Boxers Unable To Hit Past Hot Pirates Team

Pacific could not overcome a very strong hitting night by Whitworth as the homestanding Pirates knocked off the Boxers in three sets on the start of the eastern Washington swing

ALEXA BLOCK
Hits For Match High 14 Kills

SPOKANE, Wash. – Pacific could not overcome a very strong hitting night for Whitworth in their season finale Friday as the Pirates slammed their way to a three-set victory over the Boxers, 25-5, 25-20, 25-22, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Ka’ipo Rocha led Whitworth (10-17, 6-10 NWC) with 10 kills while her sister Kaimi Rocha added nine as the Pirates hit .313 for the match, including an impressive .419 percentage in the third ser. Bree Riddle added 18 assists and Ariana Obert had 12 digs.

Alexa Block (Fr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) hit a match-high 14 kills as the Boxers (7-15, 2-13 NWC) hit .059 for the match. Lauren Baum (Fr., Mill Valley, Calif.) added seven kills. Brittney Johnson (So., Beaverton, Ore.) added 13 assists while Black and Jade Thompson (Fr., Marysville, Wash.) had eight digs apiece.

Kaimi Rocha and Morgan Veleke had three kills each to lead Whitworth to a 25-5 win in the first set. The Pirates hit .304 while Pacific struggled with a -.250 hitting percentage. The Pirates built leads of 8-1, 12-2 and 20-3 before winning on Obert's service ace.

The Boxers regrouped to make the rest of the match competitive. Keleigh Kremers' (So., Beeville, Texas) kill tied the second set 10-10, before Whitworth took a 17-13 lead on a Boxer attack error. Pacific came back again to tie 18-18 on another kill by Kremers, but Whitworth outscored the Boxers 7-2 over the rest of the set and on a kill by Ka'ipo Rocha, who had five kills in the set to lead the Bucs. Block had eight kills in the second game for Pacific.

Whitworth never trailed or was tied in the third set, but the Pirates could never shake the Boxers either. A kill by Stephens gave Whitworth a 10-3 lead before Pacific rallied to within 10-9 after a kill by Baum. The Pirates extended the lead back to 17-12 on a Pacific error before the Boxers came back to within 20-18 on another kill by Baum. With Whitworth leading 24-20, Pacific fought off two match points before Kaimi Rocha ended it with her final kill of the night.

The Boxers will finish the 2009 season on Saturday, heading south to face Whitman at 5 p.m.

Posted by Blake Timm (timmbr@pacificu.edu) on Nov 6, 2009 at 9:44 PM