Oct. 16, 2007

VOLLEYBALL: No. 15 PLU Faces No. 19 UPS in Battle for Tacoma

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran travels across town Wednesday to take on Puget Sound in a Northwest Conference volleyball match. Match time is set for 7 p.m. in Memorial Fieldhouse. On Friday, the Lutes host George Fox in another conference match that begins at 7 p.m.

TITLE IMPLICATIONS: Wednesday's contest between the Lutes and Loggers has Northwest Conference title implications. The Lutes, two up on second place UPS in the loss column, could establish a very comfortable three-match margin by beating the Loggers. If UPS wins, however, it pulls one match closer to the Lutes and gives added meaning to the final five matches of the season.

Stacie Matz

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Both teams in Wednesday’s match rank in the top 20 in the most recent CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Lutes, 10-0 in the NWC and 17-3 overall, moved up two spots to No. 15 after going 3-0 last week. Puget Sound, 8-2 in NWC and 13-6 overall, swept a pair of NWC foes to move into the 19th spot after being ranked 22nd.

PREVIOUS MATCH: The previous match between the two teams saw the Lutes top UPS in four games, 23-30, 30-22, 30-21, 30-24. The visiting Loggers came out sharp in the first game, using a strong defense to thwart the Lutes’ high-powered offense. UPS setter Jamee Fred served five straight points to give the Loggers a 12-8 lead, and they never gave up the advantage. Once the Lutes got in offensive gear, however, they were tough to stop. All-conference setter Gina Di Maggio found success in primary attackers Beth Hanna and Stacie Matz, who finished the match with 21 and 17 kills, respectively. Kelcy Joynt added 10 kills as Di Maggio finished with 48 assists. Defensively, Rachel Gross recorded 24 digs for the Loggers, who also got a solo block and five block assists from Kalli Kamphaus. Hanna had 22 digs and Matz 15 digs for the Lutes.

BRUINS COME TO TOWN: The Lutes return to NWC action when they host George Fox at 7 p.m. on Friday. PLU defeated the Bruins in three games in their first meeting on Sept. 21. The following evening at 6 p.m., PLU will welcome past players in the annual Alumni match.

HOT, HOT, HOT: Over the past month the Lutes have been hotter than a match head, winning their last 13 matches. Since a 3-2 loss to SUNY Cortland on September 8, PLU has won an incredible 39 of its past 42 games. The school record for a win streak is 15 set by the 2004 team that later went on to win the NWC title.

Kelcy Joynt

JOYNT SIDELINED: The Lutes will be without one of their top players as sophomore Kelcy Joynt suffered a knee injury at the Willamette match. Joynt leads the team in blocks with 47 and is third in kills with 203 on the season. She is expected to miss approximately two weeks and will hopefully return to action toward the end of the regular season.

SEVERAL LUTES ON RECORD PACE: There are a handful of Lutes closing in on school records this season. If the season were to end today freshman Beth Hanna would own the school record in kills per game with a 5.08 average. The current record is 5.01 held by recent hall of fame inductee Rachelle Snowdon. Gina DiMaggio is on pace to break the assist per game record of 11.56 that she set her freshman year. DiMaggio is currently averaging 11.67 assists per game.

ABOUT THE COACH: In his 12th season head coach Kevin Aoki is guiding the Lutes to one of the most successful seasons in school history. Aoki is also closing in on his 200th career victory with his overall record standing at 196-109. He has been named the conference Coach of the Year three times (1999, 2004 and 2006) and in 2004 was selected as the AVCA West Region Coach of the Year.

- PLU -