WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Sophie Broesamle delivered a team-high 13 kills,
Jamie Bartok added 17 digs but it wasn't enough as the Whitman College women's volleyball team fell in four sets to George Fox in the Northwest Conference opener for both teams on Friday night at the Sherwood Center. Set scores were 25-20, 25-18, 13-25, 25-23.
Gracie Beardon led the way for George Fox (5-5, 1-0 NWC) with a match-high 15 kills to go along with 15 digs. Haylee Pruse added a team-high 18 assists for Whitman (1-7, 0-1 NWC) who nearly pushed the match to a fifth set after dropping sets one and two.
After comfortable wins by the Bruins in the opening two sets, the Blues responded with a dominant set three victory. Back-to-back kills from Lilli Thompson and Arina Gushchina extended Whitman's lead to five points before Broesamle's offensive explosion blew the lid off. She drilled three kills in a string of four straight Whitman points that lifted the lead to 10 points as the Blues won going away.
Whitman looked prime to push the match to a fifth set after establishing a big lead in set four. Kills from Thompson, Broesamle and Nadia Shepherd spearheaded a 6-1 run to put the Blues up 16-12. Gushchina's kill later made it a 22-16 score but the Bruins rallied to close out the match. Breana Babcock posted a kill and got in on two blocks as George Fox came alive and closed the set on a 9-1 run.
Whitman gets right back at it on Saturday when it hosts Pacific at 6:00 p.m. at the Sherwood Center.
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