Oct. 27, 2006

Whitman Ends PLU Winning Streak

(Courtesy Whitman Sports Information Office)

Match Statistics

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Staring down the momentum of Pacific Lutheran's 13-match winning streak, the Whitman women's volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit in games to grab a five-game victory Friday night in Sherwood Center.

Handing the Lutes their first Northwest Conference defeat of the season, Whitman prevailed 27-30, 21-30, 30-24, 30-28, 15-11.

The loss dropped Pacific Lutheran to 12-1 in the Northwest Conference and 18-5 overall. Holding on to fourth place in the NWC, Whitman improved to 7-6 and 11-10.

The victory was Whitman's second in three meetings with the Lutes this season. The Missionaries won in four games during an early season tournament, although that match did not count in the conference standings. Pacific Lutheran then turned the tables in late September in Tacoma, winning a five-game decision in the first of the home-and-away conference series.

"I really don't think there is a lot of difference between the two teams, which shows in the results of our three matches," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "The two teams are evenly matched, and it comes down to who is playing well. They played very well early in this match, and we played better at the end."

Game one was close all the way with the two teams deadlocking 16 times on the scoreboard. Pacific Lutheran pulled ahead 27-25 on back-to-back kills by Kati McGinn and then closed out the game on a kill by Gina DiMaggio.

With Rosa Brey getting three early kills, Whitman jumped in front 8-4 in game two. But the Lutes drew even at 14-14 on Abby Mitchel's kill, which triggered game-clinching Pacific Lutheran runs of 6-0 and 15-3.

Whitman got untracked in game three, racing away to leads of 9-3 and 16-7. The visitors closed the gap to 24-20, but a service ace from Alex Graves and a kill by Brey kept the Missionaries on track for the win.

Pacific Lutheran took an early 8-3 lead in the fourth game and stretched its lead to 20-14 on a Stacie Matz kill. Down 22-17, the Missionaries reeled off six straight points, winning the last three on two kills by Leslie Compean and one by Brey.

With game four knotted at 25-25, Whitman pulled ahead on another Brey kill and a block at the net by Seider and Kate Borsato. Two more kills by Seider, offsetting Pacific Lutheran kills by Kelcy Joynt and Matz, gave the Missionaries a 29-27 lead. Following a Whitman service error, Seider teamed with Graves for a game-winning block at the net.

After the two sides battled to an 8-8 tie in the deciding fifth game, the match took a final swing in Whitman's favor. Compean slammed a kill and the Lutes misfired on the next three points, committing two attack errors followed by a bad set. With the Missionaries up 13-10, Borsato made a solo block and Whitman notched the final point on a Pacific Lutheran attack error.

Both teams had three players finish with double-digit kills. McGinn and Matz, Pacific Lutheran's two big guns, both finished with 19 kills and 20 digs. Brey countered with 16 kills for Whitman, which also got 11 kills from Seider and 10 from Graves, a first-year right-side hitter. Seider and Graves each had six blocks on the night.

"We didn't get as many kills on the outside as we normally do, but that's because Pacific Lutheran is such a remarkable defensive team," Snider said.

With Megan Kosel leading the way with 28 digs, the Lutes finished with a total of 87 digs.

Both setters had a strong night. Pacific Lutheran's Gina DiMaggio finished with 51 assists and nine kills while hitting .643. For Whitman, Borsato had 47 assists, two kills on just four attempts, 11 digs and three blocks.

The Lutes return to action on Saturday, playing the Whitworth Pirates in Spokane. The match starts at 5 p.m.