The Wildcats traveled to Washington for the weekend where they came out on top in their final game against Whitman College on Nov. 9.
The volleyball team won three of the five sets against the Missionaries.
The first set was won 27-25. The two teams battled back and forth during the first set, going point-for-point with each other till point 25, when Whitman made two attack errors, earning the Wildcats the first set win.
Whitman bounced back during the second set, winning 28-26. While Linfield started off with the lead, the Missionaries stepped up in the final minutes to pull ahead. Despite the loss, the Wildcats made 16 kills during the set.
The battling continued during the third set, where the Wildcats stole the win early in the set. Linfield won the set 25-12. During this set, the Wildcats made kill-after-kill, making a total of 12 kills.
The fourth set went quickly as the Whitman pulled ahead and won 25-11. The Missionaries managed to earn 14 kills while the Wildcats only put out four kills.
The fifth and final match went to the Wildcats, who took an early lead due to some errors made by Whitman. Linfield maintained the lead for the entire set, winning 15-9.
The whole game resulted in 54 kills for the Wildcats, 21 kills belonging to junior Kailana Ritte-Camara. Following in second for the Wildcats was freshman Sam Hammons with 11 kills. Junior Courtney Wanamaker made 23 defensive digs, followed by a tie for second most digs was sophomore Quinn Takashima and Ritte-Camara with 16 digs.
Despite the success of their first game, the Wildcats fell to Whitworth University on Nov. 8. The game was close, but the Pirates managed to pull ahead in three of the four set.
The Wildcats took the first set 25-23, despite an early Pirate lead. The Wildcats tied it up after a string of errors made by Whitworth and a block made by junior Victoria Thompson at point 22.
The second set went in favor of the Pirates, 25-17.
The Wildcats tried to gain another win, but were outplayed in final few plays, ending in a Whitworth win, 28-26.
The final set ended with a five point difference in favor of Whitworth, 25-20.
The Wildcats finished the season with a total of eight wins and 15 losses. Half of those wins were made during conference games, giving them a conference record of four wins and 12 losses. Linfield finished last in conference, only one win and loss behind Whitman.
Despite the season being over, the future for Linfield volleyball has a bright outlook.
“It’s sort of a trend to have a really young team,” senior Shaylli Coopock said. “But I think it’s a good experience for them, because being on a smaller team it allows them to have more playing time and so for their future seasons, I think it will be good. This year was a transitioning year, a growing year.”
Kaylyn Peterson/Managing editor
