Whitworth Picked to Take NWC Title
| NWC Volleyball Coaches' Pre-Season Poll: |
2001 records |
| School |
(1st) |
Pts. |
All |
NWC |
| 1. Whitworth (Wash.) |
(7) |
86 |
21-6 |
14-2 |
| 2. Puget Sound (Wash.) |
(2) |
76 |
17-4 |
14-2 |
| 3. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) |
|
55 |
17-7 |
10-6 |
| 4. George Fox (Ore.) |
|
53 |
19-5 |
11-5 |
| 5. Linfield (Ore.) |
|
50 |
13-8 |
10-6 |
| 6. Whitman (Wash.) |
|
37 |
8-16 |
6-10 |
| 7. Willamette (Ore.) |
|
25 |
7-14 |
4-12 |
| 8. Pacific (Ore.) |
|
20 |
3-19 |
3-13 |
| 9. Lewis & Clark (Ore.) |
|
12 |
0-22 |
0-16 |
(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).
Defending 2001 Northwest Conference co-champion Whitworth College has been picked by NWC volleyball coaches to return to the top of the standings in 2002. The Pirates, led by 2001 NWC Player of the Year Julie Weatherred, finished 21-6 last season and tied Puget Sound for the conference title with a 14-2 record. Whitworth lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to University of La Verne, the eventual national champions. The Pirates, who return four starters including Weatherred, picked up seven first place votes and 86 total points.
Puget Sound, which finished 17-4 overall along with its co-championship in the NWC, took the other two first place votes and 76 total poll points. The Loggers will be led by 2000 NWC Player of the Year Karen Elmgren and return five starts from last year.
Pacific Lutheran, George Fox and Linfield were bunched closely in the 3rd-5th place positions in the poll. PLU was third with 55 points, followed by George Fox (53) and Linfield (50). PLU won the conference title in 1999, while George Fox won in 1998.
Whitman (37 points) finished sixth in the poll, followed by Willamette (25), Pacific (20) and Lewis & Clark (12).
The season begins August 30th and 31st as six of the NWC teams play at early-season tournaments.