WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- A long stretch of road matches got a little longer on Friday night as the Lewis & Clark volleyball team dropped a match to the Whitman Missionaries in straight sets at the Sherwood Athletic Center.

Playing the first of five straight road games, Lewis & Clark couldn't find a stretch of points to swing momentum in its direction against a Whitman squad that came into the match with one Northwest Conference victory.

"It shows you the depth of the conference," said Lewis & Clark head coach Stacie Matz-Gordon after the match. "Every match we play is going to be a battle which means we need to bring our best every single night, and tonight, they had a better game."

Official results weren't available shortly after the match on Friday night.

The first set started evenly before Whitman went on a run to take a controlling lead, eventually taking the set.

Lewis & Clark fought back from a small deficit in the second to work to a tie midway through the set, but couldn't close out the Missionaries to fall behind 2-0 in the match.

Despite leading in the early part of the final set, Whitman finished off the match in straight sets.

It was the third straight conference loss for the Pioneers, but they stay in fourth place and just two games out of first place in the NWC. Whitworth, Lewis & Clark's next opponent on Saturday night, is in second place, one game behind conference-leader Willamette.

Other Northwest Conference Scores - Friday

Pacific Lutheran 3, Linfield 0
Whitworth 3, Willamette 1
Pacific 3, George Fox 0