By Mark Colachico, Interim Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- Despite coming back from a sluggish first set to tie the match early, Willamette University could not keep Whitworth University at bay with the Pirates earning a four-set Northwest Conference victory, 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20), Friday inside Cone Field House.

The visiting Pirates improve to 10-4 overall and 3-2 in the NWC with the win, while the Bearcats drop to 7-7 overall and 2-3 in the NWC.

Taylor Gee (Sr., MH/OH, San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS) provided a season and career-high 10 blocks (all assist) in the match, while reigning NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week Sarah Fincher (Jr., OH, Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS/Southwest Baptist Univ.) and Alexa Dowdell (So., MH/OPP, Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS) tied for the team-lead with nine kills each. Fincher also contributed 24 digs defensively for the Bearcats.

Lindsey Compton (Jr., OH/S, Portola, CA/Portola HS/Univ. of Hartford) ran Willamette's offense with 23 assists, while four Bearcats - Peyton Wahl (Fr., DS/LIB, Richland, WA/Richland HS), Fincher, Compton, and Elisa Ahern (Sr., OPP, Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS) - registered double digit dig totals with 25, 24, 12, and 12, respectively.

Along with Gee, Ahern add seven blocks to go along with five by Fincher. As a team, Willamette registered 13.0 total blocks.

Whitworth was led offensively by Brenna Bruil with a match-high 14 kills, while Cassandra Mendoza, Nicole Leonard, and Haley Vick added 12, 11, and 11 kills, respectively. Maddye Dinsmore handed out a match-high 50 assists for the Pirates, while Leonard provided a match-high 31 digs defensively. At the net, Bruil, Mendoza, and Vick led the Pirates with three blocks each.

The opening set began with Whitworth jumping out to a 17-5 lead on a Willamette attack error. Despite the 12-point hole that the Bearcats were in early, Willamette fought back to within eight points (20-12) on a hitting error by Whitworth. Unfortunately that would be as close as the Bearcats would get, as Whitworth closed out opening set on a 5-1 run for the 25-13 victory.

Set #2 would be a different story for Willamette, as the Bearcats tied things at 5-5 on a combo block by Gee and Fincher before extending their lead to three points (10-7) on a kill by Ahern. Whitworth would battle back to within a single point (12-11) before Willamette used a 4-1 run to pull ahead 16-12 on a ball handling error by the Pirates' setter. The Bearcats would never relinquish their lead and ended the set on an Ahern kill for a 25-21 victory that tied the match at a set apiece.

The third set would be a back-and-forth battle over the opening 20 combined points until Whitworth used an 8-3 run to pull ahead 18-13 on a kill by Shawna Korshavn. Willamette would pull within three points (18-15) on an attack error by the Pirates before Whitworth closed out the set on a 7-2 run for the 25-17 victory.

The fourth and final set would see Whitworth grab the lead early behind the serving of Mallorie Schoesler, as the Pirates never let go of the lead despite Willamette tying the score at 18-18 on a combo block by Ahern and Gee. Following the set's only tie, Whitworth closed out the match on a 7-2 run for the 25-20 victory that sealed the win.

As a team, Willamette hit .024 (30-26-165) compared to Whitworth's .194 (61-25-186). The Bearcats' best offensive performance of the night came in Set #2, as Willamette hit .306 (13-2-36) in capturing the victory.