SPOKANE, Wash. - After being swept in three straight sets by George Fox University back on Sept. 26 in Newberg, Ore., the Whitworth University Pirates returned the favor Friday night here at the Whitworth Fieldhouse, handing the Bruins a 3-0 setback (25-20, 26-24, 25-17) in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball match.

The Bruins, who had several players miss practices with colds and flu during the past week, never seemed to recover their strength as they suffered through their worst hitting match of the season by far.  With 29 kills but 24 errors in 116 attempts, George Fox posted only a .043 hitting percentage, well below the .105 they hit against Warner Pacific College in the season opener.  Whitworth's .165 mark on 43 kills and 23 errors in 121 attacks was enough to pull the Pirates through.

The Pirates never trailed in set one, but could not put any distance between themselves and the Bruins until the midpoint when they reeled off five unanswered points for a 16-10 lead.  The Bruins battled back within a point at 19-18 on a service ace by Lani Rasmussen, but the Pirates responded with another 5-0 run featuring kills by Morgan Veleke, Ka'ipo Rocha, and Brynn DeLong for a 24-18 lead.  The Bruins took the next two points on a kill by Stephanie Kerr and a Pirate attack error, but a George Fox service error ended the set.  Whitworth hit .194 to .057 for the Bruins.

The Bruins took their first lead of the evening in the second set at 7-6 on a kill by Kaitlyn Maddams.  A Lyndsay Hovee winner gave George Fox its largest lead at 15-12, but a 9-4 Whitworth run put the Pirates back in front 21-19.  Two kills by Kerr around two Pirate attack errors enabled the Bruins to regain the lead at 23-21, and after an exchange of points, the Bruins held a 24-22 lead but could not put the set away.

Two unforced errors by the Bruins enabled the Pirates to tie it 24-24.  Tracy Schwada and Rocha then blocked for the go-ahead point, and Schwada put away a winner to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead in sets.  The Pirates won the set despite hitting only .024 as the Bruins struggled to a .081 mark.

The third set saw eight lead changes and nine ties, including deadlocks at every point from 3-3 through 10-10, before the Pirates erupted.  Leading only 14-13, the Pirates posted 10 kills, three by Kaimi Rocha and the last three by Ka'ipo Rocha, in closing out the set and the match with an 11-4 blitz.  The Pirates hit .273 in the set with 18 kills and six errors while limiting the Bruins to a .000 mark on six kills and six errors.

Hovee had nine kills and Maddams and Kerr six each to lead the Bruins, while Ali Toedtemeier and Lani Rasmussen passed out 13 assists apiece.  Carley Johnson with 12 digs and Jennifer Panico with 10 topped the defense.  The Bruins had six blocks, with four block assists going to Maddams. 

Ka'ipo Rocha led all hitters with 11 kills for the Pirates, with Kaimi Rocha, Veleke, and Schwada contributing eight each.  Jordon Hoffnagle had 21 assists and Bree Riddle 17.  Ariana Obert made 21 digs and Kaimi Rocha 13, while Randi Stephens had two solo blocks and three assists among the Pirates' eight team blocks.

Both teams are back in conference action Saturday at 5:00 p.m., George Fox (14-5, NWC 7-5) continuing its eastern Washington swing at Whitman College and Whitworth (9-13, NWC 5-6) hosting Lewis & Clark College.