Pirates Faces Nationally-Ranked Foes
SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University volleyball team is still looking for its first Northwest Conference win of the season and the Pirates will face a tough challenge this weekend. Whitworth will host Pacific Lutheran University on Friday at 7:00 p.m., then host University of Puget Sound on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Both teams are nationally-ranked this season. Whitworth fell to 4-11 overall and 0-4 in the NWC after losing a pair of road matches in Oregon last weekend. On Friday the Pirates hit only .067 as a team, while Lewis & Clark College connected for a .295 hitting percentage as Whitworth lost 25-14, 25-15, 25-21. The Bucs also struggled defensively, posting only a pair of blocks in the match. Kaimi Rocha (So., OH, Pukalani, Hawaii) had a match-high 11 kills, while Jordon Hoffnagle (So., S/DS, Spokane, Wash.) added a match-high 15 digs. Saturday Whitworth saw similar results at George Fox. Again the Bucs struggled to hit only .075 as a team, while the Bruins hit a blistering .350 in a 25-13, 25-16, 25-15 victory. Whitworth improved to 3.0 team blocks. Brynn DeLong (Jr., OH, Spokane, Wash.) had nine kills and nine digs to lead the team in both categories. Big Blocker: Randi Stephens (Jr., MB, Bozeman, Mont.) has been Whitworth's most effective defensive player this season. She is averaging 1.0 blocks per set, which currently ranks tied for third in the individual NWC statistics leaderboard. The Opponents: Pacific Lutheran, ranked 18th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, is 8-5 overall and 4-0 in the NWC. The Lutes hold sole possession of first place in the conference standings after sweeping at Puget Sound and Linfield last weekend. PLU leads the NWC in both team hitting percentage and team kills per set this season. Beth Hanna, the two-time NWC Offensive Player of the Year, averages 3.73 kills per set. Last season PLU defeated Whitworth twice, both by 3-1 margins. Puget Sound is 9-3 overall and 3-1 in the NWC, and ranked 19th in the latest DIII poll. The Loggers responded to the home loss to PLU by winning 3-1 at Willamette on Saturday. Puget Sound is the leading blocking team in the conference and Kalli Kamphaus leads the Loggers in hitting percentage and individual blocks per set (1.11). Whitworth upset Puget Sound 3-1 in Spokane last season before the Loggers swept the Pirates 3-0 in Tacoma. Coming Up: Next week Whitworth will play at Whitman on Wednesday, October 7th before traveling to Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday, October 10th. |
