PORTLAND, Ore. –Lewis & Clark College volleyball hosted the Northwest Conference-leading Whitworth University on Friday and, despite falling in straight sets, showed marked improvement from their first meeting with the 23^rd-ranked team in Division III.
 
THE BASICS
 
Whitworth 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-18)
(Lewis & Clark 0-20, 0-13 NWC)
(Whitworth 21-2, 13-0 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Annika Traxler led the Pioneers with 10 kills and 11 digs for her ninth career double-double. The senior added three total blocks, two of them solo, and the team's lone service ace.  
 
Senior Ella Ruark (six kills) and sophomore HB Schuett (five kills) were second and third on the team in kills. Schuett hit a career-high .667 (5-1-6) to lead all players and reset their career-high in kills. The sophomore added three digs and a block assist.  
 
Sophomore setter Ruby Kuerschner dished out 21 assists with two kills against the Pirates.
 
First-year Daphne Ibrao finished just behind senior libero Kelsie Nakashima (13 digs) and Traxler with a career-high nine digs in the match.
 
The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead with a block from Schuett and senior Emily Strand (three kills), but the Pirates' Abigail Hudson quickly responded with a kill to even the score. The teams traded points through the middle of the set, but neither was able to establish a significant advantage until Whitworth mounted a late surge.
 
With the score tied at 14-14, Whitworth seized control with a 7-1 run, forcing two Lewis & Clark timeouts. Two kills from Ruark, and timely errors from the Pirates pulled the Pioneers with 24-19, but Hudson ended the set with a kill.
 
The set remained close early until Whitworth mounted a decisive 6-1 run midway through, powered by Ella Jimenez's serving and Lauren Kremer's presence at the net. The run forced Lewis & Clark to call their first timeout, trailing 12-6. The Pirates built a 19-11 lead to force the Pioneers' second timeout.
 
Coming out of the timeout, Traxler knocked down a kill and then teamed up with sophomore Christi San Diego (two kills) for a block. Later, another kill by Traxler and a Whitworth hitting error pulled Lewis & Clark within 22-16. The Pirates then took a 2-0 lead in the match, scoring the set's final three points.
 
Whitworth jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead behind Jimenez's hot start, including two early kills. The Pioneers found their footing midway through the set, with Traxler, Schuett and San Diego leading a comeback that tied the score at 8-8. Lewis & Clark took their first lead of the set on Whitworth's attack error on the next play.
 
The teams traded points until 13-13 when Whitworth mounted a decisive 7-1 run that forced Lewis & Clark to call both their timeouts. Ruark pulled the Pioneers within 23-18 with consecutive kills, but Whitworth closed it out to take the set 25-18.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Lewis & Clark held a 49-44 advantage in digs over Whitworth.  
• Ruark put down four of her six kills in the first set with a .375 hitting percentage.
• The third set brought out the best in Kuerschner and Ibrao. Kuerschner recorded eight of her 21 assists, and Ibrao had six of her nine digs in the final frame.

 
WHO'S NEXT

The Pioneers host Whitman College to wrap up their two-match homestand at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.