Lutes Need One More Win for Outright NWC Championship

VOLLEYBALL THIS WEEKEND: Pacific Lutheran, already assured of at least a Northwest Conference co-championship, hosts Whitman and Whitworth this weekend in Olson Auditorium. The Lutes (16-5 overall, 12-0 NWC) face the last-place Whitman Missionaries (4-14, 1-11) at 7 p.m. Friday, and then square off against the Whitworth Pirates (9-14, 5-7), who are in a three-way tie for fifth place, at 5 p.m. Saturday.

LUTES REMAIN IN 15TH: For the first time in more than a month, Pacific Lutheran has not moved up one spot in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll. For four consecutive weeks, the Lutes had moved up one spot in the poll, going from No. 19 back on Sept. 22 to No. 15 in last week's national ranking. PLU has been ranked as high as No. 10 this season, that in the Sept. 8 poll.

CO-CHAMPIONSHIP ASSURED: Pacific Lutheran assured itself of at least a tie for the Northwest Conference volleyball championship when it swept away the visiting Linfield Wildcats last Saturday night in Olson Auditorium. In defeating the Wildcats by a trio of 25-15 scores, the 15th-ranked Lutes improved their overall record to 16-5 and the Northwest Conference mark to 12-0. With four matches remaining and holding a four-match lead over George Fox, Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound, the Lutes have assured themselves of at least a share of their fifth conference crown in the past six seasons. Because the Lutes swept two matches from George Fox and Puget Sound, only Lewis & Clark stands in the way of PLU earning the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA regional tournament. That's because PLU and the Pioneers have played only once and do not meet against until the teams' final regular season match in Portland on Nov. 7. The Lutes need to win one of their final four matches, or have the Pioneers lose one of their final four, to get the automatic bid.

CHAMPIONSHIP FORM: This year's conference co-championship (and what they hope will soon be an outright title) is the Lutes' fifth in the last six years. PLU shared the 2006 title with Linfield and won outright championships in 2004, 2007 and 2008. Additionally, PLU won the 1999 conference title, giving head coach Kevin Aoki and his program sixth conference crowns in 14 years.

ABOUT THE MISSIONARIES: The Lutes swept aside the Missionaries, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19, the first time that these teams met in Walla Walla on Oct. 3. After starting the season with a 3-2 record, the Missionaries have lost 12 of their last 13, not including Tuesday night's home non-conference match against Lewis-Clark State. Whitman's star is Alex Graves, one of the conference's top players with averages of 3.53 kills and 3.99 digs per set. Setter Katie Richards averages 8.91 assists per set.

ABOUT THE PIRATES: Since suffering a 25-13, 25-9, 25-23 home loss to the Lutes on Oct. 2, Whitworth has won five of its last seven matches. Kaimi Rocha leads a balanced offensive attack with 2.36 kills per set and she is also among the team leaders with an average of 2.58 digs per set. Ariana Obert leads in that category with an average of 3.16 digs, and Randi Stephens is among the conference leaders with 1.11 blocks per set. Prior to playing the Lutes at 5 p.m. Saturday, the Pirates face the Puget Sound Loggers on Friday night.

RALLY NETS WIN OVER LOGGERS: In the toughest challenge yet to their unbeaten Northwest Conference record, the Pacific Lutheran Lutes rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat the visiting Puget Sound Loggers, 3-2, in a conference match played last Wednesday night in Olson Auditorium. After Puget Sound won the first two sets by identical 25-22 scores, the Lutes rallied to win the final three, 25-14, 25-22, 15-13. After dropping the first two sets to the Loggers, the Lutes faced their first 2-0 deficit since a 3-0 loss to No. 4-ranked Ohio Northern back on Sept. 12. The adversity seemed to awaken them over the remainder of the match. They blitzed out to an early 6-1 lead in the third set, opened it up to a 12-3 margin, and then took a 17-5 lead before cruising in for the win. After struggling offensively in the first two sets, the Lutes hit an amazing .500 with 14 kills and no errors on 28 attempts. The fourth set was close throughout with six ties and two lead changes. Trailing 7-5, the Lutes rallied to take a 9-8 lead, an advantage that they never did lose, though the Loggers did come back to tie it at 18-18. Kelcy Joynt's kill ended the set, making it 2-2 and bringing about a fifth set. Back on Sept. 5, Puget Sound rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Lutes in five sets, and this time turnabout was fair play for the home side. Though the Loggers jumped ahead 6-2, the Lutes had an answer and took a 9-8 lead on Kelsie Moore's kill. Joynt eventually finished the match with a kill. After a slow start in which she had five kills and a .000 attack percentage through the first two sets, Joynt came back to lead PLU with 19 kills in addition to hitting .250 for the match. Beth Hanna had 16 kills and Moore ended up with 14 kills and just one error while hitting .295. Erin Bremond added 10 kills as the Lutes put four players in double figures in that category. PLU ended up hitting .209 during the match. Sarah Beaver finished with 57 assists, Brenna Archibald had 17 digs and Blair Bjorkman added 16, and Bremond had one solo block and three block assists.

LUTES SWEEP LINFIELD: PLU pretty much had its way with Linfield last Saturday, building up big leads early in the first and third sets. Only in the second set did Linfield give the Lutes any trouble, rallying from an early 5-2 deficit with a 7-1 run. The Lutes rallied to regain the lead at 10-9 and never again trailed. Sarah Beaver finished the match wtih 36 assists and Kelcy Joynt led her team with eight kills while hitting .333. Erin Bremond and Beth Hanna added seven kills apiece and Brenna Archibald and Joynt each contributed 12 digs. All 16 players on the PLU roster saw action in the match. The Lutes finished with a .300 attack percentage.

LUTES FALL TO SAINTS: Teilissa Tua recorded 14 kills to lead the Saint Martin's Saints to a 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19 non-conference victory over the host Lutes on Tuesday night in Olson Auditorium. Pacific Lutheran played the entire match with only two regulars seeing any action. PLU defensive specialist Lauren Poole had a remarkable game with 34 total digs, including 11 in the first set alone. Kelsey Pacolt, Karen Henjum and Harrison tied for the team lead with eight kills apiece and Anella Olbertz added seven more. Amber Roberts added 16 assists and 17 digs and Kristi Neubauer had 13 assists and 13 digs for the Lutes.

10 OUT OF 12: Out of PLU's 12 conference wins, 10 have come in straight sets. The unbeaten 2007 PLU team won 12 of its 16 matches in straight sets.

LUTE NOTES: The Lutes started the season with four consecutive wins, lost five in a row, and have now won 12 in a row. Junior outside hitter Beth Hanna leads the Lutes with 3.46 kills per set and is second on the team with an average of 3.35 digs. Senior middle blocker Kelcy Joynt has had an outstanding year, averaging 3.09 kills, 2.75 digs and 0.51 blocks per set. She leads the team with 32 service aces and a .290 attack percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Kelsie Moore is close behind Joynt in attack percentage at .280 and also averages 2.87 kills and 2.11 digs per set. Junior setter Sarah Beaver tops the Northwest Conference with an average of 10.35 assists per set, while 5-7 sophomore middle blocker is among the NWC leaders with an average of 0.92 blocks per set. Senior libero Brenna Archibald leads the Lutes in digs per set, averaging 3.50.

LISTEN LIVE: You can listen to all PLU volleyball home matches on Stretch Internet by pointing your browser to the following link - http://www.golutes.com/information/listenlive. Students Paul DiPietro and Bret Handy call the majority of the matches.

- PLU -