SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University will take a ten-match Northwest Conference winning streak into this weekend at home against Linfield and Willamette. The Pirates will play Linfield on Friday night (7:00 pm) and Willamette on Saturday (6:00 pm).
Protect the Crew: Masks are required to be worn at all times in the Whitworth Fieldhouse, regardless of vaccination status. Please plan accordingly.
The Pirates: Whitworth (15-2 overall, 10-0 NWC) opened the second half of its NWC schedule with road victories at George Fox and Pacific last week.
The Pirates swept George Fox 26-24, 25-21, 25-9. Whitworth had to rally to win the opening set after trailing 23-20, outscoring the Bruins 6-1 down the stretch. By the third set, the Bucs were rolling, hitting .379 in that frame and limiting George Fox to a -0.118 mark. Maddie Lee had 14 kills, 14 digs and four block assists, finishing with 16.0 points. Cassidy Franklin and Jaye Hodge had seven kills apiece, while Kaity Barr had six kills, three aces and four block assists (10.0 points).
Just like the first time the teams met this season in Spokane, Whitworth won the first two sets, Pacific rallied to win the next two and the Pirates pulled out the fifth frame in Saturday's 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 15-10 victory. While Whitworth hit .283 as a team, the Boxers hit .260, the best hitting average by any Pirate opponent this season. Lee had 20 kills and three service aces to lead all players with 23 points. Franklin added 16 kills and hit .419, while Barr had 14 kills. Eva Millan finished with 25 digs on defense, as Whitworth won its 11th in a row over Pacific.
Lee Honored: Madison Lee earned Northwest Conference Volleyball Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks. She had 34 kills and hit .294 in wins at George Fox and Pacific. She added 31 digs, four block assists and three aces.
NWC Stat Leaders: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference in several statistical categories. Most notably, the Pirates lead the NWC and rank seventh in all of NCAA DIII in team blocks per set (2.31). They also rank first in the NWC in kills per set (12.76), assists per set (11.84), team hitting percentage (.214), opponents' hitting percentage (.115), and they are third in digs per set (17.26).
Individually, Lee is first in points per set (4.19) and second in kills per set (3.63). Franklin is still first in hitting percentage (.358) and third in blocks per set (0.94). Barr is second in blocks per set (1.10, 18th in DIII) and third in hitting percentage (.318). Anderson is second in service aces per set (0.53) and Eva Millan is fifth in digs per set (4.94).
NWC Poll: Whitworth was picked first on eight out of nine ballots in the 2021 NWC preseason coaches poll. The Pirates had 64 points to outdistance PLU, who had the remaining first place vote and 56 points. Puget Sound was third in the poll (45 points), while Pacific (Ore.) was fourth (43 points). Coaches cannot vote for their own school.
The Coach: Kati Bodecker, 140-59 heading into her ninth season guiding the Pirates, is a three-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year after leading Whitworth to four NWC championships in her first eight seasons. Bodecker has also directed the Pirates to four appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019). In 2013 she coached the Bucs to a 15-13 record, becoming the first Whitworth volleyball coach to post a winning record in her first season since Margaret Campbell in 1990. She previously had been the head coach at Priest River High School, leading the Spartans to five state tournament appearances, including a runner-up finish in 2012. She was a four-year starter at the University of Idaho, helping lead the Vandals to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances as a sophomore and junior.
The Opponents: Linfield University is 4-11 overall and 0-10 in the NWC heading into a non-conference match on Tuesday night against NCAA Div. II St. Martin's University. The Wildcats lost 3-1 vs. Willamette last Wednesday then fell 3-0 to Puget Sound on Saturday, both at home. Junior OH Raelynn Hammock averages 3.42 kills per set and 0.50 service aces per set to lead her squad in both categories. Ellie Mead adds 0.72 blocks per set. Whitworth defeated Linfield 3-1 in Oregon on September 24th behind 13 kills from Maddie Lee and eight blocks by Abigail Hudson. The Pirates have won the last five meetings.
Willamette University is 7-8 overall and 4-6 in the NWC heading into Friday night's match at Whitman. The Bearcats followed their win at Linfield with a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Pacific Lutheran at home on Friday. Willamette makes opponents work, leading the NWC in digs per set (17.44). Junior libero Shayla Sato is a big reason, averaging 5.39 digs per set on her own (second in the NWC). Senior OH Natalie Klotz leads the NWC in kills per set (3.74), but has not played since October 2nd. Whitworth won 3-1 at Willamette on September 25th for its ninth straight win in the series. Lee had a season-high 25 kills and Millan had 24 digs.
Coming Up Next: Whitworth will travel west to take on Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran on October 29th and 30th.
