Official NWC Release

HILLSBORO, Ore. — The defending Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University volleyball squad ranks second in the annual preseason coaches' poll released on Tuesday by the NWC office.
 
The Lutes (20-8, 16-0 NWC in 2023) collected 51 points and three of the nine first place votes, sitting just four points shy of top ranked Whitworth University. In-state rival Whitworth sits atop the rankings with 55 points and four first place votes while crosstown rival University of Puget Sound is third with 47 points and one first place endorsement. 
 
George Fox University checks in at fourth as the top Oregon school, garnering 43 points. Willamette University is fifth with 36 points followed by Pacific University in sixth (31 points). Linfield University is seventh with 24 points and one first place vote while Whitman College (22 points) and Lewis & Clark College (15 points) round out the rankings in eighth and ninth, respectively.
 
Last season, Pacific Lutheran won both the NWC regular season and tournament titles before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. 
 
The Lutes open the 2024 season on Friday against Clarkson University and the University of California-Santa Cruz at the Whitman Tournament and open its NWC title defense at home against Linfield on Sept. 20.