Setting the Scene: Winter sports are tipping off and fall sports are heading towards the postseason as its officially crossover season for the Pacific Lutheran University Athletic Department. Men's and women's soccer and volleyball chase the postseason as they wrap up the regular season this weekend while men's and women's basketball open the lid on the 2025-2026 season. Women's rowing wraps up the fall season while swimming and football continue their seasons on Saturday.
FRIDAY:
VB hosts Whitman inside Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
WBB at Whittier in Whittier, Calif. (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
WROW hosts PLU Fall Fixture at American Lake (8:45 a.m.)
SWIM hosts Lewis & Clark at PLU Pool (11 a.m.)
WSOC hosts Whitworth at East Field (11 a.m.)
FB at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. (1 p.m.)
MSOC hosts Whitworth at East Field (1:45 p.m.)
MBB at Redlands in Santa Cruz, Calif. (3 p.m.)
WBB at Redlands in Redlands, Calif. (4 p.m.)
VB hosts Whitworth inside Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
WSOC hosts Whitman at East Field (11 a.m.)
MBB at UC Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, Calif. (1 p.m.)
MSOC hosts Whitman at East Field (1:45 p.m.)
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Wintober: The final numbers are in. With volleyball's 3-0 sweep of Pacific last Friday, the Lutes wrapped up the month of October with an impressive 22-3-4 (82.8 percent) record across fall team sports. And it's not a one year wonder as the Lutes boast a combined 71-8-8 mark across team sports in the month over the last three years.
Senior Salutes: The Lutes host Senior Day for volleyball on Saturday evening while men's and women's soccer honor the senior class on Sunday. All three senior classes have established a legacy at PLU with the seniors of the three programs having combined to win six Northwest Conference titles and make seven NCAA Tournament appearances over the past four years.
Men's Cross Country: The Lutes hosted the NWC Championships for the first time since 2015 on Saturday, finishing eighth as a team on a soggy day on the PLU Meadows Course.
Kai Sorensen headlined PLU's efforts, finishing 14th overall to secure Third Team All-NWC honors. The senior covered the four-loop, 8,000-meter course in 26 minutes, 17.44 seconds. Danier Zimmer was the next Lute in 58th place with
Corder Janes 22 seconds back in 61st.
The Lutes tallied 220 points in the team standings, finishing 52 points ahead of Linfield University. Pacific Lutheran takes this weekend off and will compete at the 2025 NCAA Division III West Region Championships on Nov. 15 in Claremont, California.
Volleyball: Pacific Lutheran (13-8, 11-3 NWC) extended its win streak to six last weekend, punching its ticket to the NWC Tournament with a pair of road wins in Oregon.
The Lutes swept Pacific University 3-0 last Friday, getting 11 kills from
Shaela Allen-Greggs before erasing a 7-2 deficit in the deciding fifth set to squeak past Linfield 3-2 on Saturday. That match saw Allen-Greggs even more dialed in, finishing with 18 kills.
Four of PLU's six victories during its recent win streak have been three-set sweeps.
Already in the NWC Tournament, the Lutes will jockey for seeding this weekend against the Whits.
Women's Swimming: The Lutes (1-0) kicked off the dual meet season last Saturday with a 142-99 victory over host George Fox University.
The meet was a triangular meet also featuring University of Puget Sound and had the added twist of events five through 25 being a mystery to the student-athletes who didn't know what event they were swimming until they got to the start line.
Harper Canessa thrived in the dual opener, winning both the 50-yard backstroke (29.27) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.20).
Kei Nishikawa was PLU's only other event winner, taking the top spot in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:03.15.
Men's Soccer: PLU (12-3-3, 11-0-3 NWC) controls its own destiny as it looks to capture its third straight NWC title this weekend. The Lutes have won six straight and sit two points behind NWC leading Whitman College— and opponent the Lutes face on Sunday.
Owen Bliskis has been a huge reason for the team's recent success, scoring goals in each of the last six games, including three over the weekend in Oregon. Bliskis struck twice in a 3-1 win over Linfield on Saturday before scoring in a 2-1 win over Pacific.
Bliskis was named the NWC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday and currently leads the NWC in goals with 13 while
Connor O'Brien leads the league in assists with 11.
Men's Swimming: The Lutes won eight events on Saturday, earning a convincing 166-75 dual meet win over George Fox in Newberg.
Vyron Domingo,
Matt Jones, and
Dylan Dang all had a hand in a relay win in addition to all three winning a pair of individual events.
Anthony James was the fourth Lute on the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:37.07) while
Hoskoo Amgalan rounded out the Lute event winners at the meet.
Women's Soccer: Eight-time defending NWC Champion PLU (10-2-6, 10-0-4 NWC) heads into the final weekend of the regular season tied for first place in the league standings with crosstown nemesis Puget Sound.
The Lutes skated by Linfield 1-0 on Saturday before settling for a 1-1 draw on Sunday against Pacific. That game snapped a 693-minute shutout streak the Lutes, who allowed just one goal the entire month of October.
Abby Winkler finished the weekend with 10 saves and on Monday was named the NWC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this fall.
Football: The Lutes (4-4, 3-2 NWC) went toe-to-toe with NWC-leading Whitworth University on Saturday at the Pine Bowl in Spokane but ultimately fell short 10-6.
PLU's defense put the clamps on the Pirate run game, limiting host Whitworth to just 47 total yards on the ground, averaging a paltry 1.6 yards per carry.
Jacob Schuh finished with 73 yards on the ground, averaging 4.1 yards per touch and scored the Lutes' lone touchdown, scoring from 22 yards out in the fourth quarter.
The Lutes hit the road this weekend and will close out the regular season at home on Nov. 15 against George Fox.
Women's Cross Country: Sal Mattivi led the Lutes at the 2025 NWC Championships on campus, finishing the 6,000-meter course in 24:45.26 to place 30th overall.
Maddie Mitchell and
Rachel Rosario both followed Mattivi, sneaking inside the top 50.
As a team, PLU finished seventh overall, scoring 199 points and enjoying a 57-point buffer on eighth place Linfield.
Women's Rowing: The Lutes raced two boats at Sunday's Head of the Lake in Seattle to open up the abbreviated fall season.
Coxswain Louisia Compton and the Lutes' varsity eight boat finished fourth overall in their race, covering the three mile course through the Montlake Cut in 19:52.176. PLU's second varsity 8 finished eighth overall in their race in 22:42.464.
Men's Basketball: The Lutes begin the season in California this week. On Wednesday night, PLU battled Division I Cal Poly-SLO in an exhibition game with four PLU players finishing in double figures including
Henry Smith leading the way with 18.
Pacific Lutheran opens the regular season tomorrow evening with a clash against 6th-ranked University of Redlands, a team that advanced to the Elite Eight last season. The Lutes finish the California trip with a game on Sunday against host University of California Santa Cruz.
Learn more about the 2025-2026 Lutes in our season preview:
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Women's Basketball: PLU opens the 2025-2026 campaign tomorrow night in southern California and will play three games in four days to open the year.
Learn more about the 2025-2026 squad in our season preview:
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