SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University will host a pair of important Northwest Conference volleyball matches this weekend. The Pirates host 2022 co-NWC champion Puget Sound on Friday night (7:00 pm) and first place Pacific Lutheran on Saturday (6:00 pm).
Check the Whitworth volleyball schedule (link above-right) for up-to-date live access to 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 (6-6 overall, 3-1 NWC) split on the road last weekend in a pair of five-set thrillers. The Pirates rallied to defeat Pacific 3-2 by winning the final two sets, then lost 3-2 at George Fox when the Bruins won the final two sets. Whitworth, GFU and Puget Sound are all 3-1 in the NWC, one game behind PLU (4-0) in the standings.
The Pirates trailed 2-1 in sets before rallying to force the final frame. Then they were behind 14-12 in the last set before scoring the final four points of the match to win 24-26, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14. Kaity Barr led the way with 18.5 points, including 16 kills and a blistering .652 hitting percentage. She added two aces and one block assist. Ella Jimenez had 15 kills and two block assists (16 points), while Amblessed Okemgbo added 13 kills, two solo blocks and one block assist (15.5 points). Cassidy Franklin totaled nine kills (.429) and eight block assists (13 points). Add in 48 assists by Mya Rodriguez and the Bucs were able to overcome 27 kills by Pacific's Mara Murphy.
After dropping the opening set on Saturday night at George Fox, the Pirates won the next two, including a dramatic comeback in the third frame after trailing 18-7 and 20-12. But Whitworth ran out of gas in a 25-21, 19-25, 24-26, 25-18, 15-5 loss to the Bruins. Barr and Jimenez had 19 points apiece. Barr had 14 kills (.333), an ace, two solo blocks and four block assists. Jimenez totaled 15 kills, an ace, one solo block and four block assists. Franklin finished with 14 kills (.387) and three block assists (15.5 points). Rodiguez dished a career-high 56 assists and Taylor Miche had 32 digs.
Raising the Barr: Kaity Barr leads all NWC players, and ranks 18th in all of NCAA Division III, in blocking (1.16 per set). Barr is a big reason Whitworth ranks eighth as a team in the nation in blocks per set (2.35). She also ranks second in the NWC in hitting percentage (.379) and eighth in service aces (0.49 per set).
In addition, Ella Jimenez ranks fifth in the conference in kills per set (3.08), while Taylor Miche ranks seventh in the conference in digs per set (4.20).
NWC Poll: Whitworth finished third in the Northwest Conference preseason coaches poll with 51 points, behind Puget Sound (62) and Pacific Lutheran (53). Puget Sound, the other co-champion with the Pirates last season, got six first place votes, PLU got one and Whitworth received two.
The Coach: Kati Bodecker has a record of 181-74 heading into her 11th season guiding the Pirates. 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 128-28 in conference matches during that time. 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: Puget Sound is 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the NWC heading into the weekend. The Pirates and Loggers were co-champions last season, but Puget Sound claimed the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament based on a head-to-head games differential tiebreaker. The Loggers beat Whitworth 3-0 in Tacoma, while Whitworth beat UPS 3-2 in Spokane, so the Loggers had a 5-3 edge on the Pirates. Mark Massey is in his 28th season as head coach and has 444 wins in his career. Last week UPS lost 3-1 at PLU on Wednesday, but rebounded to win 3-0 at Lewis & Clark on Saturday. The Loggers return much of their squad from 2022, including first team All-NWC honorees Avery Alleman (MB) and Logan Winn (setter).
Pacific Lutheran is 5-7 overall but is the only remaining unbeaten team (4-0) in NWC play heading into Friday's match at Whitman. The Lutes followed up last Wednesday's 3-1 win over UPS with a 3-0 win at Willamette on Friday. Libero Halle Hetzler (Sr.) is the reigning NWC Player of the Year and she has already been selected as the NWC's defensive Student-Athlete of the Week twice in 2023. Sophomore OH Elle Thomas was second team All-NWC in 2022. Kevin Aoki is in his 28th season as head coach at PLU and he has 476 wins and 11 NWC titles to his name. Last season Whitworth and PLU won on each other's home court. The Pirates won 3-1 in Parkland, while the Lutes won 3-2 in Spokane.
Coming Up: Whitworth will close out the first half of the Northwest Conference schedule with matches against Whitman (home, Oct. 4) and Linfield (away, Oct. 6).
