SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth returns home to host a pair of Northwest Conference volleyball matches this weekend, looking to extend a three-game winning streak. The Pirates will take on Willamette University on Friday night at 7:00 pm and then host 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 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 FlowCollege: 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 (9-2 overall, 3-1 NWC) won a pair of NWC road matches last week. The Bucs handed Whitman its first NWC loss of the season, then swept Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday.
Whitworth won the season's first Battle of Whits 25-12, 23-25, 25-12, 20-25, 15-9 last Tuesday night in Walla Walla. Lindsey Short led the way with 20.5 points, netting 17 kills, two aces, one solo block and one block assist. Lauren Kremer followed with 18.5 points thanks to a dozen kills, three aces, three solo blocks and one block assist. Kaylee Winterroth finished with 15 kills, while hitting .345. Madison Pridon dished 38 assists and served three aces.
The Pirates rolled past Pacific (Ore.) 25-19, 25-12, 25-15 on Saturday night in Forest Grove, Oregon. Winterroth had another big night offensively with 11 kills and a .600 hitting percentage. Short added eight kills, while Paige McKenzie finished with seven. Pridon had 31 assists, helping the Pirates hit .295 as a team. Olivia Paul had 14 of the team's 42 digs.
Winterroth Honored: Kaylee Winterroth is this week's NWC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for her combined performances last week against Whitman and Pacific. She averaged 3.25 kills per set and hit .432. She had 15 kills at Whitman and 11 kills at Pacific, with only seven hitting errors the entire week. Winterroth is the first Pirate player of the season to claim a weekly conference award.
NWC Stat Leaders: Two weeks into Northwest Conference play, Whitworth ranks among conference leaders in several key statistical categories. The Pirates lead the league in team hitting percentage (.216), kills per set (12.60) and assists per set (11.28). Whitworth also leads the conference in opponents' hitting percentage (.105) and in opponent service aces per set (1.33).
Individually, Madison Pridon is second in the NWC in assists per set (8.40) and seventh in service aces per set (0.50). Alyssa Baird is second in the league in kill per set (3.27) and seventh in points per set (3.44). Lindsey Short is six in kills per set (2.90) and fifth in points per set (3.54). Olivia Paul is fourth in the NWC in digs per set (4.45). Kaylee Winterroth (.340) and Lauren Kremer (.301) rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in hitting percentage. Winterroth is also ninth in blocks per set (0.68).
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: Willamette is 5-6 overall and 2-2 in the NWC. Last weekend the Bearcats lost at home to Puget Sound (3-2) and Pacific Lutheran. But they rebounded to win 3-0 against Pacific (Ore.) on Tuesday night. Willamette is one of the best defensive teams in the NWC, leading the league in team digs per set (17.55). Junior OH Lexi Scott is the NWC's leader in kills per set (3.89) and points per set (4.07). Junior libero Dream Takemoto leads the conference in digs per set (4.79). Last season Whitworth and Willamette split during the regular season, each winning at home. The Pirates beat the 4th seeded Bearcats 3-1 in the semifinals of the NWC tournament.
George Fox University is 2-9 overall and 0-4 in the NWC heading into Friday night's match at Whitman. The Bruins lost 3-1 to Linfield in their only match last week. Of the 17 players on the roster, 12 are sophomores or first-year players. First-year OH Eden Cha leads the team with 2.00 kills per set, while sophomore OH Addison Goff adds 1.95 kills per set. Whitworth beat the Bruins twice last season, both matches by 3-1 margins.
Coming Up: Whitworth will close out the first half of the NWC schedule with games at Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound next weekend.
