By Maddie Bernard, PLU Sports Information Student Writer

SPOKANE – The Pacific Lutheran volleyball team forced a fourth set before falling 3-1 to Whitworth Friday night in a Northwest Conference matchup of two of the top three teams in the NWC standings.

Whitworth defeated PLU by set scores of 25-17, 25-19, 26-28 and 25-22 to sweep the season series against the Lutes, as PLU fell to 5-4 in conference play and 11-7 overall. Whitworth improved to 13-6 overall and 7-2 in the NWC.

"Whitworth played well and battled," PLU head coach Kevin Aoki said. "We just started too slow."

Whitworth more than doubled PLU's attack percentage in the first set, 297-to-.140, and the Pirates led the entire time after opening on an 8-1 run. PLU pulled within four points at 18-14, but the Pirates scored five of the next six and claimed a 25-17 win.

The second set was closer, seeing eight tie scores and five lead changes. The Lutes led by two points early and stayed within one point of the Pirates until midway through the set. However, Whitworth had a six-point streak, and left PLU 19-12. Four of PLU's final six points came on kills by Lucy Capron, with another coming on a block by Capron and Edgers, but Whitworth held off the Lutes for the 25-19 win.

After Whitworth opened the third set on a 6-2 run, PLU scored the next four points as Kylai Cooley tallied a pair of service aces to help the Lutes tie it up. The set featured 14 tie scores and eight lead changes. And took extra points to decide. The Pirates took the lead again on a 5-1 run, but the Lutes came back again to tie it up 11-11 with four straight points.

Another four-point run gave PLU a 21-18 lead, however Whitworth scored the next four to reclaim a one-point lead. PLU scored three of the next four and twice had set-point opportunities that Whitworth fought off before closing it out 28-26 with a kill by Gabrielle Alley and a block by Roshel Muzzall.

Whitworth again opened strong in the fourth set scoring seven of the first nine points, and again PLU used a big streak to tie it up. A pair of Chloe Epker kills bookended a five-point streak for the Lutes that made it 7-7 as the final set saw eight tie scores and two lead changes. PLU held its final lead at 18-16 following a block by Kacey Hartman and Kendle Valade-Nunez, but Whitworth scored the next five to take a two-point lead, and the teams exchanged points the rest of the way as Whitworth closed it out 25-22.

Whitworth's Nicole Leonard led the match with 22 kills with Capron right behind with 21. Epker had 10 kills and Alley earned six. The Lutes take on Whitman Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Sherwood Athletic Center in Walla Walla.