FOREST GROVE, Ore.  The season finalé didn't go as planned for Whitman volleyball Saturday night as host Pacific (Ore.) University was able to sweep the season series with a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-17, 25-13) of the Blues on the Boxers' home court at the Stoller Center.

Hoping to end the season with a win, Whitman (9-12, 9-7 NWC) will instead have to be satisfied with another step forward within the conference. The Blues have increased their league win total each of the past three seasons and this fall finished fourth in the league -- equaling the most recent high from the 2012 season -- just behind Pacific (17-7, 10-6).

Brooke Randall and Kalli Dickey shared team-high honors on the attack Saturday with eight kills apiece. Randall's night included just one attacking error as she finished the match with a .280 attack percentage.

Senior Cherokee Washington, in her final collegiate match, and first-year Sierra Myers played big for the Blues on defense.

Washington, who set a single-match career high in digs the previous night, bested that total by one at Pacific to set a new career high of 25 digs.

Myers was a defensive force at the net on a career night, collecting two solo blocks and three block assists for a total of 3.5 blocks, more than half of Whitman's blocks (5.0) and more than Pacific's entire team (2.0).

Also making her final collegiate appearance for Whitman was setter Anna Dawson who registered 23 assists on the night to close out her career with a total of 2,414 set assists.

Whitman fell behind early, 5-0, in the opening set but was able to battle back into a 12-11 lead. Tied at 19-19, though, Pacific was the one to finish off the set, taking six of the next nine points to pull out the set victory.

The Blues leaped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second but were overtaken by the Boxers at 5-4. The score was tied at 12-12 but Pacific reeled off a 13-5 run to earn the second set and a 2-0 lead heading into the match intermission.

There just wasn't enough battle left in the depleted Whitman squad -- missing a couple of players to season-ending injuries -- in the third set as the Boxers broke away from a 1-1 tie with eight consecutive points then closed out the set and match.

Despite ending the campaign with a loss, the season was yet another upswing for the program. The Blues had won four in a row and eight of their last ten heading into the weekend, momentum from a strong cast of returners that will carry over into the 2018 season.