Roundup: Pirates win third straight NWC title

Brent Zahn’s goal in the 83rd minute against Whitman (4-12-3, 3-9-2) not only delivered a 1-0 home victory for the Whitworth men’s soccer team on Saturday, but also a third straight Northwest Conference title. The Pirates earned the NWC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament with the win.

The three consecutive conference titles also give the Pirates (13-2-3, 11-1-2) five of the last six as they have completed the most dominant run in the NWC since the Whitworth teams from 1988-90 won three straight.

•Hugo Sanchez scored twice and Community Colleges of Spokane shut out Columbia Basin CC 4-0 in Pasco to move into a tie for second place in the NWAACC East and advance to the postseason. CCS will play Pierce CC Wednesday at SFCC in the first round of the tournament.

Volleyball

Jackie Albright had 10 kills and 17 digs, but No. 24 Washington State (16-8, 5-8 Pac-10) continued its mid-season skid against No. 5 Stanford (16-7, 9-4), losing 25-17, 25-20, 25-22 in Pullman. Oceana Bush added 20 digs for the Cougars.

WSU found its stride in a third set, which featured 13 ties and four lead changes, but the Cardinal put the match away without dropping a set. Alix Klineman led the Cardinal with 18 kills and Stanford recorded 45 as a team, to just 15 errors for a .229 hitting percentage against WSU.

•Idaho (13-13, 9-4) had its six-match Western Athletic Conference winning streak come to an end in a 26-24, 19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13 loss to New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M.

The Vandals trailed 9-3 in Game 5, but roared back to take a 13-12 lead before New Mexico State scored three straight to take the match.

The Vandals’ Sarah Conwell extended her streak of double-doubles to seven with 17 kills and 11 digs against the Lobos.

•For the first time on its home floor, No. 4 Washington (20-3, 10-3 Pac-10) failed to come away with a win, falling to No. 13 California 23-25, 25-18, 14-25, 25-23, 15-13, despite a season-high 26 kills from UW’s Kindra Carlson.

Trailing 13-9 in the final set, the Huskies rallied to trail by one at 14-13, but California outside hitter Mindi Wiley converted a kill on the next attack for the match-clinching point. Hana Cutura had 33 kills for Cal.

•Playing its fourth consecutive five-set marathon, Gonzaga (9-15, 4-6) fell to West Coast Conference opponent Pepperdine 25-7, 23-25, 15-25, 25-20, 15-11 at Malibu, Calif. The Waves (14-10, 7-4) scored five of the last six points to earn the win in Game 5 and were led by Kim Hill’s 22 kills and five blocks.

In the loss, senior Layne Brosky tallied a team-high 14 kills to go with six blocks while Michelle Boevers added 11 kills and Teran Poindexter finished with 10.

•The Community Colleges of Spokane could not hold on to first place against Blue Mountain CC, losing 25-21, 25-10, 25-15 in Pendleton, Ore. Nicole Graybeal had 11 kills and three blocks for CCS (27-12, 11-2), but the Sasquatch struggled to stop K.C. Schmit, who had 17 kills for the Timberwolves (36-6, 12-1).

Women’s soccer

Emily Hutchins scored for Gonzaga (8-12, 2-5) in its season finale, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs fell to No. 14 Santa Clara 6-1 in Spokane. Meleana Shim scored a goal and added two assists for Santa Clara (13-6-1, 5-2).

•Looking to make its case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, Whitworth (17-3, 14-2) finished its regular season with an important 1-0 victory against Lewis & Clark (3-12-5, 2-12-2) in Northwest Conference action in Spokane. Sidonia Davin provided the winning goal in the 25th minute for the Pirates.

•Rachel Pride scored twice and Jackson County CC shut out North Idaho College 3-0 in their NJCAA District B championship match in Overland Park, Kan. Pride scored both goals in the first half to help JCCC win the district title and advance to the NJCAA national tournament in Tyler, Texas.

The Cardinals took 14 shots, but JCCC keeper Kelly Voigts made seven saves to preserve the shutout.

•Playing for a postseason berth against Columbia Basin CC, Community Colleges of Spokane came away with a 1-0 victory at Pasco on a goal by Kaylee Kelly in the 52nd minute. Claire Pflueger recorded five saves for the Sasquatch, which plays its first playoff match on the road against Clackamas Wednesday.

Hockey

The Spokane Braves (15-7-0-1) scored three times in the final period to try and erase its deficit to Kimberley (10-7-1-3), but could not complete the comeback, falling 5-4 in KIJHL action atKimberley, British Columbia. Spokane trailed 3-1 after two periods, but despite three goals in the third, could not stop Kimberley from scoring two more times to maintain its lead.