Whitworth volleyball took on Pacific Lutheran University in a home game Saturday, Sept. 29. The Pirates ended up sweeping the ninth ranked Lutes with a final score of 3-0. At the end of the first set the score was 25-13, 26-24 after the second set, and finished the third set with a score of 25-20. This victory puts the Pirates 10-5 in the overall season, and 5-1 in the Northwest Conference.

In the first of three sets the Pirates got off to a strong 6-0 lead, with senior Erin White having a dump putting the score at 12-6. To cap off the first match Senior Jessica Schmautz had a total of 17 kills, giving Whitworth the win. In the second set junior Madison Douglas set the match going with a kill but the Lutes fought back, bringing the score to 16-16 tie. Junior Iris Tikhonov and senior Lauren Budde each made two kills giving the Pirates the win. In the third set of the night highlights included an attack by Budde giving the Pirates a 4-0 run, after being tied 15-15.

“Tonight we played together and played for each other. We inspire each other and the unified play helped us confidently sweep PLU, Budde said. “We learned a lot after Friday’s game and I was happy to see the commitment tonight and the changes that were made. I think just continuing in practice to work on improving our consistency is going to help us out in the long run.”

Budde said the team is continually working on finding a rhythm and learning more about their dynamic. The overall goal for Pirates this season is to be a team that shows up every game and is capable of bouncing back from adversity, she said.