Friday, Oct. 26
Whitman won 3-0 against George Fox University during their home match on Friday. Whitman dominated all three sets while bringing the intensity with pink ribbons in their hair and pink laces on their shoes to show support for breast cancer awareness.
Despite strong hits by George Fox, Whitman won two successful rallies. Senior Olivia Nielson had some strong blocks, and Whitman won the first set 25-20. In the second set, sophomore Megan Bafus did a great spot while George Fox scrambled, hitting into the net. Senior Rachel Shober did a great tap over to the other side, but then Whitman missed some hits, tying the score at 22-22 then 23-23.
Whitman managed to lock it down for the win of this second set. George Fox accidentally hit their teammate during a pass during the third game. Whitman continued to fight hard despite being down by a point at 8-9. However, thanks to Nielson’s focused intensity on a hit, Whitman brought it back to 14-13. Junior Rachel Cline saved a ball with an amazing dive, and Whitman narrowly won the third game with a score of 25-23.
Saturday, Oct. 27
Whitman had their second win of the weekend on Saturday against Lewis & Clark College, one of their biggest rivals.
Seniors and their parents were honored prior to the game, noting their contributions and plans after Whitman. The girls’ basketball team showed support for volleyball by wearing sports bras and sweats, leading cheers for the student section, and chanting whenever a senior made a good hit.
Whitman started off strong, showing senior dominance. Senior Carrie Cecil made several good hits from the outside, and she usually plays middle. Senior Olivia Nielson scored a double hit and senior Jillian Davis scored strong kills that Lewis & Clark could not reach at all. Whitman won the first game 25-17.
In the second game, Lewis & Clark showed some good passing, but could not keep up in extended rallies from Whimtan. Bafus and Nielson together shut down Lewis & Clark’s attempts, bringing the score to 9-7. Lewis & Clark essentially scored on itself by knocking the ball out of bounds and into the net multiple times, and Whitman won another huge rally, setting the score to 18-11. Lewis & Clark had bad communication as two people nearly collided. Sophomore Jazmin Moledina shut down the ball, and Whitman won 25-17 again.
In the third game, Nielson and Moledina shut down the ball several times together, showing power hits. Whitman won the final game 25-22, and the fans were ecstatic. This makes Whitman 8-6 in the conference, and 10-11 overall.
