SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University begins pursuit of another Northwest Conference volleyball championship this week when the Pirates open their conference schedule. Whitworth will host Willamette on Friday (7:00 pm) and Lewis & Clark on Saturday (6:00 pm).
Check the Whitworth volleyball schedule (link above-right) for up-to-date live access to results.
Tickets: Digital tickets are required for entrance to the Whitworth Fieldhouse for all fans. Tickets can be purchased in advance using the Hometown Ticketing App. Follow the Tickets link on the schedule for access. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
The Pirates: Whitworth was Northwest Conference co-champions in 2022 and outright champions in 2021 and 2019. There was no championship in 2020 because of COVID-19. Whitworth has won or shared five NWC titles in the last ten seasons under head coach Kati Bodecker.
The Pirates are 3-5 heading into conference play. Whitworth went 1-3 at the Trinity National Invitational and was arguably a couple of points away from perhaps finishing 3-1. After splitting the first day, including a win over UT-Dallas and a competitive loss to 2022 national runner-up Trinity, the Bucs lost 25-23 in the fifth set to Texas Lutheran on the second day. The emotionally and physically exhausted team lost the next match to Birmingham Southern.
Whitworth went 2-2 at the Whittier/La Verne Invitational last weekend. The Pirates swept Chapman in their opener but let down in a five-set loss to Whittier. Whitworth bounced back to defeat a solid team from Pomona-Pitzer on Sunday, then took tournament host and regional power La Verne to five sets before losing in the finale.
So far in 2023, Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference in blocks per set (2.35). The Pirates have also allowed the fewest service aces (1.68) per set.
Kaity Barr leads all NWC players in blocking (1.26 per set). She also ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.295). Taylor Miche ranks fifth in the conference in digs per set (4.56), while Ella Jimenez is seventh in the league in kills per set (2.94).
NWC Poll: Whitworth finished third in the Northwest Conference preseason coaches poll with 51 points, behind Puget Sound (62) and Pacific Lutheran (53). Puget Sound, the other co-champion with the Pirates last season, got six first place votes, PLU got one and Whitworth received two.
The Coach: Kati Bodecker has a record of 181-74 heading into her 11th season guiding the Pirates. She is a four-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year after leading Whitworth to five NWC championships in her first nine seasons. She is 128-28 in conference matches during that time. Bodecker has also directed the Pirates to five appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021). 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: Willamette is 5-2 after finishing 3-1 at last weekend's Oregon Trail Classic. The Bearcats are coming off a 11-11 season in 2022, but finished 10-6 in conference play, only a game behind Whitworth and UPS in the league standings. Willamette was sixth in the NWC preseason poll. Head coach Lily Hallock is in her fourth season. Emma Porter, a second team All-NWC setter last fall, is back for her fifth year. Junior OH Olivia Cadien averages 3.76 kills per set (third in the NWC) and 0.48 service aces per set. Last season Whitworth swept Willamette 3-0 in Spokane, but the Bearcats defeated the Pirates 3-2 in Oregon, ending an 11-match losing streak to Whitworth.
Lewis & Clark might be the most improved team in the NWC this season. The Pioneers went 2-19 overall and 1-15 in the NWC last season and ended up 9th (last) in the 2023 preseason poll. L&C has defied expectations, opening this season 5-3 under second-year head coach Erin Labasan, including a 3-1 record last weekend in the Oregon Trail Classic. Senior OH Izzy Willis is second in the NWC in both kills per set (4.15) and points per set (4.72). Senior libero Katie Shimura was an honorable mention All-Conference selection last season and she currently ranks second in the league in service aces per set (0.72). The Pirates swept the Pioneers 3-0 in both matches last season.
Coming Up: Whitworth will hit the road to play at Pacific (Ore.) and George Fox on September 22 and 23.
