Bearcats Down Whitman 3-2 to Finish Season at 15-9, Including 11-5 in the NWC

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University rallied from a 2-1 deficit after three sets to defeat Whitman College, 3-2, on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Cone Field House. WU won, 23-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19, 15-5.

The Bearcats concluded the season with a 15-9 overall record and took third place in the Northwest Conference at 11-5. It is Willamette's best record since 2004, when the Bearcats were 19-6 overall, 13-3 in the NWC.

Whitman ended the year at 6-16 overall. The Missoinaries went 4-12 in the NWC.

Alexa Dowdell (Jr., MH/OPP, Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS) led the Bearcats with 19 kills, while Sarah Fincher (Sr., OH, Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS/Southwest Baptist Univ.) added 15 kills. Lindsey Compton (Sr., OH/S, Portola, CA/Portola HS/Univ. of Hartford) earned her fifth triple-double of the season with 10 kills, 23 assists and 19 digs.

Shae Kanakaole topped Whitman with 20 kills. Anna Dawson provided the Missionaries with 43 assists and 20 digs.

The Bearcats hit just .145 in the first three set, but turned on the attack in the final two sets.

Willamette pounded out a .448 hitting percentage in the fourth set with 16 kills and just three attacing errors. The Bearcats surged out to an 8-2 lead in the set, including seven consecutive points with Compton serving. An ace provided the first point of the run before five different Bearcats combined for six kills in a row.

Whitman rebounded with a 7-1 run to tie the set at 9-9. The Missionaries took a 10-9 lead and later held a 14-13 advantage following a kill by Kanakaole.

Two consecutive kills by Dowdell pulled Willamette in to a 15-14 lead. Three more points extended the margin to 18-14. Whitman moved within 18-15 on a kill by Katie Sisson, but never got closer as Willamette closed the set with a 7-4 run. Dowdell supplied five kills in the set.

Willamette took charge of the fifth set by hitting .368 and limiting Whitman to a negative .136 hitting percentage. The Bearcats earned eight kills and had one attacking error, while the Missionaries recorded just three kills with six attacking errors.

The Missionaries claimed a 2-1 lead, but Willamette won the next four rallies to start a 7-2 run. Dowdell completed the run with a kill for an 8-3 advantage.

A kill by Alex Seethoff of Whitman reduced the margin to four points. Willamette answered with a 6-0 run for a commanding 14-4 lead.

The offensive surge started with one kill each by Dowdell and Compton. Then Compton and Emma Liband (So., MH, Sandpoint, ID/Sandpoint HS) combined for two blocks in a row. Riley Fawcett (Jr., OH, Normandy Park, WA/John F. Kennedy HS) added a kill, and the Missionaries committed a ball-handling error.

Miranda Taylor of Whitman stopped the run with a kill, but the Bearcats won the set, 15-5, on a kill by Compton.

Willamette finished with 61 kills and a .221 hitting percentage for the match. The Bearcats registered 16.0 team total blocks on 32 block assists. Liband led the way with 11 blocks, while Fincher added seven. Kaylen Higa (Fr., LIB/DS, Mililani, HI/Punahou School) earned 24 digs to help the Bearcats reach 87 digs overall.

The Missionaries recorded 57 kills and hit .138 on the night. They achieved 78 digs, led by Hannah Linsenmayer with 24 and Anna Dawson with 20. Whitman had 15.0 team total blocks. Natalia Zea provided one block solo and 10 block assists.

In the first set, there were eigtht ties and four lead changes. Willamette broke 22-22 tie with a kill from Taylor Lum (Jr., MH/OH, Honolulu, HI/Maryknoll HS). Whitman tied the score with a kill by Kanakaole and gained a 24-23 advantage on a block by Dawson and Zea. Kanakaole pounded down a kill to end the set.

WU evened the match with a 25-22 win. The set included 10 ties and four lead changes. The Bearcats led 6-2, but later trailed 12-8. An 8-1 run that featured three kills from Dowdell and two from Compton created a 16-13 edge for the Bearcats. Later, a kill by Dowdell broke a 22-22 tie and started a 3-0 run. Dowdell and Fawcett followed with a combo block, and Fawcett added a kill.

The Missionaries built a 10-5 lead in the third set and continued to pull away from the Bearcats. Whitman hit .325 during the set and produced 16 kills. Willamette had 11 kills, but hit just .150. The Missoinaries took the set, 25-15.

Willamette honored its four seniors at the conclusion of the match. The seniors are:  Alexa Becker (Sr., OH, El Dorado Hills, CA/Oak Ridge HS/Rider Univ.), Lindsey Compton (Sr., OH/S, Portola, CA/Portola HS/Univ. of Hartford), Sarah Fincher (Sr., OH, Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS/Southwest Baptist Univ.) and Macy Hayashi (Sr., OH, Hilo, HI/Waiakea HS).

Fincher concluded her Willamette career with 952 kills and a .209 hitting percentage. Including one season at Southwest Baptist University (Mo.), she earned 1,041 career kills.

Compton, who played one season at University of Hartford, completed her career with 1,118 assists, including 1,095 at Willamette. She also amassed 807 digs, 410 kills, 108 total blocks and 48 service aces for the Bearcats.

Becker registered 269 digs at Willamete after transferring from Rider University prior to the 2014 season. Hayashi, who played all four years for the Bearcats, saw action in 52 matches, including 44 in the past two seasons. She provided 370 career digs, including a career-high 229 this year.