TACOMA, Wash. - The Whitman College women's volleyball team lost a tight first set, rallied to even the match in set two, but ultimately fell in four sets to undefeated Pacific Lutheran in Northwest Conference action on Friday night. Set scores were 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 25-16.
Kenzie Martinez delivered a match-high 18 kills and
Nicole Kelly added a double double (13 kills, 18 digs) for the Blues who were on point in sets one and two. They hit at a .324 clip in the opening set and recorded only a single error while hitting .368 in their set two victory.
Baylee Johnson led the Lutes (14-7, 13-0 NWC) with 13 kills and Halle Hetzler added a match-high 24 digs.
Whitman (4-16, 3-10 NWC) led most of the way in set one, albeit by the slimmest of margins. The Blues' biggest lead was three points, one they held at 18-15 after kills from Kelly and Martinez. The Lutes rallied and evened the score at 20-20 after consecutive kills from Claire Hindman. The Blues never led again as Elle Thomas got in on a block and delivered a set-clinching kill.
The Blues rallied to even the match with a set two win. Whitman trailed by five but unleashed a 7-1 run to take its first lead of the set. Later, with the score tied, the Blues won five of the subsequent six points as
Samantha Miller,
Navi Islam-Zwart and Kelly all pitched in with kills to give their team a 20-16 lead, good enough the hold on for the win.
The final two sets belonged to the Lutes, however, who closed out the match with victories in sets three and four.
The Blues face Puget Sound on Saturday, Oct. 28 in their final road contest of the season.
#GoWhitman
