SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth volleyball team closes the regular season with a chance to clinch the 2026 Northwest Conference title and the right to host the league's post-season tournament. But the task is tall as the Pirates take on the two teams right behind the Pirates in the standings. Whitworth hosts Puget Sound on Friday night (7:00 pm) and then battles Pacific Lutheran on Saturday (6:00 pm).
Check the Whitworth volleyball schedule (link above-right) for up-to-date access to live results and a link to the broadcasts.
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 $11 for adults and $8 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
Watch on FloCollege: All of Whitworth's Northwest Conference athletic events will be steamed through FloCollege in 2026-27. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $116 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
The Pirates: Whitworth (19-2 overall, 13-1 NWC) posted a pair of 3-0 sweeps in Oregon last week. The Pirates have won 13 straight matches.
Whitworth rolled to a 25-20, 25-14, 25-18 win at George Fox on Friday afternoon. The Pirates hit .262, had 11 aces and 8.0 blocks. Alyssa Baird had 12.0 points, thanks to 10 kills and two aces. Lindsey Short had seven kills (.438) and five block assists for 9.5 points. Bryanna Dodson served four of the team's 11 aces. Whitworth swept the season series against the Bruins.
The Pirates defeated Willamette 25-14, 25-20, 25-14 almost exactly one year after losing in five sets to the Bearcats in Salem, Oregon. The Bucs hit .296 while holding Willamette to .045. Whitworth had 12.0 team blocks, led by Lauren Kremer. Kremer finished with one solo block and seven block assists. Baird had 10 kills, three aces and one block assist for 13.5 points, while Dodson had 11 kills, one ace and two block assists for 13.0 points. Madison Pridon and Sofia Fox combined for 40 assists to help Whitworth sweep Willamette.
Kremer Honored Again: Lauren Kremer is the NWC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row, based on her blocking in wins at George Fox and Willamette. She totaled one solo block and 10 block assists for an average of 1.83 blocks per set. Defensively she also had five digs. She now leads the NWC in blocks per set, both overall and conference-only. Offensively she hit .381 with nine kills and one service ace.
Kremer joins Kaylee Winterroth (Sept. 28 and Oct. 5) as a two-time NWC Player of the Week this season.
Rolling: Whitworth's 13-match winning streak is the team's longest since the Bucs won 18 in a row during the 2024 season. During this current streak Whitworth has won 39 sets and lost only five.
NWC Standings Update: With only one weekend left in the regular season NWC schedule, league standings show three of the four member schools from the state of Washington crowded at the top. Whitworth is alone in first place at 13-1, followed by Puget Sound at 12-2. After suffering an upset at the hands of Linfield, Pacific Lutheran dropped to third place (11-3). Whitman (8-6) is trying to hold off Willamette (7-7) and Linfield (6-8) for fourth place.
The NWC regular season champion earns the right to host the conference tournament on November 13-14. The top four teams in the final standings make the NWC tournament.
NWC Stat Leaders: Most of the way through Northwest Conference play, Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference in several key statistical categories. The Pirates lead the league in team hitting percentage (.221) and opponent hitting percentage (.085, 4th in DIII). They also lead in kills per set (12.55) and assists per set (11.34). Whitworth leads the league in service aces per set (2.56) and is the toughest team to serve an ace against (1.37 per set allowed). The Bucs are also first in the conference in blocks per set (2.02) and they rank third in digs per set (16.00).
Individually, Lauren Kremer leads the conference in blocks per set (0.96), is second the conference in hitting percentage (.341), fourth in aces per set (0.48) and eighth in points per set (3.30). Alyssa Baird is second in the NWC in kills per set (3.17) and fourth in points per set (3.64). Madison Pridon is second in the NWC in assists per set (7.07) and fifth in service aces per set (0.47). Lindsey Short is eighth in kills per set (2.78), seventh in points per set (3.38), eighth in blocks per set (0.74) and ninth in hitting percentage (.240). Olivia Paul is fourth in the NWC in digs per set (4.45). Bryanna Dodson is sixth in digs per set (3.04) and eighth in aces per set (0.44). Kaylee Winterroth is fifth in blocks per set (0.84) and fifth in hitting percentage (.293).
The Coach: Kati Bodecker has a record of 240-88 entering her 14th 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 169-35 in conference matches through her first 13 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: Puget Sound (15-7 overall, 12-2 NWC) is the second-hottest team in the NWC. A pair of 3-0 wins at home over Linfield and Lewis & Clark increased the Loggers' winning streak to six in a row. Puget Sound is second in the NWC in hitting percentage (.202), kills per set (12.01) and blocks per set (1.87). Junior MB Maddie Badger, the 2025 NWC Player of the Year, leads the conference in hitting percentage (.348), ranks second in both points per set (3.81) and blocks per set (0.94) and is third in kills per set (3.13). Aubrey Tanner is a two-way player who hits (2.68 kills per set) and sets (3.84 assists per set). She averages 3.21 points per set. Whitworth pulled out a 3-1 win at Puget Sound on Oct. 10 behind 20 kills from Alyssa Baird.
Pacific Lutheran (18-5 overall, 11-3 NWC) can still win the NWC title, but the Lutes need help after a 3-1 setback to Linfield at home last Saturday. PLU plays at Whitman on Friday night. The Lutes rank second in the NWC in points per set (16.09), second in aces per set (2.37) and second in digs per set (17.31). Senior MH Alexis Eggert is having an outstanding year. She is third in the conference in points per set (3.37) and blocks per set (0.88). She is fourth in both hitting percentage (.313) and kills per set (2.98). Junior setter Ayre Takamoto leads the league in assists per set (9.37) and is sixth in aces per set (0.46). Whitworth swept PLU 3-0 on the road on October 9th. Lauren Kremer had 16 points with 10 kills, 3 aces and five blocks.
Coming Up: Whitworth will play in the 2026 NWC Tournament on November 13th-14th. The location of that tournament is still too be determined.
