Roughly halfway through the regular season, Point Loma Nazarene University’s fall sports teams have been dominant. With a combined record of 23-2-3 and cross country winning their first meet since 2018, it’s hard to envision PLNU has had a better start to the fall season than the one we’re witnessing.
PLNU’s volleyball team is off to the best start in program history, as they’re undefeated through 12 games. Last year’s team was very successful and finished the season 21-7, falling to Cal Poly Pomona in the NCAA tournament. Making this undefeated start more impressive is the turnover in roster from last season to this season. PLNU volleyball lost outside hitter Torina Hommes, a two-time First Team All PacWest member, as well as hitter Claire Smith and middle blocker Grace Hicks, both Second Team All PacWest members. This year’s roster has six new additions and Head Coach Jonathan Scott said that he was worried about maintaining team chemistry prior to the season starting.
“That was my biggest concern going into the season,” Scott said. “We’ve had a really close group for several years now. That was in large part due to the girls we lost last year to graduation. We brought in some freshmen contributing immediately and transfers contributing immediately. I think good people can connect.”
In addition to the new roster, Coach Scott implemented a new, more defensive play style.
“I would say the most obvious difference is that last year, we ran an offense called a 6-2 where we had more offensive weapons at all times,” Scott said. “This year, we’re running a 5-1, where we have one setter running the whole show. It’s a different style of offense. We have a much better, grittier, tenacious defensive mindset.”
Through 12 games, the team has only dropped five of the 38 sets they’ve played. It’s safe to say whatever the team is doing, they’re doing it right.
The two PLNU soccer teams have picked up right where they left off. The women’s team – the defending national champions – are 6-1-1, only losing to Cal Poly Pomona. The men’s team is 5-1-2, with their lone defeat to Colorado School of Mines. Both teams are undefeated in conference play and sit atop the PacWest standings.
Through three conference games, the men’s team is firing on all cylinders. They’ve scored eight goals and keepers Jeremy Caringella and Reinier ter Riet have only allowed two goals in that time. Other standout performances to mention are second-year forwards Zach Mercieca and Elijah Langford. Mercieca scored both goals for the Sea Lions in their 2-0 win against Menlo in their first conference test of the season. Langford netted two against Vanguard in their 3-1 win on Thursday.
The women’s team is in a similar boat. Their defense has stepped up big time, as opposing teams have managed to score only five goals in the eight games PLNU has played thus far. Perhaps an even crazier stat is that in their three conference games, the opposition hasn’t scored and only has five shots on goal. As they say, defense wins championships. Great defense and a national championship-winning roster that is nearly unchanged is a recipe for success.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the fall sports season so far was PLNU cross country’s win in the Cougar Challenge in San Marcos, CA. It’s the first win the team has had since they won the PacWest Championships in 2018. Third-year runner Madeline Reeves finished second individually and tied the program record for the 6K, clocking in at 21:09.7. Elizabeth Satterlee finished fifth and Zaila Smith placed sixth in the field of 157.
Reeves has steadily improved throughout her collegiate career, as she has shaved off nearly 2.5 minutes of her 6K time since her first meet – oddly enough, the Cougar Challenge – in 2022.
“I’ve seen my times improve over the last couple of years by just showing up to practice everyday with the goal of improvement and the mindset that everyday we are one day better,” Reeves said via email. “Additionally, I think finding the balance between athletics, academics and my relationships has helped my mental strength tremendously and translated directly into my performance on the course.”
PLNU’s cross country team has a new head coach, Jake Poyner. Poyner previously served as the cross country coach at the University of Louisiana Monroe and Grace College before that. Reeves attributes much of the team’s early success to Poyner.
“Coach Poyner has brought to our team so much belief, encouragement and a level of intensity that we seemed to be missing,” Reeves said. “Coach Poyner has really emphasized that cross country, although often viewed as an individual sport, is actually very much a team sport. He has created a team culture in which we compete not just for ourselves, but for our entire team and the representation of Point Loma.”
Conversely, Poyner has been quite impressed with Reeves so far, but isn’t surprised by the success.
“Maddie Reeves is a gutsy competitor,” Poyner said. “She’s not afraid to take risks and she’s very mature in her approach and patience in training.”
PLNU’s fall sports teams have been dominant so far. Coach Scott laid out some of the goals the volleyball team has for the season, and though I can’t speak on behalf of the rest of the teams and coaches, I feel confident in saying they have the same goals.
“We want to win the PacWest, we want to win the West region, we want to win the national championship.”
Luke Mallery