WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Whitman College volleyball proved itself broom-savvy at Sherwood Center Saturday evening, and not just by sweeping George Fox 25-19, 25-14, 25-23 --and thus, sweeping its opening weekend of Northwest Conference competition.

Whitman's clean-up acumen was manifest in micro, too, a knack for mopping miniature messes of its own creation which bodes well as the team prepares to hit the conference road and extend a season-high three-match winning streak.

Take Game 1 against George Fox, in which Whitman (5-5, 2-0 NWC) quickly and emphatically addressed one of the few dust streaks from an otherwise polished performance on Friday against Pacific University. Players and head coach Matt Helm lamented shaky defense in that win and then took it seriously out of the gate on Saturday, winning sideouts on a jaw-dropping 15 of 19 Bruins serves.

It was the type of incremental improvement that Helm preaches. It also allowed Whitman to dictate tempo against a taller foe, establish and develop its attack at the net and set the tone for a crisp, all-around defensive effort.

"Coach always says we should be getting at least 1% better every match," sophomore outside hitter Katie Sisson said. "Even if it's just a little thing, we want to do one thing better. We meshed better tonight. Our rhythm was improved, even from last night."

Sisson was one of several opportunistic end-line beneficiaries of the defensive upgrade. Her nine kills were second, match-wide, to senior teammate Shae Kanakaole, who smacked 11. Fellow second-year socker Megan Henry battered eight kills and senior Natalia Zea added seven as Whitman put away 44 kills to George Fox's 26.

Whitman was cleaner at the net, too, committing just nine attack errors, including only one in Game 3.

But while its versatile attack provided the greatest entertainment value, it was Whitman's behind-the-scenes crew which showed the most growth -- and allowed it to control the match. After its exceptional serve-receive display in the match's opening game, Whitman's defense congealed around its blockers to limit George Fox to a .089 attack percentage.

"Our blocking struggled a little in the first set," Helm said. "We addressed that and set up a good front. Our defense was able to work around us. We're really working on digging."

Sophomore libero Codie Conching (17 digs), junior setter Anna Dawson (13), sophomore outside hitter Miranda Taylor (eight) and senior defensive specialist Cherokee Washington (five) buzzed around to protect the home floor from unwieldy scuffing whenever a Bruins' hit eluded Whitman's stout net-minders.

Their passes were sharp, Dawson's sets accurate, George Fox's doom sealed.

"We all have so much respect for our defense and passers," said Sisson. "They are setting the foundation for our offense. When they're killing it in the back row, it gets us in system, and we're able to run our most efficient offense."

Dawson dished out 35 assists and, for the second consecutive night, was glad to share the wealth across generations. Seniors accounted for 44 total attacks, sophomores 59.

"This is a very competitive program. We all compete, in a healthy way, and we owe it to our passers and our setters to the put the ball away," Sisson said. "It's exciting and it's also something we owe to our teammates."

Whitman was rarely tested in booking Game 1 and Game 2 wins. It trailed only twice -- by one point on the first serve of each game -- and seemed on the verge of blowing the Bruins out in Game 3 when Taylor stepped to the back stripe and started dealing darts reminiscent of her momentum-swinging service display in the decisive fourth game against Pacific. Taylor served six consecutive points, sprinkling two of her team-high four aces into the brew, as Whitman pulled ahead 10-7. But the Bruins answered with four straight points.

The pattern repeated after a 12-2 run had put the hosts ahead 23-14. Fox ripped off an 8-0 run to pull within a point.

But a kill by Henry and a mis-hit by the visitors tied a bow on Whitman's first match sweep since the season's opening weekend, and continued to exorcize ghosts of blown leads past.

"We were really level-headed tonight," said Henry. "We didn't let errors freak us out. We're playing our game.

"Last year, one of our biggest issues was finishing," she added. "We try in practice to put ourselves in the kinds of situations we could face when protecting a lead. We had the mindset going into the third set that we weren't going to give that set up."

Whitman continues NWC play at Willamette University at 7 p.m. on Friday and visits Linfield College at 5 p.m. Saturday.