October 25, 2008
SEATTLE -- The Seattle Pacific Falcons saw one get swiped away on the volleyball court Saturday night.
The Falcons had Alaska Fairbanks on the brink in the second, third and fourth games, only to see the Nanooks come storming back to win all three and take a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory in Brougham Pavilion.
Scores were 21-25, 26-24, 26-24, 28-26.
SPU (4-16 overall, 2-9 GNAC) had leads of 24-22 in the second game, 23-18 and 24-22 in the third, then 21-14 in the fourth.
"We played well, and we played great defense. They were fired up for the match and ready to go," Falcons coach Chris Johnson said. "We had game points in all three of those games – that's frustrating, That's the only word I can say for it."
SPU junior Nikki Finley (Highlands, Ranch, Colo.) and junior Robin De Jong (Goleta, Calif.) each came up with a double-double for Seattle Pacific. Finley had 14 kills and 11 digs. De Jong pounded 11 kills and factored into 10 blocks.
Sophomore Sarah Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) also hammered 14 kills for the Falcons. Freshman Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash., Shorecrest HS) recorded 37 digs, pushing her past the 400 mark for the season. She now has 422, an average of 5.86 per game. Herold started this past week ranked No. 4 nationally in NCAA Division II at 5.69 digs per game.
Junior Cortney Weedman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had 26 assists, and SPU sophomore teammate Joelle Perez (Vancouver, Wash., Heritage HS) earned 19.
Seattle Pacific was down early in Game 1, but then forged in front, 9-8, and never trailed again on the way to the 25-21 win.
The Falcons fell behind by seven in the second game, 19-12, but climbed back into a 19-19 tie, and eventually took a 24-22 lead. But the Nanooks (14-6, 8-3 GNAC) rallied to score the last four points and tie the match at a game apiece.
A seven-point scoring spree in the third game pushed Seattle Pacific from an 18-16 deficit into a 23-18 lead. It was still 24-22 Falcons when Fairbanks again went on a roll to score the last four points and take the game.
SPU built a 21-14 lead in the fourth game before Fairbanks climbed back into ties at 23, 24 and 25. The Falcons, down 26-25, saved a match point when Finley and sophomore Kylie Johnson (Tucson, Ariz.) combined on a block to make it 26-all. But the next two points and the match went to the Nanooks.
"We ran the middles real well – Robin had a double-double, and Nikki had a double-double," Johnson said. "We're doing a lot of things right. We just have to be better in crunch time at the end of the game."
The Nanooks were led by the 17 kills of Megan Thigpen and 13 of Korlyn Bolster. Alexa Sherman had 43 assists, and Thigpen also had 23 digs.
Fairbanks, with 55 kills for the match, hit .156 as a team. Seattle Pacific, which had 51 kills for the match, hit .112.
The Falcons return to Brougham Pavilion on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Western Washington, last year's NCAA Division II runner-up. In a match on Oct. 2 in Bellingham, Seattle Pacific took the first game before the Vikings rallied to win the next three and the match.
NCAA Volleyball
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Brougham Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.
Alaska Fairbanks 3, Seattle Pacific 1
Game scores -- 21-25, 26-24, 26-24, 28-26.
Service aces -- UAF: Megan Thigpen 2, Alexa Sherman 1, Jennifer Holland 1. SPU: Nikki Finly 3, Robin De Jong 2, Sarah Risser 1, Cortney Weedman 1, Torii Mount 1, Anna Herold 1.
Kills -- UAF: Thigpen 13, Korlyn Bolster 13. SPU: Risser 14, Finley 14, De Jong 11.
Blocks -- UAF: Bolster 6, Jessica Hill 3. SPU: De Jong 10, Finley 6, Joelle Perez 4, Paige Hoffman 3, Kylie Johnson 3.
Assists -- UAF: Sheman 43. SPU: Weedman 26, Perez 19.
Digs -- UAF: Thigpen 23, Jennifer Holland 15, Heather Lyons 12. SPU: Herold 37, Finley 11.
Attendance -- 182.
Records --
Seattle Pacific 4-16, 2-9 GNAC.
Alaska Fairbanks 14-6, 8-3 GNAC.
