BOXSCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Lewis & Clark volleyball team brought everything it had on Friday night stunning the Whitworth Pirates, who are currently ranked 21st in the nation, in a three set sweep in Northwest Conference action.
The win improves the Pioneers to 7-10 on the season and 3-4 in conference play. Whitworth falls to 12-5 on the season and earns its first NWC defeat (7-1).
The Pioneers were led by Margaret Dowling and Jennifer Dowdy, who each finished the match with 14 kills. Freshman Kataleya Milan contributed 11 kills. Junior Elena Hoff finished the contest with 14 digs, while Milan came up with 12. Dowing had a strong night at the net on the defensive side, finishing with four block assists. Sophomore Alicia Callejo-Black had the Pioneers only block solo, while also having two block assists.
Kaimi Rocha led everyone in kills and digs, knocking down 16 kills and coming up with 15 digs. Ka'Ipo Rocha had the Pirates lone block solo, while Bree Riddle and Kristine Kardell each had three block assists.
Whitworth captured an early lead in the first set, but were never able to put Lewis & Clark in a major bind. The Pioneers pulled the set even at 12-12 on a 4-0 scoring run kick-started by a Dowdy kill. Lewis & Clark continued to keep the pressure on eventually running up a 22-18 advantage. The Pirates weren't out of the set, battling back to tie the contest at 25-25 before back-to-back kills by Dowling ended the set in the Pioneers favor.
The second set opened with the Pirates off their game as the Pioneers quickly ran up a 20-10 lead after several Whitworth errors. The Pirates settled down to make the set competitive, going on a 10-1 run to pull within a point. With the score in favor of the Pioneers at 21-20, the Pioneers settled in to take the set 25-23.
Lewis & Clark opened the third set with a handful of unforced errors to allow the Pirates to take an early 7-1 lead. The Pioneers eventually settled down, capturing the lead and momentum on a Dowdy kill. As in the other two sets the Pirates inched their way back into the contest , tying the set at 24-24. A Milan kill followed by another Dowling kill ended the contest in favor of Lewis & Clark, completing the upset.
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. when they host Whitman.
