Box score, play-by-play
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SEATTLE -- No question about it: This time when they stepped onto the volleyball court, the Seattle Pacific Falcons were plenty wide awake.
Sarah Risser posted her 11th double-double of the season, recording 17 kills and 16 digs, and Amber Johnson had a career-high nine blocks on Saturday afternoon as the Seattle Pacific volleyball team got back on the winning track with a four-game victory against Alaska Fairbanks.
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-21, 19-25, 25-15, 25-15.
The Falcons (13-8, 7-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) bounced back from Thursday's three-game loss to Alaska Anchorage and retained a share of first place with the Seawolves, who swept Northwest Nazarene in Idaho on Saturday night.
“Tonight, we had a lot of fire because of what happened Thursday,” sophomore libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest) said in reflecting back on SPU's 25-16, 25-20, 25-17 setback to the Seawolves. “That made us more determined. It was almost a necessary wake-up call. Our passing and our blocking and our defense played a lot better.”
Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.), a junior outside hitter, hit at a .238 clip for the match. Sophomore middle blocker Johnson (Mount Vernon, Wash./Mount Vernon HS) had nine kills to go along with her nine blocks.
Senior setter Cortney Weedman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had 23 assists, and freshman setter Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) added 22.
Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS), who began the match with exactly 1,000 digs for her Falcon career, added 25 more. Sophomore Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) had 13 digs and nine kills. Sophomore outside hitter Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) had seven blocks.
“This match, we used all of our utilities,” said senior middle blocker Jessica Bettencourt, who contributed eight kills, hit .368 and added three blocks. “It wasn't just one player, Every single girl came out with all of their tools.”
SPU, which plays its next three on the road starting Thursday night at Western Oregon, made two surges in Game 1: a six-point run to turn a 12-8 deficit into a 14-12 lead, and a four-pointer to snap a 17-17 tie and go in front for good.
Alaska Fairbanks (8-11, 2-6 GNAC) put together a six-point string in Game 2, going from 14-13 behind to 19-14 ahead.
TAKING CONTROL, AND KEEPING IT
But coming out of the break, the match swung decidedly in favor of the Falcons, who are ranked No. 6 in the West Region. Tied at 8-8 in the third game, Seattle Pacific scored seven of the next eight points for a 15-9 lead, and the Nanooks never got closer than five, as the Falcons hit a blistering .407 in that game.
Then, up just 8-6 in Game 4, SPU started a 6-1 scoring spree for a 14-7 lead. A 7-0 run later in the game made it 21-9.
“When we went in the locker room (tied at one game apiece), no one was worried Everyone was just really confident and comfortable with one another,” Herold said. “And that showed very early in Game 3.”
Coach Chris Johnson said the Falcons helped themselves in numerous ways on Saturday.
“We hit better (.221 for the match), and we were able to get them out of their system with our serving -- seven aces, and a lot of other really good serves,” Johnson said. “And we made adjustments on our blocks.”
Herold had three of those aces, one of which trickled over the net cord and dropped in to set up game point in the opener. Weedman had two aces, Risser and Wodrich had one apiece.
“Except for that run they put on us in Game 2, I thought we played well throughout the match,” Johnson said. It was a combination of things. We definitely had better intensity tonight.”
Added Bettencourt, “Thursday, we were just playing. Today, we evaluated the other team every single game and used what they were giving us to benefit our play.”
