Whitworth women’s volleyball hosted two matches on Oct. 28 and 29. The first one was against Lewis & Clark. The second was against George Fox on Senior Night. The Pirates won both matches 3-0.
Whitworth went on an early run to establish the lead in the first set. After a block from Jaye Hodge, the Pirates were up 11-5. The Pioneers countered with their own 4-1 run. Whitworth responded with a 6-1 run that allowed them to take the first set.
The Pirates jumped to another dominant run in the second set. Maddie Lee was collecting kills while the Pioneers’ attack errors allowed Whitworth to secure the second set.
The third set was a nail-biter. Both teams had great offensive stretches. Whenever the Pirates would create separation Lewis & Clark would bounce back. With the score at 22-21, Whitworth calmly put the game away with a pair of kills.
Maddie Lee had 16.5 points. Ella Jimenez notched six aces and three blocks. Eva Millan tallied 16 digs.
Lewis & Clark was led by Izzy Willis who had eight kills and two aces.
Before the second game against George Fox started, Whitworth celebrated their seniors, Maddie Lee, Millan, Joelle Forbes and Renee Tiumalu.
“I want to thank seniors – they’re amazing human beings, as well as great volleyball players, and I just wish them the best,” head coach Katie Bodecker said. “I know they’re going to be successful in whatever path they choose, and I’m just excited to watch them grow.”
The Pirates had the lead early in the first set. When George Fox closed the gap, Whitworth bounced back with a 7-1 run which allowed the squad to take the first set.
In the second set, George Fox took their first lead of the game at 12-8. Whitworth closed the gap and from there both teams struggled to create separation. George Fox had the opportunity to win the set, but the Pirates were able to string three points in a row and win the set.
George Fox started off the third set with a 3-point lead. Whitworth overtook the set’s flow by capitalizing on the Bruins’ attack errors. The Pirates led 23-12. The Bruins fought back with a 5-1 run, but it was not enough to prevent the home team from winning the game.
Lee led the Pirates with 15 kills. Jaye Hodge had 10 kills. Millan tallied 19 digs.
Addison Robertson had 7 kills.
“What we’re working on now is consistency – first we need to get our platforms out early, making sure that those balls are going to the center so we’re able to get our hitters in a position to swing effectively,” Bodecker said. “I was just really impressed with the offense of the hitters overall. I thought our setters made really good choices and our hitters did a good job of terminating.”
“It’s always fun to celebrate our seniors and to wrap up our season at home in front of our friends and family,” Bodecker said. What we really wanted to do is just work to play consistently. Over this last week, we certainly had adversity but also had some losses, but we are just proud of how we rallied and stayed resilient.”
