WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Lewis & Clark College volleyball dropped a 25-19, 25-18, 25-9 result to Whitman College on Friday night at Sherwood Center in Northwest Conference play.
 
THE BASICS
 
Whitman 3, Lewis & Clark 0
(Lewis & Clark 0-20, 0-13 NWC)
(Whitman 9-11, 8-5 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Juniors Isabel Meleán-Williams and Kaitlyn Jensen led Lewis & Clark with five kills apiece against the Blues. Meleán-Williams posted a .286 hitting percentage, added two digs and a service ace. Jensen tallied a team-high two aces along with four digs.
 
Setter Ruby Kuerschner paced the offense with 13 assists. The junior tied for second on the team with five digs and added two kills.
 
Junior middle blocker Christi San Diego finished with three kills and two solo blocks.
 
Lewis & Clark traded points with Whitman early in the opening set and were tied 5-all. The Blues took the next two points and used a serving run from Haylee Pruse, which included two aces, to build a 15-7 lead. The Pioneers answered with a four-point stretch on two Whitman attack errors and an ace from Meleán-Williams to pull within 15-11. Jensen added a late ace that trimmed the margin to 21-18 before Whitman closed the frame on a 4-1 run to win 25-19.
 
In the second set, Whitman opened with a 5-0 lead before Lewis & Clark responded with a 7-3 stretch behind kills from San Diego and Meleán-Williams and another Jensen ace, cutting the deficit to 8-7. A Meleán-Williams kill and a Whitman attack error evened the score at 10-10. The Blues countered with another run to go ahead 17-12 and held off a late push that included kills from Jensen, Meleán-Williams, senior Abigail Warrick and junior HB Schuett to take the set 25-18.
 
Whitman controlled the third set behind strong serving and steady attacking. Lewis & Clark briefly rallied after a Kuerschner kill and an ace by junior Kenzie Edwards that made it 12-6. Jensen and Kuerschner added back-to-back kills to cut the margin to 13-8, but Whitman closed on a 12-1 run to secure the match.
 
Defensively, sophomore Daphne Ibrao led the back row with eight digs. Liberos first-year Ariah Potts and senior Reilyn Sabado added five and two digs, respectively.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Schuett added an ace, an assist and a dig in the match.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Ainsley Mochrie recorded her second kill of the season.
• Whitman finished with 12 service aces to Lewis & Clark's five.
• San Diego accounted for both of Lewis & Clark's blocks; Whitman did not register a block.

UP NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark continues its eastern Washington trip Saturday at Whitworth University. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Spokane.