The Pioneer women's volleyball team remains atop the NWC
standings with a 25-16, 25-13, 25-19
victory over the Whitworth Pirates Saturday night at the Pamplin
Sports Center. Margaret Dowling had 12 kills to lead the Pioneers.
In the first set, the Pioneers jumped out to a 6-1 early lead.
Whitworth twice pulled within a point, using a kill by Kaimi Rocha
to get the score to 8-7 and an ace from Jordon Hoffnagle to narrow
the gap to 17-16 late in the match. Margaret Dowling (freshman,
Burlingame, Calif.) landed a kill for the Pioneers to earn the
sideout and push the Pioneers ahead 18-16. With Sarah Hall (junior,
Vancouver, Wash.) on serve, the Pioneers scored seven straight
points to close out the set, including two aces by Hall and a block
by Katherine Fiedler and Margaret Dowling to finish off the Pirates
25-16.
In the second set, the Pioneers dominated, using five blocks and
strong net play to help propel them to a 20-7 lead. A kill by
Maragaret Dowling sent the two teams to the break with the Pioneers
taking the second set 25-13.
In the third set, the Pioneers jumped out to another early lead,
this time going up 10-1 on the Pirates. The Pioneers became their
own worst enemies, committing six errors to help the Pirates get
back into the set, with the Pirates pulling to within two, 15-13.
After a service ace by Jessamy Holland (junior, Honolulu, Hawaii),
the Pirates became the error-prone squad, watching the Pioneers
push their lead back out to 22-14. The Pioneers closed out the
match with a kill by Jessamy Holland to win the set 25-19 and earn
a 3-0 victory in the match.
Margaret Dowling had a game-high 12 kills for the Pioneers.
Dowling also had 14 digs and two blocks. Kelsey Clark had 10 kills
and four blocks. Whitworth's Nikki Bardwell led the Pirates wtih
seven kills.
With the victory, the Pioneers improve to 13-8 overall and 8-2
in the Northwest Conference and remain tied for first place in the
Conference. The Pioneers have won six straight matches and have won
their last seven straight sets, including back-to-back sweeps
of Whitman and Whitworth this weekend. Whitworth falls to 11-11
(4-6 NWC).
The Pioneers are back at home at the Pamplin Sports Center next
Friday night, October 24, when they host the Linfield Wildcats. The
match begins at 7pm.
