SPOKANE, Wash. – Chelsea Wilson collected 26 digs and closed in on a George Fox University single-season record for digs per set, but the Bruins' offense struggled mightily Saturday afternoon here at the Whitworth Fieldhouse as they fell 3-0 (27-25, 25-15, 25-15) to the Whitworth University Pirates in Northwest Conference women's volleyball.

The first set was a game of runs as the Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead on kills by Kristine Kardell and Nicole Leonard before the Bruins responded with a 3-0 run to tie the game on a kill by Tiffany Burk, who was returning to the George Fox lineup after missing three matches due to a mild concussion.  Whitworth again went ahead, this time at 14-9, only to have George Fox come back to tie the game 14-14 on a kill by Erin Campbell.  The Bucs again went ahead, 23-19, before the Bruins made yet another run to tie the score 24-24 on another kill by Campbell. The Pirates took advantage of a George Fox service error to pull ahead 26-25, and Maddye Dinsmore served an ace to give the Bucs the first-set victory.

The teams kept the second set close early as they tied the score four times and traded leads twice. Back-to-back Bruin attack errors gave Whitworth a 7-5 lead, and Dinsmore increased it with back-to-back kills.  The Pirates continued o build their lead from there until Jalana White came up with a kill that gave the Pirates a 24-15 lead, and the set ended with a Bruin attack error.

An early 1-1 tie was the closest the Bruins got in the third set as the Pirates took control from the get-go.  Kardell and Abi Hedlund each had a kill while Leonard served an ace as the Bucs went on a 6-0 run, giving Whitworth all the distance it needed.  After going up 24-15 on a kill from Jacqueline Brennan, Whitworth ended the match on a George Fox ball-handling error.

The Pirates rebounded from hitting -.012 in the first set to hit .323 for the second, and finished with a final percentage of .132 (38-22-121). The Bruins, meanwhile, never hit above .100 in any set, with percentages of .089, .057, and -.081 for a final mark of .026 (24-21-117), their lowest percentage of the season.  The Pirates had at least one ace in every set and finished the night with six in all, while the Bruins, among the league leaders in aces, had none.

Campbell had eight kills to lead the Bruins and Kylee Adderson added five, hitting .333 in the process.  Payton Shrum had 20 assists.  Wilson's defensive numbers pushed her season average to 5.77 digs per set, closing in on Patti Reeves' record for a season of 5.88 per set in 2010.

White had a game-high 11 kills for the Pirates, Kardell added eight, and Leonard had seven.  Dinsmore handed out 28 assists.  Leonard and Dinsmore had 18 digs apiece, and Hedlund contributed 13. 

NEXT: George Fox (9-12, NWC 7-7) hosts league-leading Pacific Lutheran University Friday at 7:00 p.m. in its final home game of the year ... Whitworth (9-12, NWC 5-9) visits Pacific University Friday at 7:00 p.m.