By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University freshman Jaiden Mason (S/OPP, Charlotte, NC/Charlotte Christian School) attained a triple-double for the second night in a row, but Whitworth University put together a balanced offensive attack to rally past the Bearcats, 3-1, on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Cone Field House. Willamette won the first set, 25-21, but the Pirates took the next three sets, winning 25-19, 25-15 and 25-19.
Whitworth improved to 12-8 on the season, 9-3 in the Northwest Conference. The Pirates hold second place in the NWC standings. Willamette fell to 7-13 overall, 4-8 in NWC.
Mason finished the match with a team-high 11 kills to go with 17 assists and 12 digs. She also earned two service aces. In Friday's match against Whitman College, Mason contributed 14 kills, 18 assists and 14 digs. With the two triple-doubles, she now has eight double-doubles on the season.
On Saturday, Mason was the only Bearcat with a double-digit kill total. Dreux Bertolucci (Jr., OH, Cottonwood, CA/West Valley HS/Shasta College) added nine kills. Emma Liband (Sr., MH, Sandpoint, ID/Sandpoint HS) and Lauren Stiles (So., OH, Altadena, CA/Flintridge Preparatory School) each provided seven kills.
Elena Vasquez (Fr., Kingston, WA/North Kitsap HS), Willamette's libero, led all players with 25 digs. Mason's 12 digs were matched by Stiiles, and Kunani Tuttle (So., S/OPP, Anahola, HI/Kappa HS) equalled Mason with 17 assists.
"We competed a lot better tonight against one of the best, if not the best, team in the conference," Willamette Head Coach Tom Shoji said. "They have such a balanced attack and really come at you! I think we made them play their best to beat us tonight. We need to be more consistent in all phases of the game, and that takes confidence. It's a work in progress."
Four Pirates registered double-digit kills. Emiko Kahler led the way with 17 kills. Cassandra Mendoza pounded out 16 kills. Corinne Bell earned 14 kills and Lauren Budde supplied 10 kills. Gracie Meiners was credited with 54 assists, while Taylor Wicht contributed 24 digs. Mendoza achieved 18 digs and Meiners completed the match with 14 digs.
The Bearcats scored the first four points and never trailed in the first set. Willamette owned a slim lead at 9-8 following a service ace by Wicht, but the Bearcats answered with a combo block by Liband and Kendall Fox (So., OH, Dupont, WA/Steilacoom HS) as well as a service ace by Nina Hernandez (Fr., LIB/DS, Valencia, CA/William S. Hart HS). A bit later, the Bearcats were in front by just a 14-13 margin before scoring four consecutive points, starting with two kills by Stiles, for an 18-13 lead.
Willamette's lead was 21-19 after Meiners and Bell blocked a kill attempt by Fox. The Bearcats tallied the next two points on a kill by Jennifer Lane (So., MH/OH, Salinas, CA/Notre Dame HS) and an ace from Mason to start a 4-2 run for a 25-21 win.
The entire first set and much of the second set featured mostly side-outs, which would have made scoring difficult in the days of serve-to-score before rally scoring was added to the college game.
Even so, the second set featured an astounding 11 ties and nine lead changes. The set did feature a key scoring run, as Whitworth rallied from an 18-16 deficit with six consecutive points. Bell provided two kills and Mendoza had one kill during the run. Willamette recorded the next point on a kill by Mason, but Whitworth answered with three points in a row to take the set, 25-19.
In contrast, the final two sets included just one tie and one lead change, both early in set #3. Willamette scored the first point, but the Pirates took a 3-1 lead. Whitworth held an 11-9 advantage after 20 rallies, before going on a 4-1 surge for a 15-10 advantage. Two kills from Mendoza and a combo block by Kahler and Belle contributed to the run. The Bearcats scored three of the next four points to get within 16-13. The Pirates pulled away with six points in a row and went on to win the set, 25-15.
Whitworth led throughout the fourth set after building an 8-2 lead. The Bearcats were as close as 12-8 after an attacking error by the Pirates, but couldn't get closer. Whitworth prevailed in the set, 25-19.
Over the course of the match, Whitworth accumulated 65 kills and a .228 hitting percentage. Willamette finished with 43 kills and hit .168 as a team. The Pirates earned a 77-72 lead in digs, while the Bearcats gained an edge with 13.0 team total blocks compared to 10.0 blocks for Whitworth.
The Bearcats will play at University of Puget Sound on Friday, Oct. 27. Match time in Tacoma, Washington, is set for 7 p.m. (PDT).
