WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Kenzie Martinez and
Teia Magaoay both led the Blues with 17 kills and 14 digs, respectively, but it wasn't enough as the Whitman College women's volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller to Pacific in Northwest Conference action on Saturday night at the Sherwood Center. Set scores were 25-20, 19-25, 16-25, 25-14, 15-7.
Bella Vickers chipped in 11 kills and seven digs for the Blues (4-15, 3-9 NWC). Mara Murphy delivered a match-high 19 kills for the Boxers (2-10, 6-15 NWC).
The opening set was competitive early with Whitman holding an 8-7 lead after Lilli Thompson and Magaoay both got in on a block. The Boxers then took control, running off six unanswered points highlighted by three straight kills from Alison Brown. A Martinez kill halted the run, but Pacific pushed the lead up to eight points and pulled away for the win.
The Blues responded and evened the match with a solid set two victory. They took charge early as Vickers drilled a kill and got in on a block to put Whitman up 8-4. A pair of kills by Martinez kept the lead at four points, but the Boxers rallied and whittled their deficit to one point. Whitman responded with five unanswered points capped by a Thompson block and cruised to the win.
Whitman retained the momentum after the break and delivered a dominant win to go up in the match. Nicole Kelly recorded two aces as part of an early run that put her team up 8-2. The lead continued to grow after a Martinez kill and a Navi Islam-Zwart block to help bring the lead to 20-11.
Unable to pull out the victory in four sets, the Blues fell in set four and the match headed to a deciding fifth set which turned out to be somewhat of a lopsided one. Anneke Hanson posted back-to-back kills to put the Boxers up 7-4, and Brown helped secure the win with a late kill.
The Blues hit the road for the final time next weekend with NWC matches at Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound.
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