SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University returns home to face a pair of challenging foes on the volleyball court this weekend. The Pirates host Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran with both matches having conference championship implications only one quarter of the way through the Northwest Conference schedule.
The Pirates host Puget Sound on Friday night at 7:00 pm. The Bucs take on PLU Saturday at 6:00 pm. Per Washington State mandate, masks will be required for all fans in the Whitworth Fieldhouse, regardless of vaccination status.
The Pirates: Whitworth (9-2 overall, 4-0 NWC) extended its winning streak to four matches thanks to NWC road victories at Linfield and Willamette last weekend.
Whitworth rolled to an easy win in the first set at Linfield last Friday night, then appeared to let the Wildcats back into the match in sets two and three, before closing strong in a 25-11, 25-21, 24-26, 25-12 victory. Maddie Lee had 13 kills and 16 points, including three service aces. Abby Wolverton added 11 kills and finished with 12.5 points. Kaity Barr was in on eight blocks (three solo and five assists). Eva Millan got under 27 digs. The Pirates hit .208 as a team while Linfield finished .007 as a team.
The Bucs had a similar outcome in Saturday night's 25-14, 25-27, 25-21, 25-17 win at Willamette. Whitworth hit .253 and held the Bearcats to .113. Lee posted 21 kills for the second time this season while hitting .340. Barr added 11 kills, while Abigail Hudson finished with nine kills and no errors in 20 attempts (.450). Saylor Anderson dished 29 of Whitworth's 52 assists and served three aces.
NWC Stat Leaders: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference in several statistical categories. Most notably, the Pirates lead the NWC and rank fifth in all of NCAA DIII in team blocks per set (2.41). They also rank first in the NWC in kills per set (12.34), assists per set (11.34), team hitting percentage (.191), opponents' hitting percentage (.112), and digs per set (17.60).
Individually, Lee is first in points per set (4.19) and first in kills per set (3.60). Barr is second in blocks per set (1.04) and third in hitting percentage (.325). Franklin is third in blocks per set (1.02) and seventh in hitting percentage (.291). Anderson is second in service aces per set (0.58) and Millan is fifth in digs per set (5.04).
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: Puget Sound is 8-5 overall and 2-2 in the NWC after stumbling twice on the road last week. The Loggers lost 3-0 at PLU on Wednesday, then led 2-1 at Pacific (Ore.) on Friday before the Boxers rallied to win 3-2. Senior OH Jordan Holman leads the team in points and kills per set (2.51) and ranks first in the NWC in service aces per set (0.63). Middle blocker Katherine Carley leads the league in hitting percentage (.373) while averaging 2.35 kills and 0.81 blocks per set. Whitworth and Puget Sound played four times in the spring of 2021 and the Pirates won three of those matches.
Pacific Lutheran, the 2017 and 2018 NWC Champions, is 7-6 overall and 4-0 in the NWC while riding a five-match winning streak. After the Lutes dispatched Puget Sound at home last Wednesday, they swept George Fox in three sets on Saturday. Senior OH McKenzie Pfeifer leads the team in kills (3.25) and blocks (0.83) per set. But it appears the Lutes go as Breeze Bartles goes. The sophomore middle blocker has only played in five matches, including all four NWC victories. She averages 1.00 blocks per set. Whitworth took three of four from PLU during the 2020-21 Covid season.
Coming Up Next: Whitworth will host Whitman next Wednesday then travel to Lewis & Clark for a match on Friday to close out the first half of its NWC schedule.
