SPOKANE, Wash. - Whitworth University heads to the Portland, Oregon area for three matches this week. The Pirates will play a non-conference match at Concordia on Thursday, followed by Northwest Conference contests at Pacific (Friday) and George Fox (Saturday).

Whitworth (9-7) is coming off of a 2-0 week that turned around a three match losing streak. The Pirates defeated Whitman 3-1 at home last Wednesday and won 3-1 at Lewis & Clark on Friday.

Tough Defense: Whitworth's defense has been very good this season. The Pirates lead the Northwest Conference in digs per game, averaging 21.52. Because of the fact that so many balls keep coming back over the net at Whitworth's opponents, the Pirates are #2 in the NWC in opponent hitting percentage (.134).

Cassie Moore leads the NWC in aces and digs

Leading the League : Whitworth's Cassie Moore (Sr., Lib., Spokane, Wash.) continues to lead the NWC in two statistical categories. Moore is averaging 0.75 aces per game and 6.90 digs per game, both of which top the conference lists.

Sarah Rusch (Jr., MB, Walla Walla, Wash.) is 4th in the conference in kills per game (4.48). Holly Ridings (Sr., S, Spokane, Wash.) is 6th in the NWC in assists per game (10.37).

Coming up: Concordia University is an NAIA member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The Cavaliers are 10-9 overall this season and 6-4 in the CCC. Concordia has played one other NWC member this season, beating Lewis & Clark 3-0 at home on September 12th. The Cavs will play Cascade in a conference match on Tuesday night before hosting Whitworth.

Pacific comes into the week with an 8-7 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the NWC. The Boxers went 1-1 last weekend, defeating Willamette 3-1 at home before dropping a 3-0 decision at league-leading Pacific Lutheran on Saturday. In the first meeting of the year between Whitworth and Pacific, the Pirates earned a 3-1 win at home on September 14th.

George Fox (8-7, 3-5) suffered through an 0-2 weekend last week. The Bruins lost 3-0 at Puget Sound and then dropped a heart-wrenching 3-2 decision at home to Linfield (15-13 in the fifth game). Both Linfield and UPS are tied for second in the NWC. Speaking of heart-wrenching, George Fox beat Whitworth 3-2 in Spokane on September 15th (17-15 in the fifth game) after the Pirates had come back from a two games to none deficit.

The Coach: Steve Rupe is in his ninth season as Whitworth's head volleyball coach and has served longer in this capacity than any coach in program history. Rupe has been named the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year twice (2001, 2002) AVCA Regional Coach of the Year once (2005) and has become the second-winningest coach in school history with a record of 140-85 (.622). Under his direction, the Pirates have won three NWC titles and have advanced to the NCAA Division III regional finals twice (2002, 2005).