| Pirates Play
Three, Including Two at Home |
Sept. 20, 2004
|
The Whitworth College volleyball team plays its final non-conference match of the season this week at Lewis-Clark State, then the Pirates will return home to host Willamette University and Lewis & Clark College in a pair of key Northwest Conference matches in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Bucs are coming off of a weekend split in Oregon after winning at Pacific and losing at Linfield.
| Last Week's Results | (W/L) Score | 2004 Record |
| 9/17 at Pacific (Ore.) * | W, 3-0 | 7-1, 1-0 |
| 9/18 at Linfield * | L, 3-2 | 7-2, 1-1 |
| This Week's Schedule | Time | Location |
| 9/21 at Lewis-Clark St. | 6 pm | Lewiston, Idaho |
| 9/24 vs. Willamette * | 7 pm | Whitworth |
| 9/25 vs. Lewis & Clark * | 4 pm | Whitworth |
| Next Week's Schedule | Time | Location |
| 10/1 at Puget Sound * | 7 pm | Tacoma |
| 10/2 at Pacific Lutheran * | 7 pm | Tacoma |
| * Indicates Northwest Conference match | ||
The Pirates: Whitworth opened its Northwest Conference season with a 30-17, 30-13, 30-26 win at Pacific University last Friday night. The Pirates held the Boxers to a -.069 hitting percentage during the match. Brittney Bower (Jr., OH, Onalaska, Wash.) led a balanced Whitworth attack with 10 kills. Julie Marsh (Jr., OH, Cheney, Wash.) had nine kills, four aces and 18 digs. Natalie Danielson (Jr., MB, Kennewick, Wash.) added eight kills and three blocks.
The Pirates were beaten 30-25, 18-30, 19-30, 33-31, 17-15 by defending NWC champion Linfield on Saturday night. Whitworth played some of its best volleyball of the season in games two and three, when the Bucs hit .314 and .526, respectively, as a team. They served for the match twice in game four, but could not put it away. Katy Schrader (Sr., MB, Spokane, Wash.) led the Pirates with 22 kills. Bekah Hornor (Jr., S, Spokane, Wash.) dished 58 assists and had 19 digs to go along with six kills of her own. Whitworth has now lost three straight contests to Linfield over the last two seasons.
NWC Poll: Whitworth finished tied for fifth with Whitman in the 2004 preseason coaches poll. Pacific Lutheran and Willamette are picked first and second in the poll. Click here for the 2004 NWC Coaches Poll.
The Opponents: Lewis-Clark State College is coming off of a championship season. The Warriors won the Frontier Conference with an 11-3 mark and finished 27-10 overall. LCSC is 3-6 so far this season after dropping its 2004 conference opener to Montana Tech in five games last Saturday at home. Sophomore Ashli Bever leads the team with averages of 2.4 kills and 2.7 digs per game. Whitworth has not played the Warriors since 1997 when LCSC swept the Pirates in three games in Lewiston.
Willamette University is off to a great start in 2004 with an overall record of 7-2 and a Northwest Conference mark of 2-0. The Bearcats defeated Lewis & Clark and Pacific Lutheran at home last week. The win over PLU wasn't decided until Willamette pulled out the fifth game 20-18. Angie Sammons and Kristin Halleck lead a potent attack. Sammons averages 3.97 kills per game and hits .277. Halleck averages 3.78 kills per game and hits .311, the best percentage in the NWC. The Bearcats swept Whitworth in both meetings last year.
Lewis & Clark comes into the week with an overall record of 2-6 and a conference mark of 1-1. But the Pioneers are energized by a five-game win over Puget Sound on Saturday night, the team's first win over the Loggers since 1988. Jennifer Slaton leads the team by averaging 2.93 kills per game and hitting .170. Whitworth won both meetings with L&C last season.
The Coach: Steve Rupe is in his sixth season as the head volleyball coach of the Pirates. A 1989 graduate of Whitworth, Rupe has been named the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year twice (2001, 2002) and has become the second-winningest coach in school history with a record of 83-49 (.629) entering 2004. Under his direction, the Pirates have won a pair of NWC titles and have advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament twice (2001, 2002).