SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth volleyball team returns to the state of Oregon this coming weekend for a pair of Northwest Conference matches. The Pirates will play at Lewis & Clark College on Friday night at 7:00 pm before taking on George Fox University on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
Check the Whitworth volleyball schedule (link above-right) for up-to-date access to live results and a link to the FloSports broadcasts.
Watch on FlowCollege: All of Whitworth's Northwest Conference athletic events will be steamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $120 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
The Pirates: Whitworth is 10-4 overall and 4-0 in the NWC. The Bucs are listed among "others receiving votes" in the most recent (Sept. 30) AVCA Division III coaches poll. They defeated Whitman 3-0 at home last Tuesday before holding on to win 3-2 at Linfield last Friday.
The Pirates played their most efficient offensive match of the season during last Tuesday's 25-15, 25-14, 25-17 win over Whitman. Whitworth hit .347 as a team, including a blistering .486 in the opening set. Lauren Kremer led the way with a .611 percentage on 11 kills and no errors in 18 attacks. Lindsey Short and Amblessed Okemgbo had nine kills apiece. Josephine Thompson (20) and Mya Rodriguez (17) combined for 37 assists while directing the efficient attack. Kremer also led the team with three aces and three block assists (15.5 total points).
Whitworth held off a spirited rally by Linfield in Friday's 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 26-28, 15-12 win in McMinnville. The Wildcats had all the momentum heading into the final set after rallying from a 21-13 deficit to win the fourth game. The Pirates responded and got their first conference road win. Alyssa Baird led the Bucs with 15 kills, while Okemgbo had 14 and Kremer added 11. Thompson (25) and Rodriguez (23) combined for 48 assists. Olivia Paul came up with 20 digs, while Bryanna Dodson served three of the team's nine aces. Whitworth may have won the match behind the service line where the Pirates had nine aces to Linfield's six and only seven serving errors to the Wildcats' 12.
Powerful Company: Whitworth is the only team in the country to have played both the current #1 and #2 teams in the AVCA Division III poll. And the Pirates took a set against both La Verne (#1) and East Texas Baptist (#2). The Pirates have a win over current #11 Trinity and a win over current RV Northwestern (Minn.).
Streaking: Whitworth extended its winning streak against NWC opponents to 22, the longest in school history. The Pirates went 16-0 to win the 2024 NWC regular season title, then 2-0 to win the conference tournament. The team has opened 4-0 in 2025.
The NWC record for most consecutive wins against conference opponents is 35, set by Pacific Lutheran from 2008 into 2010.
NWC Stat Leaders: One week into Northwest Conference play, Whitworth ranks among conference leaders in several key statistical categories. The Pirates are second in hitting percentage (.182), kills per set (12.59), assists per set (11.64) and blocks per set (1.83). The Pirates are the toughest team in the league to serve against, leading the NWC in service aces allowed per set (1.14).
Individually, Amblessed Okemgbo is third in kills per set (3.25) and first in total kills (182). Defensively, Lauren Kremer is first in kills per set (1.04). Olivia Paul is fourth in service aces per set (0.52) and sixth in digs per set (3.89).
NWC Poll: Defending champion Whitworth is listed atop a tightly packed Northwest Conference preseason coaches poll with 58 points, followed by Pacific Lutheran (57) and Puget Sound (55). Whitworth got four first place votes, PLU got three, Puget Sound two.
The Coach: Kati Bodecker has a record of 229-98 in her 13th season guiding the Pirates. Bodecker picked up her 200th win as Whitworth's coach on Sept. 13, 2024 vs. Chapman University. She is a five-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year, including 2021 and 2024 when the Pirates posted perfect 16-0 NWC marks. She is 155-33 in conference regular season matches through her first 12 years. Bodecker has directed the Pirates to six appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024). 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: Lewis & Clark (0-11 overall, 0-4 NWC) heads into Friday night's match hungry for its first victory of 2025. The Pioneers fell 3-0 at Pacific (Ore.) last Friday and 3-1 at home to George Fox on Saturday. Erin Labasan is in her fourth year as head coach at L&C. The Pioneers rank second in the conference in team service aces per set (2.16). Junior OH Kaitlyn Jensen leads her team in kills per set (2.30) and points per set (2.85). Junior setter Kenzie Edwards is second in the NWC in aces per set (0.64). Whitworth defeated L&C 3-0 twice last season and the Pirates have won eight straight in the series.
George Fox is 4-6 overall and 1-3 in the NWC heading into a match against Whitman on Friday night. The Bruins won their only match last week, 3-1 at L&C. Emily Davis is in her 10th season as GFU's head coach. The Bruins have the best statistical defense in the NWC so far this fall, leading in opponent kills per set (10.21) and in opponent hitting percentage (.147). Senior RS Lexi Baer leads GFU in kills per set (2.54) and points per set (2.85). Junior MB Allaire Gilder is fifth in the conference in blocks per set (0.84) and contributes 2.32 points per set. Whitworth won all three meetings with GFU in 2024, including a 3-0 victory in the NWC tournament semifinals, but the match in Newberg, Oregon went to five games.
Coming Up: Whitworth will return host Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound to close out the first half of the NWC schedule.
