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Whitworth Sweeps at L&C to Win Northwest Title
Story and Photo Courtesy of the Whitworth Athletics Site
SPOKANE, Wash. -- With a Northwest Conference volleyball championship within its grasp, Whitworth clamped a death-grip on the title with a dominating sweep at Lewis & Clark on Saturday night.
The Pirates trailed only one time in the entire match on the way to a 25-13, 25-15, 25-15 win over the Pioneers. Whitworth finishes the regular season 17-6 overall and 14-2 in the NWC, claiming its first conference crown since 2005 and the school's fourth since 2001 under head coach Steve Rupe.
Kaimi Rocha completed her outstanding weekend by leading the Pirates with 16 kills and 10 digs. She finished with 33 kills in a pair of weekend road sweeps.
Whitworth jumped to a 7-1 win in the first set on a kill by Randi Stephens, forcing a timeout by L&C. Whitworth led 17-7 after a Pioneer attack error before L&C used a quick 5-0 run to force a Pirate timeout. But Whitworth closed the set on an 8-1 run to win 25-13.
L&C took a 2-0 lead in the second set and led 3-2 when the Pirates scored three straight. Whitworth would not trail again in the match. Consecutive aces by Amanda Grumbach gave the Bucs a 19-9 lead then Rocha ended the set at 25-15 with a kill.
The third set went much like the first with the Pirates jumping to an early 9-2 lead after back to back L&C attack errors. By the time setter Bree Riddle dropped a ball over the net for a kill that gave Whitworth an 18-6 lead, it was just a matter of playing out the match to win the championship.
Whitworth hit .267 as a team. Ka'ipo Rocha added seven kills for the Bucs. Grumbach, the NWC leader in aces, finished with four to go along with a team-high 13 digs. Riddle had 33 assists and two aces.
The Pioneers (10-16 overall, 6-10 NWC) were held to a -.011 attack percentage. Margaret Dowling led L&C with seven kills.
Whitworth will find out on Monday morning where, and who, the Pirates will play in the NCAA Division III volleyball regionals. The regional round of the tournament takes place November 12-14.
