SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth volleyball team will take an 8-2 non-conference record into the opening games of the Northwest Conference schedule this weekend. The Pirates will host Pacific University on Friday night (7:00 pm) before taking on George Fox on Saturday (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 (8-2) had a very successful non-conference schedule. The Pirates played in three tournaments, beginning with the Whit Classic in Walla Walla on August 30-31 where the Bucs defeated UC Santa Cruz (3-0), Redlands (3-0) and Clarkson N.Y. (3-0). Whitworth went to the Mary Peterson Invitational in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on Sept. 6-7 where the Pirates defeated North Central (3-2), lost to host Wis.-Oshkosh (3-0), beat Wis.-Stevens Point (3-1) and shut out Lakeland (3-0). Last weekend the Bucs went to the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational in Thousand Oaks, California and beat both Chapman (3-0) and Pomona-Pitzer (3-1) before losing to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3-0). Both UW-Oshkosh and CMS are ranked among the top ten teams in Division III.
Through the first three weeks of the season, Whitworth has had three NWC volleyball student-athletes of the week. Taylor Miche was the defensive winner following the first weekend (Sept. 3), Ella Jimenez won the offensive award on Sept. 9 and Amblessed Okemgbo was also honored for offense on Sept. 16.
NWC Stat Leaders: Heading into Northwest Conference play, Whitworth leads the conference in several key statistical categories. The Pirates are first in team hitting percentage (.214), opponent hitting percentage (.102), kills per set (13.15), total kills (447), assists per set (11.91), blocks per set (2.53 – which ranks 7th in NCAA Division III) and total blocks (86.0).
Individually, Ella Jimenez leads the league in kills per set (3.53), total kills (120), points per set (4.59), and is third in service aces per set (0.59). Amblessed Okemgbo leads the NWC in hitting percentage (.310).
Defensively, Taylor Miche is third in digs per set (4.74). Lauren Kremer is fourth (0.90) and Cassidy Franklin is sixth (0.88) in blocks per set.
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 201-81 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 142-32 in conference matches through her first 11 years. 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: Pacific University is 4-3 heading into a home non-conference match against Linfield tonight. The Boxers have not played a match since the weekend of Sept. 6-7 at La Verne, where they went 2-1 with a loss to UC Santa Cruz (3-1) and wins over Redlands (3-1) and Occidental (3-1). Sophomore OH Emma Velcheck leads the team offensively, averaging 3.33 kills per set (3rd in NWC) and 0.42 aces per set. Senior OH Mara Murphy, a multiple-time All-NWC honoree, adds 3.30 kills per set. Whitworth swept Pacific in 2023, winning 3-2 with a comeback in Forest Grove, Oregon and 3-0 at home in Spokane.
George Fox is coming off one of its best seasons in 20 years. The Bruins finished 16-9 after knocking off Whitworth in the semifinals of the inaugural NWC tournament. GFU is off to a 4-5 start in 2024. The Bruins defeated Linfield 3-1 in a non-conference clash at home on Sept. 13 in their most recent contest. They went 1-3 at the Auggie Classic in Minneapolis on Sept. 6-7, but all three losses were in five sets. George Fox is learning to live without 2023 NWC Player of the Year Kassandra Mendendall, who graduated in the spring. Sophomore RS Gracie Bearden leads the team in kills (2.71 per set), while graduate student libero Piper Hilgaertner leads the conference in digs per set (5.33). Last season the teams split the regular season with the Bruins winning 3-2 in Newberg, Oregon and the Pirates sweeping 3-0 in Spokane. GFU won the NWC semifinal 3-1 at PLU.
Coming Up: Whitworth will host Whitman on Tuesday Sept. 24 before playing at Linfield on Friday Sept. 27.
