Dowdell Crushes 21 Kills as Willamette Holds Off Whitman in Five Sets

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Alexa Dowdell (Sr., OH/OPP, Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS) pounded out 21 kills and Kaylen Higa (So., LIB/DS, Mililani, HI/Punahou School) added 29 digs to help Willamette University grab a 3-2 road victory over Whitman College in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday, Oct. 21. After two sets Willamette was in front 2-0, but Whitman fought back with wins in the third and fourth sets. The Bearcats held off the rally to win the match, 25-22, 25-18, 25-27, 19-25, 15-13.

Willamette advanced its record to 6-13 overall, 4-7 in the NWC. Whitman fell to 9-10 on the season, 6-5 in the NWC.

The teams were tied five times in the first 14 points of the fifth set on their way to a 7-7 deadlock. An attacking error by Kanakaole on the next rally gave Willamette the lead. Three consecutive kills by the Bearcats -- from Jennifer Lane (Fr., MH/OH, Salinas, CA/Notre Dame HS), Lauren Stiles (Fr., OH, Altadena, CA/Flintridge Preparatory School), and Lane again -- pushed Willamette's margin to 11-7.

Later, Whitman trailed 13-9 following a combo block by Lum and Lane on an attack by Shae Kanakaole.

Whitman tallied the next four points for a 13-13 tie. The run started with a kill by Megan Henry, and then Natalia Zea and Henry combined on a block. The next two points were earned on kills from Henry and Kanakaole.

Willamette moved into the lead for the final time at 14-13 on a kill by Lane. Dowdell completed the match with a kill.

Dowdell finished just one kill short of her career high of 22 kills, set earlier this season on Sept. 16 against Pacific Lutheran University. Higa also narrowly missed a career high. She was just one dig away from her high of 30, set in the same match against PLU.

In addition to leading Willamette in kills, Dowdell contributed 17 digs and four block assists. Madison Haley (Fr., MH/OPP, Truckee, CA/Tahoe Truckee HS) and Taylor Lum (Sr., MH/OH, Honolulu, HI/Maryknoll HS) tied for the team lead with six block assists.

Haley also provided 10 kills. Lauren Stiles (Fr., OH, Altadena, CA/Flintridge Preparatory School) tacked on nine kills, 11 digs and three service aces. Lane connected for eight kills. Tynan Gable (Jr., S, Woodinville, WA/Woodinville HS) registered 30 assists and 10 digs.

Kanakaole led Whitman with 20 kills. She also recorded 22 digs. Henry and Katie Sisson earned 10 kills apiece. Codie Conching made a team-high 25 digs. Anna Dawson supplied 52 assists. Zea topped all players with 10 total blocks.

Each team finished with 61 kills. Whitman achieved 16.0 team total blocks, while the Bearcats registereed 12.0 blocks. In adidition, Whitman held a 93-84 advantage in digs.

Willamette surged out to a 2-0 lead in sets by hitting 29 kills in the first two sets with a .202 hitting percentage. Whitman recorded 25 kills in the first two sets, but had 13 attacking efforts, three more than the Bearcats. Whitman's hitting percentage after two sets was .141.

The Bearcats owned a slim 9-8 margin in the first set, before using a 5-0 run to claim a 14-8 advantage. The run started with a kill by Higa and a kill from Lane. After Stiles registered a service ace, Dowdell added two kills. Willamette eventually took a 17-11 lead.

Whitman cut the deficit to 20-18, but the Bearcats answered with a block by Lum and Emma Liband (Jr., MH, Sandpoint, ID/Sandpoint HS). An attacking error by Whitman provided Willamette with a 22-18 edge. The Bearcats won the set, 25-22.

In the second set, Willamette built an 8-4 lead. Whitman pulled within 9-7 on a block by Brook Randall and Kanakaole. WU countered with a 6-0 run to take control of the set. Featured in the run were two kills by Lum, another service ace from Stiles and a kill by Dowdell. Whitman threatened by reducing the lead to 20-17, but the Bearcats scored the next four points on their way to a 25-18 win.

WU held leads of 14-9 and 16-13 in the third set, before Whitman put together a 9-2 spurt with three kills by Kanakaole and three team blocks for a 22-18 advantage. The Bearcats rallied for a 22-22 tie on a kill by Lum. The match was tied three more times, before Whitman took the win on back-to-back kills by Kanakaole and Zea.

Whitman zoomed out to an 11-4 lead in the fourth set after winning six rallies in a row. Willamette later trailed 18-10, but fought back with six consecutive points to get as close as 18-16. Whitman tallied the next two points on a combo block by Randall and Henry, plus a kill by Zea, starting the home team on its way to a 7-3 run and a 25-19 victory that tied up the match.

The Bearcats will remain on the road to take on Whitworth University on Saturday, Oct. 22 in Spokane, Washington. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PDT).