Setting the Scene: It's a light weekend of sports in Luteville with just four programs competing. The Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team kicks off the weekend with a match against Willamette University on Friday evening while the NWC leading Lute football team hosts Linfield University on Saturday. The weekend concludes on Sunday with the defending NWC champion men's and women's soccer squads hosting Willamette at East Field.
 
Thank You Donors: Last week was the University's annual Bjug Day of Giving. Thank you to all our Lute fans, alumni, parents, and student-athletes that participated. Your support helps the PLU Athletic Department provide a first class experience for our over 400 student-athletes. 

FRIDAY:
VB hosts Willamette (Dig Pink) inside Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
FB hosts Linfield at Sparks Stadium (1 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
WSOC hosts Willamette at East Field (12 p.m.)
MSOC hosts Willamette at East Field (2:45 p.m.)
 
The Hidden Opponent: Fans are encouraged to wear green at Saturday's home football game and Sunday's soccer games in support of mental health awareness and PLU's student-athlete run club The Hideen Opponent. Founded in 2023 by women's soccer student-athletes Kayden Hulquist and Julia Causbie, the Hidden Opponent provides support and programming for student-athletes and to combat the stigma of seeking mental health support within sports culture. 

Wintober: PLU has been on fire in October, winning 83.3 percent of its games during the month. The Lutes boast an 18-2-4 record across the team sports of football, men's soccer, women's soccer, and volleyball. That success isn't just a one hit wonder. Over the last three years, those team sports own an impressive 67-7-8 record (.866 winning percentage) during October.

Get with the Flo: This summer the Northwest Conference signed an exclusive five-year deal with FloSports to be the live streaming platform of the Lutes and the rest of the conference.
 
Make sure to sign up for FloSports today so you don't miss any of the action at home or on the road. Sign up today: LINK

Community Events: The Lutes are hosting a pair of FREE events for the local community on Saturday. The PLU Athletic Department hosts an All-Sports Clinic for children in grades first through sixth from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Participants can register here: LINK

Later that afternoon, PLU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is hosting a Lutetastic Halloween, with free candy and Halloween themed fun inside Olson Gymnasium from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Volleyball: The Lutes (10-8, 8-3 NWC) head into Friday riding a three-match win streak and enjoy an 10-match home winning streak thanks in part to a huge upset of NWC leading University of Puget Sound on Tuesday night.

PLU dropped the first two sets on Tuesday to the crosstown Loggers before buckling down and getting the reverse sweep with an Alexis Eggert block cementing a 16-14 set five victory to stage the upset and snap UPS's 11-match win streak.
 
Shaela Allen-Greggs and Julissa Pernsteiner stole the show, both finishing with a career high in kills with 22 and 19 kills, respectively in a wild match that had 49 ties and 23 lead changes.
 
Prior to that, the Lutes had a pair of 3-0 sweeps in Oregon, defeating both George Fox University and Lewis & Clark College. 
 
Football: Anthony Mahaffey tied a school record in just his third career start as the first place Lutes (4-2, 3-0 NWC) smashed Pacific University 47-29. 
 
Named NWC Offensive Player of the Week, Mahaffey tossed six touchdown passes to four different receivers, tying a single game passing touchdown record that is shared with PLU Hall of Fame quarterbacks Craig Kupp (1989) and Marc Weekly (1991 and 1993). 
 
Defensively, Zachary Gable made a massive impact, netting three tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception. His sack fumble in the second quarter led to a safety and opened the floodgates to a 28-point second quarter. Gable was named the NWC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday and on Tuesday became the fourth Lute this fall named to the D3football.com Team of the Week.
 
Women's Soccer: The eight-time defending NWC Champion Lutes (8-2-5, 8-0-3 NWC) extended their unbeaten streak to 11 and its shutout streak to 430 minutes, getting points in three games over a five-day stretch.

Tia Schwetz headlined the weekend, scoring both goals in 1-0 victories over Lewis & Clark and George Fox. The goals were the first two of the sophomore's collegiate career. On Wednesday afternoon, the Lutes battled to a scoreless tie with Puget Sound who sits in second place in the NWC standings behind the Lutes with five games to go.
 
Abby Winkler has been stellar down the stretch for the Lutes, picking up four consecutive shutouts. Wednesday was the 27th of her career, tying with Natalie Robinson for fifth place on the career shutouts list.
 
Men's Cross Country: Pacific Lutheran had a big day at Oak Knoll Golf Course with eight Lutes clocking personal record times at the George Oja Invitational in Salem, Oregon.

Kai Sorensen was the top Lute for the third time this fall, navigating the 8,000-meter course in 25 minutes, 18.4 seconds to place 77th overall. Noah Friedrich was the second Lute finisher, also setting a PR in 25:32.5.
 
As a team, the Lutes finished 23rd overall against a massive field that included teams from all three NCAA divisions, the NAIA, and junior college ranks.  
 
Women's Cross Country: The Lutes had eight personal bests on Saturday, racing at the George Oja Invitational, the team's final tune-up before hosting the 2025 NWC Championships on Nov. 1.
 
Jessalyn Robles was the first Lute in the finisher's chute, covering the 6,000-meter course in a personal best time of 24:12.57. Mariel Robles and Piper Gannon were the next two PLU finishers, placing just two places apart and both clocking PR times.
 
The Lutes finished 28th as a team, owning a 159-point edge on NWC rival Linfield.
 
Men's Soccer: Two-time defending NWC Champion PLU (9-3-3, 8-0-3 NWC) sits two points out of first place and controls its own destiny with five games left in the regular season.

The Lutes outscored its three opponents over the week by a combined 13-4 scoreline in wins over Lewis & Clark (3-1), George Fox (5-1), and Puget Sound (5-2).
 
The last two games saw the Lutes dominate the first half, scoring four goals in the first 45 minutes against George Fox and five in the first half against the Loggers.

The high-octane Lutes have scored 41 goals this season off the boots of 10 different players. Owen Bliskis leads the team with nine goals, scoring in all three games.
 
Men's Golf: The Lutes finished off the fall season on a high note with four golfers finishing inside the top 20 at the Confluence Classic in Walla Walla, Washington.

Koen Solis headlined the two day tournament, placing third overall after shooting a 144 (69-75). Tanner Frinell was 11th with a 147 while Luke Butler and Soren Bostrom both snuck inside the top 20, tying for 19thwith a 150. 
 
PLU finished one stroke behind George Fox, placing fourth with a team score of 569 (281-288).
 
Women's Golf: Kate Sabarillo and Kathleen Pullin finished the fall season strong on Monday at the Confluence Classic.
 
Sabarillo placed 24th overall, shooting an 86 on Sunday at Veterans Memorial Golf Course and shooting an 87 on Monday at Wine Valley Golf Course. Pullin was four strokes back in 26th with a 177 (90-87).
 
Swimming: The Lutes had the weekend off after winning 15 events last Thursday in an exhibition dual against University of La Verne.
 
PLU is idle again this weekend before opening the NWC dual slate on Nov. 1 in Newberg, Oregon against George Fox.

Download the GoLutes 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.

Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gamely details and more, the PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.

Link to download on Google Play: LINK

Link to download on Apple App Store: LINK