SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth volleyball team returns home for two more Northwest Conference matches this weekend. The Pirates will play Willamette on Friday at 7:00 pm and then take on Lewis & Clark on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
Check the Whitworth volleyball schedule (link above-right) for up-to-date access to live 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 (12-2 overall, 4-0 NWC) won both matches during a split schedule last week, defeating Whitman at home and Linfield on the road.
Whitworth defeated visiting Whitman 25-10, 26-28, 25-21, 25-14 on Tuesday night in the Fieldhouse. It was the first set the Pirates have dropped in conference play this season. The Pirates had 14 team blocks, only one off the season high. Cassidy Franklin was in on more than half of those with nine block assists. Ella Jimenez had 12 kills, while Lauren Kremer and Abigail Hudson had nine apiece. Whitworth worked three setters into the match effectively. Josephine Thompson had 18 assists, Mya Rodriguez 14 and Megan Lange 12 as Whitworth hit .264 in the match. Taylor Miche finished with 20 of the team's 60 digs.
The Pirates continued to block well and added a devastating serving element into Friday night's 25-16, 25-15, 25-14 win at Linfield. Whitworth had nine more blocks and served nine aces. Franklin had five more block assists to finish with 14 for the week. Jimenez led the team in both kills (9) and service aces (5), which tied a career high. Lange (13) and Thompson (12) combined for 25 of the team's 28 assists. Miche added 19 digs. The Pirate defense held the Wildcats to a team hitting percentage of -.031 with 21 kills and 24 errors in 96 attempts.
NWC Honors Franklin: Cassidy Franklin was selected as the Northwest Conference's Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her performance against Whitman and Linfield. She totaled 14 blocks in 7 sets, an average of 2.0 blocks per set. In one week she moved from fifth to second in the NWC standings for blocks per set.
NWC Stat Leaders: Whitworth leads the conference in several key statistical categories. The Pirates are first in team hitting percentage (.227 – 43rd in NCAA DIII), opponent hitting percentage (.085 – 9th in DIII), kills per set (12.79), total kills (601), assists per set (11.72, total blocks (120 – 26th in DIII) and blocks per set (2.55 – 3rd in DIII).
Individually, Ella Jimenez ranks first in the NWC in points per set (4.59) and in total kills (165) and second in the league in kills per set (3.51) and service aces per set (0.64). Cassidy Franklin is second in the NWC in hitting percentage (.294) and in blocks per set (1.04). Amblessed Okemgbo is third in hitting (.283) and Lauren Kremer is fourth (.262). Kremer is also fifth (0.93) in blocking. Taylor Miche is fourth in digs per set (4.70).
NWC Poll: Whitworth is listed atop a tightly packed Northwest Conference preseason coaches poll with 55 points, followed by Pacific Lutheran (51) and Puget Sound (47). Whitworth got four first place votes, PLU got three, Puget Sound one and Linfield one.
The Coach: Kati Bodecker has a record of 205-81 in her 12th season guiding the Pirates. Bodecker picked up her 200th win as Whitworth's coach on Sept. 13th vs. Chapman University. 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 146-32 in conference matches. 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 University comes into Friday night's match 2-10 overall and 1-3 in the NWC. The Bearcats dropped their only contest last weekend, 3-0 at home to George Fox. Lily Hallock is in her fourth season as head coach at Willamette. The team ranks fourth in the NWC in service aces per set (2.17). Junior OH Katey Cramer leads the team in kills per set. Senior Olivia Cadien, a 2023 honorable mention All-NWC honoree, adds 2.48 kills per set. Last season Whitworth defeated Willamette 3-0 in both meetings.
Lewis & Clark College is 0-10 overall and 0-3 in the NWC heading into a match on Friday night at Whitman. The Pioneers fell at home to Puget Sound (3-1) and Pacific Lutheran (3-0) last week. L&C is second in the NWC in digs per set (16.33) under third-year head coach Erin Labason. Sophomore OH Annika Traxler leads the team in kills per set (2.64) and service aces (15). Last season the Pioneers took a set from the Pirates in both meetings.
Coming Up: Whitworth will travel to play at Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound to close out the first half of the Northwest Conference schedule.
