SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth volleyball team heads to Eau Claire, Wisconsin this week for the regional rounds of the 2021 NCAA Division III volleyball tournament. The Pirates will play Hope College in the first round on Thursday at 3:00 pm (Central Time) in the first round. There are eight teams in the Eau Claire Regional and if the Bucs are fortunate enough to win the first match, they would play the winner of a match between Illinois Wesleyan and Northwestern (Minn.) on Friday.
Check the Whitworth volleyball schedule for live links to this week's action.
Protect the Crew: Wisconsin-Eau Claire policies require masks at all indoor athletic events, regardless of vaccination status. Please plan accordingly.
Event Tickets: Parents and fans planning to attend this weekend's regional can purchase tickets at the door of the McPhee Physical Education Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The Pirates: Whitworth (21-2 overall, 16-0 NWC) completed its Northwest Conference schedule with a perfect record for the first time in school history, thanks to last week's victories over Whitman and Lewis & Clark.
The Pirates survived the annual upset bid by Whitman in Walla Walla on Wednesday night, barely. The final score was 24-26, 25-21, 15-25, 25-17, 18-16. Kaity Barr led Whitworth with 21 points, finishing with 17 kills (.483 hitting percentage) and four solo blocks. Maddie Lee had 18 kills and Jaye Hodge totaled ten. The Pirates uncharacteristically struggled with the serve, committing eight errors to only two aces. Meanwhile the Blues served ten aces in the match.
The Pirates clinched their perfect conference season with a 25-15, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19 win over visiting Lewis & Clark on Friday night. Barr led the Bucs again with 17.5 points, recording 12 kills, two solo blocks and seven block assists. Lee also had a dozen kills, served an ace and had five block assists for 15.5 points. Whitworth had one of its best blocking nights, with 14 team blocks. Saylor Anderson dished 28 of the team's 49 assists and served five aces, while Eva Millan finished with 28 digs.
History Achieved: The 2021 Pirates became the first Whitworth team to finish its Northwest Conference schedule undefeated and the first NWC team to traverse the league slate without a loss since PLU in 2009. Whitworth won its 11th Northwest Conference volleyball title this fall. It is the 10th championship since 2001 and fifth under head coach Kati Bodecker, who is in her ninth season leading the Pirates.
In addition, Whitworth has posted its best regular season record since the Pirates went 23-2 during the regular season in 2002.
NCAA Tournament History: Whitworth has made nine previous NCAA Division III tournament appearances:
- In 2001 the Pirates received a first round bye before falling in the second round to eventual NCAA champion La Verne.
- In 2002 Whitworth hosted and again received a first round bye. This time the Pirates knocked off defending NCAA Div. III champion La Verne before falling to top-ranked CSU-Hayward in the regional final.
- In 2005 the Pirates hosted the regional for a second time - defeating Colorado College in the first round and Linfield in the second round before losing to La Verne in the regional championship.
- In 2010 Whitworth played at the St. Thomas (Minn.) regional and defeated Concordia-Moorhead in the first round before falling to St. Olaf in the second round.
- In 2011 the Bucs went to a regional at California Lutheran, falling in five sets to the host Regals in the first round. CLU went on to sweep its next two opponents to win the regional and reach the NCAA finals.
- In 2014 Whitworth returned to Cal Lutheran, once again falling to the host school. This time it was in three sets to the 3rd-ranked Regals.
- In 2015 the Pirates lost in four sets to UT-Dallas in the opening round of the Thousand Oaks Regional, hosted by Cal Lutheran.
- In 2016 the Pirates played UT-Dallas for the second straight year, falling in three sets to the 4th-ranked Comets at the UTD Activity Center.
- In 2019 the Pirates played 8th-ranked Colorado College at Emory (Ga.) and lost in three sets.
Whitworth is 4-9 all-time in NCAA Division III tournament contests.
NWC Stat Leaders: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference in several statistical categories. Most notably, the Pirates lead the NWC and rank ninth in all of NCAA DIII in team blocks per set (2.26). They also rank first in the NWC in kills per set (12.91), assists per set (12.03), team hitting percentage (.212), opponents' hitting percentage (.117), and they are third in digs per set (17.39).
Individually, Lee is first in points per set (4.30) and in kills per set (3.74). Barr is first in blocks per set (1.08) and second in hitting percentage (.329). Cassidy Franklin is third in hitting percentage (.320) and third in blocks per set (0.94). Eva Millan is fourth in digs per set (5.15).
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: Hope College is 24-3 overall and ranked 5th in the latest (Nov. 2) AVCA Division III volleyball poll. The Flying Dutch rolled through the regular season of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association undefeated, but fell to rival Calvin College in the MIAA tournament championship match last weekend. This is the Flying Dutch's 17th appearance in the national tournament and 12th in 13 seasons. In 2019, Hope reached the regional finals. In 2014, the Flying Dutch won their first NCAA national championship. Setter Tracy Westra (Sr.) is the 2021 MIAA Player of the Year, while libero Maggie Wehrmeyer (So.) is the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year. Westra and Wehrmeyer were joined on the All-MIAA first team by middle blocker McKenna Otto. Whitworth and Hope have never played in volleyball.
Coming Up Next: The winner of the Eau Claire Regional will advance to the NCAA Division III Finals in St. Louis, Mo. played Nov. 18-20.
