Jake Bilyeu, Sports Writer
The Lutes’ Volleyball team followed up their disappointing loss Friday night against Whitworth by beating the Whitman College Missionaries in three straight sets Saturday night.
The Lutes hadn’t pulled off such a flawless win since their season opener against Evergreen.
The Lutes came out firing in the first set, jumping out to a 13-6 early on, forcing the Missionaries to regroup.
Whitman kept it close, but the hot start followed by the endless barrage of points from Senior Lucy Capron and Kacey Hartman provided the Lutes with more than enough power to take the first set, 25-16.
Both sides turned it up a notch in the second set.
The fans in attendance were treated to a back and forth battle that neither side looked to back down from.
After trading off points until halfway through the set, the Lutes edged ahead, 17-13, and then fended off the Missionaries to the tune of a 25-20 set win.
After the intermission, the Missionaries knew that they had to start strong if they wanted any chance at a comeback. They did just that, opening up a 6-1 lead.
However, the Lutes regrouped and surged out in front with the help of a 17-3 run.
Then, having planted the seed of doubt, the Lutes finished off the Missionaries with a 25-16 set and match win.
This will surely send the Lutes off for their road trip next weekend in heartwarming fashion. The fans stuck around after the game, and the coaches and players thanked their family members and friends who cheered them on during the weekend matches.
The fans weren’t the only ones providing positive energy. The Lutes’ bench cranked up the volume from start to finish, helping the team rebound after the previous night’s loss.
Senior Lucy Capron couldn’t be happier to seeing her teammates bring the noise.
“Our bench’s energy has gotten better every year ever since I’ve been here,” Capron said. “We learned this weekend that we need to feed off of that positive energy to have more nights like tonight.”
Lutes Head Coach Kevin Aoki his team philosophy put into action Saturday night, as the Lutes consistently made the big plays on the way to victory.
“We live by the adage ‘it’s a marathon not a sprint,” Coach Aoki said. As far as next week is concerned, Aoki aims for his team to simply “practice hard and smart.”The Lute volleyball team will take a road trip south to take on Lewis & Clark College and Pacific University this weekend.
