WALLA WALLA, Wash. –Lewis & Clark College volleyball pushed the third set to extra points while trying to extend Friday night's Northwest Conference road match, but Whitman College prevailed in three sets.
 
THE BASICS
 
Whitman 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-17, 25-17, 28-26)
(Lewis & Clark 0-12, 0-5 NWC)
(Whitman 3-9, 2-3 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
A trio of seniors led the Lewis & Clark attack against the Blues. Annika Traxler led the team with her seventh career double-double (11 kills, 11 digs). Emily Strand (seven kills) and Ella Ruark (six kills) finished second and third on the team in kills.
 
Senior libero Bethany Ballesteros had 12 digs to lead the Lewis & Clark defense. Sophomore HB Schuett finished with a career-high two solo blocks.
 
Sophomore setter Ruby Kuerschner dished out 15 assists and led the team with three service aces.  
 
The Pioneers started slowly in the first set, falling behind 3-1 early. However, they battled back to tie the score at 10-10, sparked by kills from Kuerschner and Traxler. Lewis & Clark kept pace with Whitman through the middle of the set, trailing only 13-11 before the hosts began to pull away. Despite a late push that included Kuerschner's two service aces to close the gap to 13-13, Whitman closed out the set with a 12-4 run.
 
Whitman jumped to a quick 8-0 lead in the second set. Lewis & Clark showed signs of life midway through the set, with Kuerschner finding Traxler for back-to-back kills to close the gap to 13-9. However, the Blues pulled away for another 25-17 victory.
 
Lewis & Clark tied the third set at three-all and took their first lead since 10-9 in the opening set, forcing a Whitman timeout at 8-4. The Pioneers were the first team to reach 20 points (20-15) in the third and held their lead until the Blues tied the set at 22-all. Lewis & Clark fought off two Whitman match points with a kill by Traxler and an attack error by Sophie Broesamle. Schuett gave the Pioneers their first set point at 25-24 with her second solo block of the night. A Whitman service error gave Lewis & Clark their second set point at 26-25. The Blues closed out the match on a 3-0 run.  
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• The Pioneers hit .235 (13-5-34) in the third set, outhitting the Blues (.146) for the first time in the match.
• Kenzie Edwards finished with six assists and four digs, the most for the sophomore in an NWC match.
• Lewis & Clark improved their sideout percentage throughout the match from 32% in the first set to 53% in the final.  

 WHO'S NEXT
 
The Pioneers travel north to Spokane for a meeting with NWC co-leader Whitworth University at 6:00 p.m.