NCAA Regional Tournament Page
TACOMA, Wash. - The 16th-ranked Pacific Lutheran University women's volleyball team heads to Minnesota, as they face-off against the College of Saint Benedict in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Last weekend the Lutes (21-3, 14-2 NWC) clinched its second consecutive Northwest Conference title by defeating George Fox University (3-1) on Friday, and Lewis & Clark College (3-0) on Saturday.
"It's definitely an honor and privilege for our team to win the NWC title for the second consecutive year in a row," said senior and two-time NWC Libero of the Year
Caylie Shiramizu. "We're very grateful and blessed to receive this title and I know it's going to stick with us for the rest of our lives. We believe that faith brought us together to receive this award because honestly we thought that our season was over and we weren't going to make regionals, but miracles definitely do happen! We couldn't have received this award without the love and support from our families, coaches, friends, and fans and we share a piece of it with them too!"
As the Lutes finish off their last week off practice before heading off to Minnesota, they have a strong team mentality and goal for the tournament.
"Our mentality within the team is to just focus on what we do best and not worry about who we're playing on the other side of the net. Additionally, we're having the mentality of playing with confidence and having that drive, passion, and fire when we're on the court. Although, our expectations going into the tournament are to keep advancing each day and try to win the regional tournament, that's not what we're just going to be focusing on. Our expectations for the team is to make the most of our time with each other and to share the journey along the way."
Playing in the NCAA is a great experience for the players on the team to grow stronger as a team.
"The best and most fun part about playing in the NCAA tournament is being able to have this opportunity and being one out of the many division 3 schools to experience this. Having this opportunity is the best part because not too many people have the chance and only 64 teams get to make this tournament. Although it's a glory and you feel like royalty when you go to this tournament, that's not the best part. The best part is that I get to share these experiences and opportunities with my teammates and have at least one week in season left with them."
Earlier this week, Shiramizu was named Libero of the year, for the second time in her PLU career.
"It's definitely an honor and privilege to win libero of the year for the second time and I'm very grateful and thankful for it. I couldn't have done it without the help of my teammates, coaches, friends, and family because they inspire and push me every day to be the best player and person that I can be. I feel honored and privileged to receive this award because I know that all my hard work has paid off for the past years and for all the work that I've put in during the summer time."
"As a Lute playing in my final tournament it's definitely a sad moment, but these past four years have made a special impact to my life and definitely have been my best experiences here at PLU. It is going to be a sad experience, but also a happy one as well. I'm so grateful and thankful that I get to share these last memories with my fellow seniors and I know it's going to be the best yet! I'm looking forward to making the most with these memories and being all in and 100% with my teammates, coaches, and fellow seniors!"
The team will take the court up in Saint Peter, Minnesota this weekend as they take on the College of Saint Benedict in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday at 3:30 p.m.
NCAA Rewind: This will be the 12thappearance for the Lutes in the NCAA Tournament. Last season the Lutes won their opening round match 3-1 over Trinity University before falling 3-2 to Colorado College. PLU has also made NCAA appearances in 1999, 2004, 2006-2009, and 2011-2014.
Rest of the Region: The winner of the PLU-CSB tilt will face either Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Champion University of Minnesota-Morris (22-11, 13-3 UMAC) or host and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion Gustavus Adolphus College (27-2, 11-0 MIAC). The other side of the regional has Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion and defending National Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (26-3, 15-1 SCIAC) up against at-large Augsburg College (22-8, 7-4 MIAC) of the MIAC while Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (29-3, 7-0 WIAC) battled another MIAC at-large selection in the University of Saint Thomas (25-8, 9-2 MIAC).
Nov. 9: PLU vs. Saint Benedict in Saint Peter, Minn. (3:30 p.m.)
Series History: The Lutes and Bennies have met just twice on the volleyball court with PLu winning both encounters. The two squads last met at the Puget Sound Premiere last season with PLU coming away with the 3-1 victory.
About the Bennies: Saint Benedict (24-7, 10-1 MIAC) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after dropping a 3-2 decision to Gustavus Adolphus College in the championship match of the MIAC Tournament. Gustavus proved to be a thorn in CSB's side all season with the Bennies lone setback of the MIAC regular season slate coming against the nationally-ranked Gusties.
Hunter Weiss leads the CSB attack, averaging 3.4 kills per set while Katie Koch sets up the offense, averaging 10.2 assists per set. Defensively Haley LaValle leads the team with 5.6 digs per set while Hunter and Madison Weiss average an impressive 1.6 and 1.1 blocks per set, respectively.
