SEATTLE -- The Seattle Pacific Falcons came from way down in the second game, then went back and forth with Northwest Nazarene in the third game of Saturday night's Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match in Brougham Pavilion.
But at the end of the night, it wasn't enough to knock off the Crusaders.
Northwest Nazarene fought off that second-game Falcons surge, then put together a rally of its own in Game 3, wiping out a three-point deficit to close out a sweep in Brougham Pavilion.
Scores were 25-18, 28-26, 25-23.
“It was good to see some new people out there. We're trying to find out who's going to go hard,” said SPU coach Chris Johnson, who used a different lineup on Saturday. “We played well in the second half of the match. That late run killed us again.”
The Crusaders (11-7, 5-4 GNAC and coming off an upset of No. 7 Western Washington on Thursday night) were down 21-18 in the third game when they rattled off four straight points. The last three of those were on Jackie Bourdon's serve for a 22-21 lead.
The Falcons (3-15, 1-8 GNAC) got back into a 22-22 tie on a kill by freshman Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.). But Northwest Nazarene went back in front on a service error and never trailed again.
In the second game, Seattle Pacific was down 24-20, then came all the way back into a 24-24 tie with junior Alexa Vondrak (Damascus, Ore.) serving. The Falcons fought off game points at 25-24 and 26-25 before the Crusaders got the last two points to break a 26-26 tie and finish off the game. The clincher came on a kill by Kelly Van Elderen, giving Northwest Nazarene a lead of two games to none.
Among the players seeing considerably more action on Saturday was freshman Priscilla Collings (Chula Vista, Calif.). Collings had eight kills, four digs and two blocks.
“Priscilla is a good hitter. We've been waiting for improvements in the rest of her game, and now, we're comfortable having her out there,” Johnson said.
The Falcons were led by the 11 kills of Hoffman. Sophomore Joelle Perez (Vancouver, Wash., Heritage HS) had 31 assists, and freshman Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash., Shorecrest HS) came up with 19 digs. Robin De Jong (Goleta, Calif.) had five blocks.
For the Crusaders, Cammy Dranginis and Lindsay Forseth had 13 kills apiece. Amy Higginson had 28 assists. Dranginis also had six blocks.
Seattle Pacific continues a five-match homestand next Thursday against Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. The Falcons will be trying to reverse last month's outcome when the Seawolves won in a three-game sweep at Anchorage.
Johnson didn't know yet whether he'd stick with a similar lineup for that match.
“We'll see how it goes in practice -- whoever goes hard in practice and proves to me they want to be out there,” he said.
NCAA Volleyball
Saturday, October 18,2008
Brougham Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.
Northwest Nazarene 3, Seattle Pacific 0
Game scores -- 25-18, 28-26, 25-23.
Service aces -- NWN: Cammy Dranginis 1, Lindsay Forseth 1, Erika Schaub 2. SPU: Nikki Finley 1, Robin De Jong 1, Anna Herold 1.
Kills -- NWN: Dranginis 13, Forseth 13. SPU: Paige Hoffman 11, Priscilla Collings 8.
Blocks -- NWN: Dranginis 6, Amy Higginson 3. SPU: De Jong 5.
Assists -- NWN: Higginson 28. SPU: Perez 31.
Digs -- NWN: Kailey Trautmann 18, Haley Hevern 18. SPU: Anna Herold 19, Torii Mount 15.
Attendance -- 174.
Records --
Seattle Pacific 3-15, 1-8 GNAC.
Northwest Nazarene 11-7, 5-4 GNAC.
