Sept. 26, 2006

Volleyball: Whitman Next Challenge for Streaking Lutes

2006 Season Statistics

THIS WEEK: PLU hosts Whitman, Friday, 7 p.m.; hosts Whitworth, Saturday, 5 p.m.

LUTES “RECEIVE VOTES”: Last week, Pacific Lutheran played and defeated two teams ranked among the “top 26” teams in the AVCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. As a result, the Lutes are among the “others receiving votes” in this week’s national poll. Last Wednesday, PLU beat Puget Sound, the team with the most votes in “others receiving votes,” which could be equated to a No. 26 national ranking. The scores of that match were 30-20, 26-30, 30-26, 30-22, and gave the Lutes a measure of revenge for an early season five-game loss to the Loggers. Friday night, the Lutes beat No. 25 Cal State-East Bay, 30-22, 30-22, 30-22, in PLU’s home opener. The next night, by the way, PLU made it five wins in a row with a 30-16, 30-24, 30-20 victory over conference foe Willamette. With a 10-4 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the Northwest Conference, the Lutes finally received some love from the national raters, earning 14 total votes, equivalent to a No. 27 ranking in the national Top 25.

BIG MATCH FRIDAY NIGHT: That “love” from the national raters, and the five-match winning streak, won’t mean a lot on Friday night when the Lutes host a very strong Whitman team. PLU knows that Whitman is tough because the Missionaries already own a victory over the Lutes this season, that coming by a 30-27, 31-33, 30-18, 34-32 score in the season-opening tournament at the University of Puget Sound. PLU is currently tied with Linfield atop the Northwest Conference standings, but Whitman lurks one game back with a 3-1 record. Whitman’s Lydia Hayes averages a team-best 3.93 kills per game, and the Lutes could not contain the 5-10 outside hitter in the first meeting between the teams as she finished with a match-high 21 kills and a .277 hitting percentage. Middle blocker Rosa Brey provides offense with an average of 3.32 kills per game. This is a team with excellent defense and a solid setter in Kate Borsato.

SATURDAY MATCH AT 5 P.M.: Pacific Lutheran volleyball fans are used 7 p.m. starts at Olson Auditorium, but this is the one weekend when that won’t happen. With Whitworth in town on Saturday, the match gets underway at 5 p.m., that to accommodate the Pirates in their drive back to Spokane. The same happens when the Lutes make the return trip to the eastern side of the state during the last weekend in October. Whitworth is the defending conference champion but is certainly down this year as the Pirates have a 3-12 overall record, including an 11-match losing streak. They have won two of their last three matches, however, and always play tough under head coach Steve Rupe.

LUTE LEADERS: Junior outside hitter Stacie Matz (Tacoma, Wash. / Wilson HS), a transfer from Western Oregon University, has been a very welcome addition to the PLU program. She brings a variety of solid skills to the team and currently leads the Lutes with 4.15 kills and is second with 4.22 digs per game. Outside hitter/middle blocker Kati McGinn (Puyallup, Wash. / Puyallup HS), the only senior on the team, leads PLU with 0.98 blocks per game and also contributes 3.92 kills and 3.48 digs per game. The dig leader is junior libero Megan Kosel (Puyallup, Wash. / Emerald Ridge HS), who has averaged a phenomenal 5.55 per game.

DI MAGGIO AN HM PICK: Junior setter Gina Di Maggio (Olympia, Wash. / Tumwater HS) was an honorable mention pick by the conference after averaging 11.4 assists as the Lutes went 3-0 last week. For the season, she averages 11.08 per game.

THE COACH: Kevin Aoki is in his 11th season at Pacific Lutheran (his alma mater and has compiled a 169-103 record.

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