Dig Pink Weekend at the Whitworth Fieldhouse
SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University volleyball team returns home for the first time since early October to host George Fox University (Friday) and Lewis & Clark College (Saturday) in a pair of Northwest Conference contests. The Pirates hope to continue the improved play that has led to four wins in the last five matches. It is also Dig Pink Weekend at the Whitworth University Fieldhouse. The Pirates hope to raise awareness for breast cancer reseach and will be providing several fund-raising opportunities during Friday night's match. Whitworth is now 8-13 overall and 4-6 in the NWC after splitting a pair of road matches in Oregon last weekend. On Friday the Pirates could not stop the offensive onslaught of Willamette University during a 25-20, 25-17, 27-25 loss in Salem. The Bearcats hit a blistering .326 as a team. Tracy Schwada (Sr., RS, Whitefish, Mont.) had eight kills with no errors for a .500 hitting percentage to lead the Pirates. Saturday Whitworth bounced back to beat Linfield 23-25, 25-23, 25-14, 26-24. Whitworth limited the Wildcats to a .050 team hitting percentage, thanks mainly to 11.0 team blocks. Randi Stephens (Jr., MB, Bozeman, Mont.) was in on nine block assists, while Kaimi Rocha (So., OH, Pukalani, Hawaii) had 14 kills and six block assists. Morgan Veleke (Sr., OH, Kennewick, Wash.) added nine kills. Big Blocker: Randi Stephens (Jr., MB, Bozeman, Mont.) has been Whitworth's most effective defensive player this season. She is averaging 1.07 blocks per set, which currently ranks third in the individual NWC statistics leaderboard. The Opponents: George Fox University (14-4 overall, 7-3 NWC) comes into the weekend as the second-hottest team in the NWC, behind league-leading PLU. The Bruins won 3-1 at Lewis & Clark last Wednesday before losing 3-1 at home to the Lutes. GFU took the first set of the season from PLU, but the Bruins saw their nine-match winning streak come to an end. Sophomore Eliza Pledger averaged 2.0 kills and 1.29 blocks per set. The Bruins lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.122) and digs per set (18.04). On September 26 George Fox swept Whitworth 3-0 in a match in Newberg, Oregon. Lewis & Clark dropped to 10-9 overall and 6-4 in the NWC after losing at home to George Fox (3-0 on Wednesday) and Puget Sound (3-0 on Friday) last week. The Pioneers are led by Player of the Year candidate Katherine Fiedler, who averages 2.8 kills and 1.1 blocks per set. L&C swept Whitworth 3-0 at home on September 25th earlier this season. Coming Up: Next week Whitworth will head west to take on nationally-ranked Puget Sound (Friday) and league-leading Pacific Lutheran (Saturday). |
