WALLA WALLA, Wash. -The Lewis & Clark volleyball team gets its first taste of what is to come in the Northwest Conference on opening day of the Whitman Classic, as the Pioneers take on both Whitworth and Whitman.
GAME ONE: vs. Whitworth
The Pioneers opened the classic with a 3-0 (19-25, 14-25, 22-25) loss to the Pirates. The loss dropped the Pioneers to 2-3 overall and the moved the Pirates to 4-2.
Senior Kataleya Milan led the offense with a match-high 11 kills, while Brigitte Russo concluded the match with 10 kills. Emily Drakedished out 21 assists for the Pios, while senior Vanessa Hall collected 10. Defensively Alexe Navarroearned a match-high 26 digs, while Milan had 15 and Drake finished with 10. The Pios had four players with just one block in Isabel Valentine, Milan, Tessa Belangerand Russo.
The Pioneers played the Pirates strong in the opening half of the first set with Whitworth ending the set with a slim .265 to .225 advantage in attacking percentage. A few ball handling and attacking errors by the Pios late in the set made the difference for the Pirates, propelling them to the 25-19 win.
Valentine, Russo and Milan teamed up to earn the Pioneers a quick lead at the start of the second set, but it was short lived as the Pirate offense rebounded and could not be stopped. Whitworth carried the momentum into the third set running up a 10-4 lead. Trailing, the Pioneers buckled down and pulled themselves back into the set tying it at 15-15 on back-to-back Milan kills setup from Drake. Lewis & Clark took the lead at 18-17 on a Pirate attacking error, its first of the set. It was a battle the rest of the way with the two sides exchanging points, but the Pirates eventually collected the 25-22 win.
GAME TWO: vs. Whitman
Lewis & Clark moved back to .500 on the season with a 3-1 win over the host Whitman Missionaries, improving to 3-3 on the season, while the Missionaries suffered their first loss of the season (2-1).
Lewis & Clark won the opening set 25-19 before falling 18-25 in the second. With the match tied up the Pioneers rallied to take the next two sets 25-15 and 25-18.
Milan once again finished with a match-high in kills this time knocking down 12, while Valentine finished the match with 10 and Russo eight. Drake ended the day with 17 assists against Whitman and Hall picked up 15. Navarro was busy on the defensive side with a match-high 40 digs. Belanger and Valentine led the Pios with three blocks, while Ali Carleton and Milan each collected two.
The Pioneers never trailed in the opening set, holding a 10 point advantage toward the end of the set. Whitman tried to rally late with five unanswered points but it wasn't enough to take the set.
Carleton kicked off the second set in grand fashion for the Pioneers with an ace, but the Missionaries refused to back down. Whitman managed to fight its way back into the set never relinquishing control of the lead once it was captured.
Whitman took the lead first in the third set but Lewis & Clark quickly took control running away with the set. The fourth set proved to be the most evenly matched with the Pioneers looking to end the contest and the Missionaries wishing to extend it to five sets. The Pioneers got their way, taking control of the scoreboard for good on an ace by Navarro. Lewis & Clark continued to move forward, taking the win.
The team returns to the court on Saturday, Sept. 6 for day two of the Whitman Classic.
