In a peculiar coincidence, head coach Eddie Matthews developed a kidney stone of his own as the start of the season approached. To complicate matters further, the flu began picking off remaining team members as the season got underway. Eight members of the team eventually missed practice and games with the flu.
Not until the final two weeks of the season was everyone on the roster once again healthy. Back at full strength, the squad closed out its season with a pair of strong efforts in early November. Whitman rallied for a five-set victory over Lewis & Clark, and then took Pacific Lutheran to five sets before losing the match on a 15-12 score in the final set.
Despite the health problems and relative youth of the team, Whitman finished sixth in the final conference standings, and also claimed conference victories over Pacific University and Whitworth College.
"The talent level on this year's team was higher than it has been in years at Whitman," Matthews said. "We'll continue to get better, and everyone in the conference now knows that Whitman is going to be competitive."