Oct. 11, 2006

Volleyball: PLU Beats Linfield and George Fox, Takes Conference Lead

THIS WEEK: PLU (14-4 overall, 8-0 Northwest Conference) hosts Pacific, Friday, 7 p.m.; hosts Lewis & Clark, Saturday, 7 p.m.

LUTES KNOCK OFF LINFIELD: In front of a raucous pro-Linfield crowd last Friday night in McMinnville, Ore., Pacific Lutheran took over the Northwest Conference lead by defeating the nationally ranked Wildcats, 20-30, 30-27, 30-28, 19-30, 15-10. The win had several story lines: Linfield had defeated the Lutes in three games in a non-conference match on September 9; Linfield came into the match unbeaten in 14 matches and ranked No. 6 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 National Coaches Poll; and the winner would get a leg up on the other team – and other NWC opponents – in the battle for the conference championship. The Lutes came out on top for a number of reasons, but one of the primary ones was the great play of senior middle blocker Kati McGinn (Puyallup, Wash. / Puyallup HS). She finished the match with a career-best 29 kills and a .260 hitting percentage. With junior outside hitter Stacie Matz (Tacoma, Wash. / Wilson HS, Western Oregon Univ.) having an off day, McGinn’s performance was that much more needed. Junior libero Megan Kosel (Puyallup, Wash. / Emerald Ridge HS) led a strong Lutes effort in the back with 38 digs, and junior middle blocker Kyla Wytko (Buckley, Wash. / White River HS, Humboldt State Univ.) had two solo blocks and two block assists to lead the Lutes in that category.

KOSEL GIVES LUTES AN ASSIST: Actually, Megan Kosel gave the Lutes 38 assists in PLU’s 30-26, 30-24, 30-27 conference victory over George Fox on Saturday night in Newberg, Ore. Kosel, normally the team’s libero, played setter against the Bruins because starting setter Gina Di Maggio (Olympia, Wash. / Tumwater HS) was at a wedding. Kosel had been a setter at Emerald Ridge High School and seemed to get right back into the role against George Fox. Stacie Matz benefited with 19 kills, and Kati McGinn added 14 in the victory.

WIN STREAK REACHES NINE: With the two victories, Pacific Lutheran’s win streak has reached nine matches. While that is impressive, it is hardly record setting. In fact the 2004 conference championship team rolled off 15 consecutive wins. That team opened conference play with a win against George Fox and then lost to Willamette. After that came 14 straight conference wins, followed by a victory over Mount Ida (Iowa) in the first round of the NCAA national tournament. That winning streak, and season, ended with a loss to La Verne in the tournament’s second round.

LUTES AT HOME THIS WEEKEND: The Lutes get right back into conference play this weekend with home matches against Pacific and Lewis & Clark. PLU started its current winning streak against host Pacific on Sept. 15, beating the Boxers 30-22, 30-27, 30-23. The Lutes had a .234 hitting percentage that day, led by Kati McGinn with 15 kills and a .481 percentage. Pacific (6-12 overall, 3-5 NWC) comes into the match fresh off a road sweep of Whitman and Whitworth, which is a big accomplishment. On Saturday night, the Lutes take on the Lewis & Clark Pioneers (losers of three straight, 6-13 overall, 4-5 NWC), whom they defeated 30-28, 30-13, 30-18 back on Sept. 16 in Portland. PLU freshman Kelcy Joynt had her best day as a collegian against the Pioneers with 14 kills and a .565 hitting percentage. Lest anyone be concerned about the Lutes taking either the Boxers or Pioneers lightly, it was Lewis & Clark that pulled off an upset of PLU last season, a defeat that likely cost the Lutes a spot in the national tournament.

LUTES BY THE NUMBERS: Pacific Lutheran has shown excellent balance throughout the season and the statistics reflect that. Stacie Matz leads the Lutes with 3.98 kills per game, but Kati McGinn is right behind at 3.94. McGinn leads with 0.90 blocks per game, but Kyla Wytko and Kelcy Joynt both contribute 0.76 blocks per game. As a team, the Lutes average 2.21 blocks per game compared to 1.56 for their opponents. Now that the team is halfway through the Northwest Conference season, the NWC-only stats are interesting to see. After eight conference matches, Wytko leads the NWC with 1.13 blocks per game. Kati McGinn is second in kills per game (4.0), fifth in hitting percentage (.257) and fourth in aces per game (0.53). Megan Kosel is third in digs per game (6.0), Matz is third in kills per game (3.93) and Gina Di Maggio is third in assist per game (11.0).

- PLU -