TACOMA, Wash. — A clash between Northwest Conference heavyweights lived up to the billing on Friday night inside Olson Gymnasium. The reigning conference champion Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team traded jabs with preseason favorite Whitworth University but in the end it was the visiting Pirates who would come out on top, stealing a 3-1 victory (24-26, 28-26, 25-23, 25-14) in a contest that featured 28 lead changes and 52 ties. 
 
Friday's result snapped a trio of streaks for the Lutes (11-5, 6-1 NWC), ending their seven match win streak, 20 match home winning streak, and its 22-match NWC regular season win streak. 
 
"It was a classic Whitworth-PLU volleyball match. Although we didn't win, we played with so much effort. Credit to Whitworth and their blocking. We will bounce back tomorrow against Whitman," said Head Coach Kevin Aoki.

Whitworth (15-2, 7-0 NWC) opened the match with a 9-5 lead, only to see the Lutes score six of the next seven to seize the lead. A 5-1 surge put the Pirates up 22-18 later in the set. That lead inched up to 23-20 before the Lutes got a pair of kills from Julissa Pernsteiner along with a Pirate attack error to tie the match. Whitworth pushed ahead 24-23 but a service error followed by e Shaela Allen-Greggs kill and another Pirate attack error have the Lutes the 26-24 set win.

Set two was tightly contested with 10 lead changes and 17 ties. A Kailee Efros-Bohn kill gave the Lutes a 19-16 edge, the largest lead of the set. Unfortunately, it was short lived with Whitworth netting the next five points. It was back and forth from there with Whitworth scoring the final three points of the set to escape with the 28-26 victory to level the match at 1-1. 
 
The third set was another nailbiter with 10 lead changes and 18 ties. A Claire Hindman kill knotted the score at 23 but a pair of kills tilted the scales in favor of the visiting Pirates, squeaking out the 25-23 set win. 
 
PLU trailed 10-8 in the fourth set before Whitworth mounted an 8-0 run. The Pirates would hold a comfortable advantage the rest of the set, cruising to the 25-14 victory to wrap up the match in four sets.
 
Hindman and Allen-Greggs led the Lutes, each finishing with 14 kills. Ayre Takamoto had a double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs while Makenna Jackson was one assist shy of that feat, collecting nine assists and a team-best 31 digs. Bailey Johnson and Macy Matsushima each had 14 digs. 
 
Whitworth's height played a big role on the night, enjoying a 15-5 edge in blocks. 
 
The Lutes are back on the court tomorrow evening, hosting Whitman College at 6 p.m.