HOUSTON - The Whitman College women's volleyball team capped a solid visit to the Lone Star State with a split on the final day of the First Responders Tournament. The Blues fell in straight sets (25-13, 28-26, 25-17) to host St. Thomas (Tex.) in the morning match before producing a sweep of their own over Schreiner University (25-18, 25-16, 25-15) to cap the trip.
Following the tournament, both
Christina Boxberger and
Teia Magaoay earned all-tournament honors
St. Thomas 3 Whitman 0
Kenzie Martinez led the Blues (2-6) with 10 kills and Jamie Bartok added a team-high 19 digs, but it wasn't enough to take down the Celts (6-1).
Paige Havel shared match-high honors with Martinez with 10 kills and Ally Peters posted a match-high 25 digs.
Though falling by a wide margin in set one, Whitman nearly turned the tides to even the match. After Nicole Kelly's kill put the Blues up 5-3, neither team led by more than a single point until Kelly struck again to put her team up 15-13. The match continued to tighten as a 4-0 run capped by an Alyssa Ajlouny kill put UST up 17-15.
The two teams later exchanged 3-0 runs. A block from Sydney London and kill from Sophia Domintz put Whitman up 23-20, but three straight UST points evened the set. Down the stretch, the Blues twice failed to convert on set points, but two Ashlynne Fitzgerald kills helped close the set for UST with three straight points to grab the win and two-set lead.
Whitman 3 Schreiner 0
The Blues delivered a dominant win over Schreiner (4-4) to close the weekend. Boxberger led on attack and defense, posting match highs of 11 kills and three blocks while adding 10 digs. Kelly added eight kills and a match-high 10 digs.
Set one saw the Blues win comfortably but needed to stave off a furious Mountaineer run. Whitman led by three early before enduring a 10-1 run to trail 12-6. The Blues later regained the momentum after running off seven straight points to go up 18-15, and closed the set on a 7-1 jaunt.
The Blues used a 5-0 run in set two to pull away. Leading only two points, Martinez started the run with a kill then later added another to put her team up 16-9. Whitman's offense then came alive as Boxberger delivered back-to-back kills and Kelly, Martinez and Dominitz each added another to help the Blues pull away.
The third and final set saw Schreiner lead by three points midway through, but also a string of eight unanswered Whitman points which helped the Blues pull away for the sweep.
The Blues now serve up Northwest Conference play next Friday and Saturday with matches at Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran.
