 NWC) after clawing back from a 9-1 deficit in the evening's opener to steal a three-point win.

Lewis & Clark's momentum carried into the second game where it trailed only at 1-0 before wresting the lead away and building several five-point cushions.

The match -- the night, the season? -- turned at the last of those deficits for Whitman and its seniors.

Trailing 19-15 the Blues got on a roll beginning with a kill from Katie Sisson, one of her 10 on the night.

A block by Megan Henry added a second straight point followed by a third on a Henry kill.

Sisson and Brooke Randall got together on a block for a fourth point followed by a service ace from Mehling to tie the game up. Another Sisson kill and another one from Henry completed the 7-0 run that turned the tables on the Pios.

Zea and Kanakaole would put the finishing touches on game two with back-to-back kills that clinched a win that avoided a 2-0 deficit in the match.

The third game did see the Pios score the first point, but that would be their only lead of the set as Whitman rolled to an 11-point win to inch closer to the match victory.

The clincher in the fourth saw the Blues break away from the Pios at 5-5 and never again trail as Whitman closed out the night with a four-point game victory.

Kanakaole's team-high 15 kills upped her career total to 950, and Zea added four blocks to close out her career with 382 blocks. Mehling nearly had a career night but had to settle for a season- and game-best 28 set assists in her final game.

Prior to the match the three seniors were joined by family members and honored with framed jerseys from their time at Whitman. The graduating Class of '17 finish their careers with 35 wins, including 24 conference wins.