SPOKANE, Wash. - Whitworth University will hit the road this weekend for matches against a pair of surprising Northwest Conference teams in Oregon. The Pirates are 8-6 overall, 1-1 NWC after sweeping Willamette and falling in four sets to Lewis & Clark at home last weekend. On Friday Whitworth will play at George Fox (7-5, 1-1), which ended Pacific Lutheran's 18-match NWC winning streak last weekend. Then on Saturday Whitworth will play at Pacific of Oregon (2-8, 1-1), a surprising 3-0 winner at George Fox last week.

Kaimi Rocha

Rocha's Big Start: Kaimi Rocha (Fr., OH, Pukalani, Hawaii) has already made a big impact on the Whitworth volleyball team. The dynamic freshman was named the MVP of the NYU Labor Day Invitational and was also named to the Whitworth Invitational All-Tournament team. She is leading the team in kills (3.27 per set) and hitting percentage among starting players (.252) and has also been solid defensively, averaging 2.5 digs per set, which is third on the team among regular players. Ka'ipo Rocha (Fr., MB, Pukalani, Hawaii) has also been solid in the middle. After missing the first weekend of play due to injury, Ka'ipo now averages 2.1 kills and 0.68 blocks per set. Ka'ipo was also named to the Whitworth Invitational All-Tournament team.

Setter-Setter: Whitworth has been running a 6-2 offense since the beginning of the season, utilizing the skills of both Bree Riddle (Fr., S, Spokane, Wash.) and Jordon Hoffnagle (Fr., S, Spokane, Wash.). Both have played in all 49 sets with Riddle averaging 4.53 assists per set and Hoffnagle averaging 4.55 assists per set.

NWC Statistics : Several Pirates are listed among the NWC statistics leaders. Kaimi Rocha is fourth in kills per set (3.27) and seventh in hitting percentage (.252).

Holly Tomlin (Sr., MB, Kirkland, Wash.) is 9th in hitting percentage (.228), while Nikki Bardwell (Sr., OH, Colville, Wash.) is 6th in aces per set (0.42) and 9th in digs per set (3.21).

Live Stats: Live stats of all home contests will be available beginning this weekend at the following link: http://www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Teams/Volleyball/statistics/livestats/xlive.htm.

The Coach: Steve Rupe, currently in his tenth season as Pirate head coach, 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 142-92 (.607) over his first nine seasons. Under his direction, the Pirates have won three NWC titles and have advanced to the NCAA Division III regional finals twice (2002, 2005).

Coming up: George Fox comes into the weekend 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the NWC. The Bruins opened NWC play at home against Pacific last Wednesday and were swept 3-0 by the Boxers. But GFU regrouped to knock off defending NWC champion Pacific Lutheran 3-2 on the road, ending the Lutes' 18 match conference winning streak. Jessica Morrison is among the NWC leaders in blocks at 0.96 per set. Last season the Bruins swept Whitworth, winning 3-2 in Spokane and 3-1 in Newberg, Oregon.

Pacific University of Oregon (2-8, 1-1) followed the impressive win at George Fox with a 3-0 loss at 9th-ranked Puget Sound. Caitlin Gallahon leads the Boxers in kills, averaging 2.75 per set. In 2007 Whitworth and Pacific split their matches. The Pirates won 3-1 in Spokane, while the Boxers won 3-1 in Forest Grove, Oregon.