TACOMA, Washington — Junior outside hitter Emma White served up her second strong performance of the day, delivering four service aces in Southwestern volleyball's 3-1 victory (25-22, 29-31, 25-14, 25-10) over the Whitman Blues. 

White led Southwestern with 13 kills for a second consecutive match, adding 16 digs to finish the day with 26 kills, 29 digs, and five aces through seven sets in two matches. Southwestern served nine aces as a team and put down 58 kills on a .234 clip to win their third consecutive match to open the season. 

"There are times when a team can grow and learn, and tonight was one of those matches where as a team you need to learn and grow on the fly about how to play together," head volleyball coach Don Flora says. "The coaching staff was proud of the impact that numerous people made on the match."

Once again, the Pirate attack gained strength as the match wore on, finding holes in the defense and improving their efficiency in each set. 

Southwestern had double-digit kills in each set but committed nine and six errors in the first and second set, splitting with Whitman for a 1-1 tie. Southwestern and Whitman had 16 ties and seven lead changes in the second set. 

The Pirates steadied the ship in the third, putting down 14 kills with just three errors for a .379 hitting percentage paced by Jessica Kuras's four kills in four attempts. White and middle blocker Riley Brantley carried the fourth and final set, recording four kills each in a combined 14 attacks with just one error. Southwestern neutralized the Whitman attack (five kills with five errors) as the Pirates sailed to victory. 

Jessica Kuras scored 10 kills on a .438 hitting percentage. Brantley finished with nine on a .333 clip. Lauren Crabtree and Andie Valenzuela had eight kills each in a balanced attack directed by setters Katelyn Whitehead (28 assists) and Claire Romo (18 assists). 

Libero Ali Grona had a match-high 25 digs, leading the Pirates to an 86-67 edge in that statistical category. The Pirate defense held Whitman to just 37 kills on a .092 hitting percentage. 

"It was impressive to be able to hit .234  against a solid defensive team, and holding Whitman to a .092 hitting percentage is another sign of this team growing together," Flora says. "We have a lot to do to be clean and efficient from play to play.  But, those types of plays are happening more often each set we play together."

Southwestern improves to 3-0 with the win, dropping Whitman to 1-2. The Pirates will compete tomorrow against host school Puget Sound to wrap up their weekend at the Puget Sound Premier.