By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
TACOMA, Wash. -- The Willamette University volleyball team will take on Pacific Lutheran University in the semifinals of the inaugural Northwest Conference Volleyball on Friday, Nov. 10. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. PST. In the other semifinal match Whitworth University will compete against George Fox University at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be played at Olson Auditorium on the PLU campus.
Winners of the semifinal matches will meet for the 2023 Northwest Conference Volleyball Championship on Saturday, Nov. 11. It will be the NWC's first championship match in volleyball. Action is set for 6 p.m. PST.
The Bearcats enter the tournament with a 14-9 overall record, including a 9-7 record in the NWC. Pacific Lutheran is 17-7 overall and 16-0 in the NWC. Whitworth owns a 15-9 record and is 12-4 in the NWC, while George Fox is 15-8 on the season, including 11-5 in the NWC.
Willamette has pounded out 919 kills and averaged 11.21 kills per set. The Bearcats have accumulated 10.28 assists per set and 15.61 digs per set. While serving, the Bearcats have recorded 177 aces and rank second in the NWC with 2.16 aces per set.
Olivia Cadien (Jr., OH, Mesa, AZ/Chandler Preparatory Academy) leads Willamette with 291 kills and is second in the NWC with 3.55 kills per set. She also has provided a team-high 38 service aces (0.46 avg.) to go along with 168 digs (2.05 avg.). Katey Cramer (So., OH, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS/Cuesta College) has achieved 200 kills and 2.44 kills per set. Sydney Locke (So., MB, Federal Way, WA/Decatur HS) ranks third on the team with 147 kills and leads the Bearcats' top attackers with a .233 hitting percentage.
Seniors Emma Porter (Grad., S, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) and Shyla Sato (Sr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) have been key contributors this season and throughout their careers. This year, Porter has amassed 648 assists and is fifth in the NWC with 7.90 assists per set. Sato has earned 466 digs and ranks second in the NWC with 5.68 digs per set. In their Willamette careers, Porter has registered 3,150 assists and Sato has supplied 1,996 digs.
Head Coach Lily Hallock is in her fourth season with the Bearcats. She is 25-20 since the start of the 2022 season. She has a career record of 118-103, including six seasons at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
