SPOKANE, Wash. – The first half of the Northwest Conference volleyball schedule concludes this weekend with a pair of key matches for the Whitworth Pirates.  Friday night (7:00 pm) features a showdown between Whitworth and Pacific Lutheran, two teams tied for first place.  On Saturday (6:00 pm) the Pirates take on Puget Sound, only one game behind in the league standings.

Check the Whitworth volleyball schedule (link above-right) for up-to-date access to live results.

The Pirates:  Whitworth (14-2 overall, 6-0 NWC) stayed unbeaten in Northwest Conference play last weekend with wins over visiting Willamette and Lewis & Clark.

The Pirates were in danger of losing their first NWC match of the season on Friday night against Willamette.  Whitworth was behind 2-1 in sets and 13-10 in the fourth set.  From that point the Pirates outscored the Bearcats 30-5 in a 25-16, 25-27, 23-25, 25-17, 15-1 win.  Whitworth served a season-high 11 aces, including nine by senior libero Taylor Miche.  Miche also had 23 digs and nine assists.  Ella Jimenez had 13 kills, Cassidy Franklin and Amblessed Okemgbo both had 10.  Josephine Thompson had 21 of the Bucs' 52 assists, while Megan Lange had 11.

Whitworth carried the momentum into Saturday's 25-16, 25-10, 25-6 win over Lewis & Clark, hitting .435 as a team – the second highest team hitting percentage of the season.  One night after serving 11 aces, the Pirates had 16 against the Pioneers.  Franklin had five aces, Miche had four and Thompson had three.  Jimenez finished with 11 kills, while Okemgbo had seven.

NWC Stat Leaders:  Whitworth leads the conference in several key statistical categories.  The Pirates are first in team hitting percentage (.230 – 34^th in NCAA DIII), opponent hitting percentage (.081 – 7^th in DIII), kills per set (12.64), total kills (695), assists per set (11.49, total blocks (135.0 – 25^th in DIII) and in blocks per set (2.45 – 10^th in DIII).

Individually, Ella Jimenez leads the league in kills per set (3.44), total kills (189), points per set (4.42), and is second in service aces per set (0.56).  Cassidy Franklin is second in the NWC in hitting percentage (.298) and third in blocks per set (1.02).  Lauren Kremer is third in hitting percentage (.286) and seventh in blocks per set (0.92).  Amblessed Okemgbo is fourth in hitting percentage (.281).  Taylor Miche is fourth in digs per set (4.55).

NWC Poll:  Whitworth was 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 207-81 in her 12th season guiding the Pirates.  Bodecker picked up her 200^th win as Whitworth's coach on Sept. 13^th 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 148-32 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:  Since 1999 either Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound or Whitworth have won or shared every Northwest Conference volleyball championship, except in 2003.  PLU has won 12, Whitworth 11 and Puget Sound three.

Pacific Lutheran comes into Friday night's match 11-4 overall and 6-0 in the NWC.  The Lutes won 3-1 at Pacific and 3-2 at George Fox last weekend.  Head coach Kevin Aoki is in his 29^th season and has led PLU to 12 NWC titles and earned 11 conference Coach of the Year awards.  The Lutes lead the league in service aces per set (2.53) and digs per set (16.53).  Freshman Julissa Pernsteiner leads the team in points per set (3.19) and blocks per set (0.98) and adds 2.17 kills per set.  Four Lutes average more than 2.0 kills per set, led by senior Kailee Efros-Bohn (2.46 kills per set).  PLU won both meetings against Whitworth in 2023, 3-1 in Spokane and 3-2 in Parkland.  The Lutes have won the last three meetings.

Puget Sound is 8-6 overall and 5-1 in the NWC heading into a contest against Whitman on Friday night.  The Loggers won 3-1 at George Fox and 3-0 at Pacific last weekend.  Head coach Mark Massey is in his 29^th season with four NWC crowns and three Coach of the Year awards.  UPS ranks second in the NWC in hitting percentage (.174) and blocks per set (2.41).  First-year Maddie Badger leads the conference in both hitting percentage (.311) and blocks per set (1.21) and averages 2.64 kills per set.  Senior Sarah Johnson is second in the NWC in blocks per set (1.02).  Last season Whitworth swept UPS, winning 3-0 at home and 3-2 in Tacoma.

Coming Up:  Whitworth opens the second round of NWC matches at George Fox and Pacific (Ore.) on October 18-19.