SPOKANE, Wash. -- Following its ninth straight victory on Tuesday night, the Whitworth College volleyball team (13-2) heads into the second round of Northwest Conference play this week when the Pirates host George Fox University on Friday night and Lewis & Clark College on Saturday afternoon. Having already posted a perfect 8-0 conference mark during the first run through NWC play, the Pirates will take on every conference opponent once more during the rest of the regular season.

Whitworth is now ranked 20th in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches poll (Oct. 11), moving up from 23rd in last week's poll.

Whitworth defeated the NAIA Lewis-Clark State Warriors for the second time this season, handing LCSC a 30-19, 24-30, 30-19, 30-27 defeat in Lewiston. The Pirates won while playing 14 of the players on their roster. Natalie Danielson (Sr., MB, Kennewick, Wash. - CC of Spokane) led the team with 17 kills and five blocks. Angie Florence (Jr., OH, Yucaipa, Calif. - Yucaipa) was credited with 16 digs and Bekah Hornor (Sr., S, Spokane, Wash. - Mead) dished 38 assists.

A check of the Northwest Conference statistics shows that the Pirates are ranked highly in several categories. Whitworth leads the NWC in team hitting percentage (.237) and opponent hitting percentage (.119). The Pirates rank second in kills per game (14.36), assists per game (12.68) and blocks per game (2.00). Individually, Danielson leads the NWC in hitting percentage (.364), and is third in both kills per game (4.15) and blocks per game (1.04). Julie Marsh (Sr., OH, Cheney, Wash. - Cheney) continues to lead the NWC in aces per game (0.65). Hornor ranks third in assists per game (10.67).

On Friday the Pirates will host George Fox University at 7:00 pm. The Bruins are 9-6 overall and 4-4 in the NWC. Last weekend GFU swept 8th-ranked Linfield and dropped a four-game match to Pacific Lutheran, both at home. The Bruins lead the NWC in assists per game (14.18) and kills per game (15.14). When Whitworth and George Fox met on September 16th in Newberg, Oregon, the Pirates pulled out a 16-30, 30-16, 26-30, 31-29, 15-8 win in the conference opener for both teams.

Lewis & Clark College comes into the Whitworth Fieldhouse on Saturday at 2:00 pm. The Pioneers are 6-10 overall and 2-6 in the NWC. Last weekend L&C lost 3-1 to Puget Sound at home before sweeping Pacific on the road. Whitworth and Lewis & Clark met on September 17th in Portland and the Pirates won 30-17, 30-20, 27-30, 30-11. L&C is one of the strongest serving teams in the conference, averaging 2.18 aces per game.