SPOKANE, Wash. – Playing like a team fully confident in its abilities and determined to become a tournament champion, top-seeded Whitworth University rolled to a three-set sweep of second-seeded Pacific Lutheran in the final of the 2024 Northwest Conference volleyball tournament on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The 21st-ranked Pirates improved to 26-2 and earned the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-21 win over the Lutes. Whitworth will await the announcement of the tournament field on Monday morning at 10:00 am to find out when and where the Bucs will play next weekend.
PLU ends the season 18-8 after winning this tournament in 2023.
"It was a complete team effort and that has been the story of our season," said head coach Kati Bodecker. "We don't have to rely on one person or one part of our game to get our wins. Our strength is in our team and their love for each other."
The conference's best blocking team this season, Whitworth posted ten team blocks against the Lutes, four each by Cassidy Franklin and Lauren Kremer, the Bucs' pair of starting middles.
The Pirates trailed only once in the first two sets, and never in the opening frame. Whitworth never let PLU build momentum, thanks to a defense that held the visitors to a .081 percentage in the first set and .000 in the second. The Bucs had nine of their blocks through the first two sets.
The Lutes found life in the opening points of the third, taking a 5-1 lead, including a couple of kills by Julie Pernsteiner. Whitworth responded with five straight points, including back-to-back kills from Kremer. The teams would trade leads two more times before Whitworth took control with a 9-1 run that turned a 10-9 deficit into an 18-11 lead. PLU fought back to within 22-20 on a block by Alexis Eggert and Kailee Efros-Bohn before Kremer ended the run with another kill in the middle. Josephine Thompson's ace ended the contest.
Whitworth hit .239 as Jimenez led the way with 11 kills and 14.0 points. She had an ace and three blocks (1 solo, 2 assists). Kremer had nine kills and hit .643 while Franklin had nine kills while hitting .500. Thompson (18) and Megan Lange (14) combined for 32 of the Pirates' 35 assists. Thompson led the way with three aces.
Shaela Allen-Greggs led PLU with 10 kills and Pernsteiner added nine. Bailey Johnson served four of PLU's eight aces.
Bodecker is excited to see her team take the next step.
"I am so excited to find out who we play and where we go," she said. "Our team is ready to compete against any opponent."
