WALLA WALLA, Wash. – First-year setter Tate Cadang recorded a double double with 12 digs and a career-high 40 assists to lead the Whitman College women's volleyball team to a thrilling five-set home-opening win over previously undefeated Lewis & Clark College, Friday night in Northwest Conference action at the Sherwood Athletic Center. Set scores were 27-25, 22-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13.
 
Claire McCarthy led the Blues (5-4, 1-0 NWC) with 27 digs, and Codie Conching pitched in with 16.
 
Lewis and Clark's (7-1, 0-1 NWC) Michelle Mcginn notched a double-double, with 18 digs and 21 assists. Senior Mikayla Lopez also had a double-double with 14 digs and 25 assists.
 
The Blues set the tone early on in the first set, taking a 9-3 lead and forcing the Pioneers to call a timeout. The Pioneers continued to chip away at Whitman's lead, tying the set at 24-24. Lewis and Clark took its first lead until the Blues pulled away to take the first set 27-25.
 
The Blues went down 17-10 in the second set, but came back to tie it at 22-22 with two back-to-back kills from Kalli Dickey. Unfortunately, the Blues couldn't sustain their momentum as they dropped the second set 25-22.
 
The Pioneers opened up the set three with an 8-3 lead and forced Whitman into a timeout. The Blues suffered a scoring drought as they went down 11-3, until a monster kill by outside hitter Elyse Benavides got Whitman back in the swing of things. The Blues cut the deficit to four after a kill by senior right side Megan Henry. Whitman came back to tie the game at 23-23, going on to take the third set 25-23.
 
The fourth set was all Whitman to start off until halfway through as the Pioneers began to pry their way back and take a small lead. Whitman brought it back within one as senior Brooke Randall gave the Blues two huge back-to-back kills. Randall sparked her team enough to tie the game 20-20, but the Pioneers pulled through with a 25-21 win to tie the match 2-2.
 
The Blues had control the entirety of the fifth set, with kills by Henry and Dickey helping to extend the lead. A missed serve by the Pioneers gave the final set and the match to the Blues, with a final set score of 15-13.
 
The Blues take on the Willamette Bearcats Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. in Sherwood Center.