WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The Whitman College women’s volleyball team went toe-to-toe with rival Whitworth on Tuesday night at the Sherwood Center, but the Blues came up short in a five-set Northwest Conference battle, 25-12, 23-25, 25-12, 20-25, 15-9.
Whitworth improved to 8-2 overall and 2-1 in Northwest Conference play, while Whitman fell to 4-5 overall and 2-1 in the NWC. The Pirates held advantages in kills (59-38), hitting percentage (.188-.095), service aces (11-3) and blocks (9-7). Whitworth controlled the opening set after an early 5-0 run, with Lindsey Short and Kaylee Winterroth fueling the offense. The Pirates later used another long run to pull away for a 25-12 win. Winterroth had five kills on six attempts without an error in the set, while Short added seven kills.
Whitman answered in the second set. After Whitworth built a 21-16 lead, the Blues rallied behind Kendall Herman and Arina Gushchina to even the score at 23-23. A block by Melia Ferraro gave Whitman set point, and Addie Belt finished the 25-23 victory with a kill from Lauren Fogliani…