TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team won the Northwest Conference regular season title with a perfect 16-0 record but still needed to win the inaugural NWC Tournament to cement a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The top-seeded Lutes did just that on Saturday night, rallying from an early deficit to down third-seed George Fox University 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-14) to capture the inaugural NWC Tournament title and secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAAs.
The hard earned win was the Lutes' 18th straight— a streak that dates back to mid-September. PLU now sits one victory shy of tying the program's 19-match win streak set during the 2007 campaign.
"Well, what a weekend for for our team! The atmosphere was so great to conclude the conference tournament which was so special. Our team is so resilient and continues to trust each other. We would like to thank our home crowd that cheered us on throughout the season. Especially this weekend. We are looking forward to representing PLU in the NCAA tournament. Go Lutes!" Said Head Coach
Kevin Aoki.
The host Lutes (19-7) led 10-7 in the opening set before the Bruins (16-9) ripped off 10 of the next 11 points to seize a 17-11 advantage. Pacific Lutheran battled back and tied the set at 21 on an
Elle Thomas kill but George Fox scored four of the next five, taking the opener 25-22.
The Lutes scored the opening three points of set two and never looked back in a wire-to-wire 25-18 win to level the match.
PLU conceded the opening point of the third before scoring the next six. The Lutes maintained a lead the rest of the set, including a stretch of six straight. An
Elle Thomas kill capped off the set 25-18 in favor of the Lutes.
Six of the opening eight points of the fourth set went to the Lutes who never looked back to secure a dominating 25-14 set win to capture the tournament crown. PLU finished off the fourth by scoring five of the final six points with a GFU service error clinching the match and punching PLU's ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Baylee Johnson spearheaded the Lute offensive attack, collecting 17 kills on the night.
Claire Hindman tallied 15 while
Hailey Iha had 13 with a .524 hitting percentage. Thomas was the third Lute with double digit kills, registering a dozen on the night.
Olivia Evaro had 51 assists and 15 digs on the evening while
Halle Hetzler collected 11 assists and a team-high 30 digs.
Torie Takeuchi had 12 digs and three aces while
Makenna Jackson added 10 digs.
PLU will be making its 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament and its first since the 2018 campaign. All 13 appearances have come under the direction of Head Coach
Kevin Aoki.
The Lutes will learn their NCAA Tournament destination on Monday at 10 a.m. when the bracket is unveiled on NCAA.com.
