TACOMA, Washington – Winning streaks, bragging rights, and a run at the Northwest Conference are all on the line when the Puget Sound volleyball team hosts Pacific Lutheran Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Fieldhouse. Puget Sound remains at home Friday, Oct. 22, to host Pacific at 7 p.m.
 
Something's gotta give
The Loggers enter the midweek clash with five consecutive wins, and the Lutes carry a four-game winning streak in the contest.
 
A race to the top
With a 7-3 conference record (13-6 overall), the Loggers are in third place in the NWC. Pacific Lutheran has a 9-1 NWC mark (12-7 overall), and trails only Whitworth (10-0 NWC) in the conference standings.
 
The third time around
Wednesday marks the third meeting between the Loggers and the Lutes this fall. During the Puget Sound Premiere (Sept. 4), the Loggers edged out PLU in five sets for a non-conference win. The first conference meeting between the rival teams was in Parkland (Sept. 22), where the Lutes won in three sets.
 
Chek it out
Sophomore Katelyn Chekian is coming into her own and has led the Loggers in kills in each of the last two matches. She has hit .200 or better in each of the last four matches, putting away 37 kills during that stretch.
 
Put it away now
The Loggers attacked at a season-best .270 clip in their win at Lewis & Clark last Friday (Oct. 15). They followed up that performance by hitting .284 in a win at Linfield (Oct. 16). Among Loggers that have played at least 50 sets this season, Katherine Carley leads the way with a .316 attack percentage.
 
Scouting Pacific Lutheran (12-7, 9-1 NWC)
The Lutes, as a team, are hitting at a .196 clip while limiting opponents to just .136. Baylee Johnson has a team-high 180 kills, and McKenzie Pfeiffer has 164. PLU plays well at the net, posting 117.5 blocks. Hailey Iha has 56 of those blocks.
 
Scouting Pacific (5-10, 3-6 NWC)
The Boxers have lost five of their last six outings, with the win coming against Whitman. Pacific beat the Loggers at home in five sets earlier this season (Sept. 24). Mara Murphy has a team-high 156 kills, and Elika Unti has 128. The Boxers are allowing opponents to hit .211.