Volleyball Built to Contend for Another NWC Crown in 2025

Consistency. That has been the Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team’s strength over the past 29 years and will be no different this fall as longtime Head Coach Kevin Aoki begins his 30th season at the helm at his alma mater.

Aoki has patrolled the sidelines of Olson Gymnasium since 1996 and boasts an impressive 510-230 record in that time, winning 12 Northwest Conference titles, earning 13 NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, and finishing in the top two of the conference standings in 20 of the last 29 years. That includes finishing third or better every season since 2006.

But Aoki is quick to highlight his assistants as one of the key ingredients in the team’s success.

With that consistency and success, it’s no surprise the goal for 2025 is to compete for another NWC title.

“Obviously we like to compete for the conference title, I think that’s always in our programs’ goals. Considering what we lost from the year before, last year was a really good year.”

In 2023, the Lutes won the NWC regular season and tournament titles, ripping off a 19-game win streak and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. One would have excused the squad to have an off year the following season needing to replace an All-Star senior class and holes at setter and libero. But that didn’t happen. The 2024 Lutes finished the year with a 19-8 record, going 13-3 in conference action and advancing to the NWC Tournament finals for the second consecutive year.

Pacific Lutheran returns 10 student-athletes from the 2024 season, including a pair of sophomore All-Conference players in Ayre Takamoto and Julissa Pernsteiner.

Takamoto had big shoes to fill last season and did more than step up to the challenge, ending the season as one of just two first-years named First Team All-NWC. The setter played in 102 of the team’s 103 sets and led the conference in both total assists (922) and assists per set (9.04). The Honolulu, Hawaii native is also the team’s returning leader in both aces (42) and digs (224).

Pernsteiner was an Honorable Mention All-League selection last fall, racking up a team-high 87 blocks and finishing second on the team in kills with 229 over the 97 sets she played. 

“Julissa had a very good year as a first year last fall. We’re trying her in different spots this year but she’ll be a force in the middle.”

Another impact front row player will be Shaela Allen-Greggs. Allen-Greggs led the team in kills last fall, racking up 232 while also netting 23 blocks. A two-sport athlete the past two seasons, the Yakima, Washington native will focus just on volleyball as a junior. 

“Shaela’s a player that’s probably going to step up her game this fall. She brings so much strength and athletic ability.”

Alex Eggert has been a big contributor over the past two seasons. Now a junior, Eggert had 144 kills and was second on the team in blocks last year with 60.

“I think having a three-year starter in Alexis is great, she’s just so athletic. She’s undersized but makes up for it with her power and her jumping ability.”

“We’re relatively young still, so that’s important for us to shore up those parts with some veterans like Haley Goto. She’s been in the program for  four years and she really worked hard in the offseason to get stronger, so expect some very good things from a senior that has put in the time and has really had a good first couple of practices.”

A Honolulu, Hawaii native, Goto has played in 48 matches over the past four seasons with 159 career kills.

For the second straight year, the Lutes will have to replace an All-Conference libero. Last year Makenna Jackson was a Second Team All-Conference selection at the position after replacing three-time NWC Libero of the Year Halle Hetzler.

This year, it’s shaping up to be sophomore Macy Matsushima as the next heir to the position. Matsushima had a promising debut season in 2024, finishing with 219 digs and 40 aces, appearing in all but two of the team’s 103 sets played. 

Anchoring the defense will be juniors Bailey Johnson and Savanna Colliado. The two combined for 191 digs last fall. Sophomore Madi Mulipola will also be in the mix in the back row.

One of just two seniors on the team, Missoula, Montana native Jordan Freer brings experience and leadership as another one of the team’s setters. 

The Lutes add some height to the roster with a pair of six footers in Clare Freberg and Samia Rudd. Freberg is Aoki’s first recruit from Minnesota, hailing from the Twin Cities while Rudd is more local, coming a few hours away from Stevenson, Wash.

Kaneohe, Hawaii native Je T’aime Paio is sidelined with an injury to start the fall but could be one of the more dangerous all-around players on the team once she’s healthy.  

A teammate of Pernsteiner at Saint Mary’s Academy, Maya Cabine will be in the mix at the setter position and has the ability to play the front row. 

Mary Magoun is a second generation Lute coming from Kalaheo, Hawaii on the Island of Kauai while Leilah Reese Deuz packs a big punch despite being just 5’ 1” and is the program’s first recruit from James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.