POMONA, Calif. -- They've had this match circled on their volleyball calendar. And the Seattle Pacific Falcons made sure it was a red-letter afternoon.
Priscilla Collings had 10 kills and Cortney Weedman racked up 13 assists as the Falcons upset 18th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona in the Southern California Classic volleyball tournament on Saturday.
Scores were 25-23, 25-14, 25-15.
“That was the match we've been waiting for for a few years,” SPU coach Chris Johnson said. “It just felt good start to finish. (The players) were elated. We were so emotionally high from that.”
The Falcons wound up settling for a split on the final day of the tournament. Sarah Risser had a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs, but after a quick start, Seattle Pacific dropped a four-gamer to Ashland University of Ohio on Saturday night in Pomona's gym, 20-25, 33-31, 25-23, 25-16.
SPU heads home from its first competition of the year with a 2-2 record, and will play its only home nonconference match on Wednesday at noon when Hawaii Hilo comes to Brougham Pavilion. Then it's back on the road to Ellensburg for the Central Washington Tournament on Thursday and Friday.
“This was a good trip,” Johnson said. “We learned a lot about ourselves. We did get a good in-region win (against Pomona), and that will help us.
“We learned we can play at a high level.”
Collings (Chula Vista, Calif.) hit .318 for the match and led the Falcons in kills for the second straight match, having hammered nine in Friday's three-game loss to 20th-ranked Cal State Los Angeles. Collings added six more kills against Ashland.
Weedman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had her second double-digit assist match of the season, then picked up 26 more assists against Ashland. That was just four shy of her Falcon career high.
Junior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.), who led Seattle Pacific with 17 kills in Thursday night's tournament- and season-opening sweep of Cal State Dominguez Hills, added nine kills against Pomona. Sophomore outside hitter Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) had four blocks.
The Falcons hit .250 for the match, and became the first nonconference team since 2004 to beat the Broncos on their home court. Pomona, the NCAA Pacific Region tournament runner-up last fall, (2-1) hit just .022 for the match.
SPU was down 23-22 in Game 1, but scored the final three points to win it. In the second game, the Falcons raced to a 7-2 lead and stayed ahead the rest of the way.
The Broncos scored five straight points to wipe out an early 3-0 Seattle Pacific lead in the third game. Pomona was on top 10-7 when the Falcons went on a 5-0 surge to go up 12-10, and never trailed again. They gradually stretched it out to 18-12, then 21-13 before scoring the final four points to seal it.
“We showed our potential in that match,” Johnson said. “We had great energy, great possession. We hit well, we blocked well, we played good defense, and we served well. It was good to see.”
SPU quickly took charge against Ashland, building a 10-5 lead and expanding it to 20-12 before the Eagles rallied, twice getting within five before the Falcons got the clinching point.
Seattle Pacific had a 24-20 lead in Game 2, but Ashland hung in and climbed into a 24-24 tie. Then it was the Falcons who fought off five game points before the Eagles prevailed, 33-31.
Ashland (1-3) led through most of Game 3, then took command in Game 4, building a 10-3 lead and never letting SPU get back into it.
Hoffman had 10 kills and hit .417 for the Falcons against Ashland. Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) hit .400 with five kills and just one error on 10 swings. Freshman setter Shelby Swanson picked up 12 assists and seven digs. Sophomore libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) led with 14 digs.
