Setting the Scene: Championships are on the line this weekend in Luteville! Men's and women's cross country heads to Spokane for the 2023 NWC Championships while NWC leading men's soccer, women's soccer, and volleyball all have a chance to clinch a league crown at home this weekend. Football heads to Oregon with title hopes still alive while women's rowing dips its oars in the water with a regatta in Portland.
 
Thank You Seniors: Saturday is senior day for the volleyball program while the men's and women's soccer programs honor its senior classes on Sunday. 
 
The 2023 senior class has combined to win 223 games over the past four years, winning over 73 percent of their games. That includes winning 161 games in NWC play and having won 84 percent of home games over the past four falls.
 
Welcome Back to Luteville: The Lutes are excited to bring back Sienna Mathes '19 as the women's rowing program's new interim head coach. Learn more about Sienna: LINK 
 
Wintober: The Lutes have been on fire during the month of October. PLU's four fall team sports have a 21-1-1 record this month, good for a .935 winning percentage. 
 
FRIDAY:
VB hosts Whitman at Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
WROW at Charlie Brown Regatta in Portland, Ore. (9:30 a.m.)
WXC at NWC Championships in Spokane, Wash. (10 a.m.)
MXC at NWC Championships in Spokane, Wash. (11 a.m.)
WSOC hosts Pacific at East Field (12 p.m.)
MSOC hosts Pacific at East Field (2:30 p.m.)
FB at George Fox in Newberg, Ore. (4 p.m.)
VB hosts Whitworth at Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
WSOC hosts Lewis & Clark at East Field (12 p.m.)
MSOC hosts Lewis & Clark at East Field (2:30 p.m.)
WEDNESDAY:
WSOC hosts Puget Sound at East Field (4 p.m.)
MSOC hosts Puget Sound at East Field (7 p.m.)

Volleyball: The Lutes (13-7, 12-0 NWC) remained perfect in conference play with a pair of victories last week and have the opportunity to clinch the regular season title and hosting rights for the NWC Tournament this weekend. 
 
PLU rallied past crosstown rival University of Puget Sound 3-2 last Wednesday before sweeping Willamette University 3-0 on Saturday. Baylee Johnson eclipsed 1,000 career kills in the victory over Puget Sound with a 17-kill night while Claire Hindman had 17 kills against the Loggers and 11 in the win over the Bearcats.
 
Halle Hetzler continues to lead the nation in digs per set (7.07) while sitting sixth in total digs (523). Olivia Evaro is 14th in NCAA Division III in assists per set (10.01) while as a team, PLU ranks eighth nationally in both digs per set and attacks per set. 
 
Men's Soccer: NWC-leading PLU (11-1-4, 10-0-2 NWC) enjoys an eight-point lead in the conference standings heading into the final four games of the regular season. Winners of six straight and unbeaten in its last 13 (10-0-3), the 15th-ranked Lutes steamrolled George Fox University and Linfield University by a combined 9-0 scoreline last weekend. 
 
Craig Johnson registered two goals and two assists over the weekend while Dane Helle and Trevor Thompson both scored twice. Sammy Tafolla was the squad's big distributor over the weekend with three assists.
 
Johnson was tabbed the NWC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday while Cole Dobson secured NWC Defensive Player of the Week after limiting the two opponents to just five shots on goal.
 
PLU ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense (3.62) while sitting seventh nationally in scoring differential this fall (+44). 
 
Women's Soccer: The league-leading Lutes (12-3-1, 10-2 NWC) earned a pair of shutout wins last weekend and are closing in on their seventh consecutive conference title.
 
The Lutes racked up a 3-0 victory over George Fox on Saturday before collecting the 4-0 shutout over Linfield on Sunday. Alyssa Leong finished the weekend with one goal and four assists while Lily Dose scored a goal in each game.
 
Anchoring the defense was Joelle Buck who had two assists on the weekend and on Monday was tabbed the NWC Defensive Player of the Week.

Big weekend ahead for @pluwsoc ??Come out to East Field Saturday & Sunday to watch Men's and Women's Soccer look to make history! #GoLutes pic.twitter.com/qxhAkzXLUN

— PLU Athletics (@golutes) October 26, 2023

 
Men's Cross Country: PLU heads to Spokane for the NWC Championships after a strong fall of racing. Ryan Stracke headlines the Lutes as he looks to become the first runner in conference history to win three straight NWC cross country titles. 
 
The Lutes, third as a team at the PLU Invite, finished runner-up at the conference meet last fall.
 
Football: Manuel Felan returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, setting the stage for a 49-14 blowout of Lewis & Clark College. The Lutes' (4-3, 3-1 NWC) defense generated four turnovers while quarterback Darius Chaffin was on fire. Chaffin scored six touchdowns (5 passing & 1 rushing) while completing his first 13 passes of the day. He finished 17-for-20 with 276 yards and on Monday was named NWC Offensive Player of the Week.
 
PLU is undefeated in October and has outscored its last two opponents 111-21 while the defense ranks 14thnationally in sacks. 
 
Men's Golf: Marcus Otto was the star of the show as the Lutes placed third at the Confluence Classic in Walla Walla, Washington to close out the fall season. 
 
Otto shot a two-under 142 (72-70) at the Classic, placing second overall and two strokes away from medalist honors. The Swedish native was the top finishing Division III golfer at the event and on Monday earned NWC Golfer of the Week honors for the second time this fall.
 
Women's Cross Country: The Lutes head into championship weekend looking to improve on last's seasons fourth place showing at the NWC meet.
 
Anna Iverson has been a consistent performer for the Lutes this fall, logging a pair of top 25 finishes while setting personal bests in the 6,000-meters and 5,000-meters over the last two meets. 
 
Women's Golf: Pacific Lutheran closes out the fall season with a fifth place finish at the Confluence Classic. Emily Fisher paced the Lutes, placing 12th after shooting a 158. Fisher carded a career-low 77 in round one before during an 81 on Monday to close out the fall. 
 
Women's Rowing: The Lutes begin the non-traditional season this weekend with the Charlie Brown Regatta. It's the first ever race under the tenure of Interim Head Coach Sienna Mathes '19 who was a member of four NWC Championship winning teams.
 
Last spring the Lutes finished third at the NWC Championships before the varsity eight closed the season by placing fourth in the petite final at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.

Winter is Coming: Winter sports are just around the corner. Men's and women's swimming start off their seasons next weekend with NWC dual meets with men's and women's hoops starting up the following week. The NWC has released preseason coaches' polls for three of the four sports already with the men's basketball poll dropping on Friday. Women's swim was picked fourth, men's swim fifth, and women's basketball was picked seventh. 

Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. Learn more about the deal here: LINK. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
 
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website. 

Tickets, Tickets Tickets: The Lutes have made it easier for fans to attend home sporting events, signing a deal with HomeTown Ticketing to be the department's official electronic ticket provider. Lute fans can now purchase tickets online at GoLutes.com/tickets or on the HomeTown Ticketing mobile app available on iOS and Android devices. Learn More: LINK

Download the PLU Athletics App: Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. 
 
To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store (DOWNLOAD LINK) or Google Play (DOWNLOAD LINK) and search for "PLU Athletics."