September 24, 2009
Box score, play-by-play
SEATTLE -- After falling short three times in five-game volleyball matches during preseason play, the Seattle Pacific Falcons figured enough was enough.
“We decided we weren't going to do that anymore,” sophomore Lindsey Wodrich said.
For the second consecutive week, the Falcons were true to true word.
Wodrich had a double-double of 17 kills and 17 digs, and Sarah Risser came back from appendicitis to post a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs on Thursday night, helping Seattle Pacific rally from two games down to beat Western Oregon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
Scores against the defending GNAC champions in Brougham Pavilion were 17-25 19-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-10.
The victory got the Falcons off to their first 3-0 start in conference play since 2006. They are now 9-6 overall with three straight wins and seven in their last eight matches.
Seattle Pacific coach Chris Johnson said last week's come-from-behind five-game triumph at Northwest Nazarene to open the conference schedule certainly helped his team get over a certain hump.
But he added that it was just part of the story on Thursday night.
“It's just building our confidence,” Johnson said. “We were down in that 2-0 hole and said, 'We can beat this team. We just have to go out there and do it. We can't just talk about it.'”
The Falcons' performance in the final three games did all the talking. SPU built a 4-1 lead in Game 3 and never trailed, jumped out 5-1 in Game 4 and was tied only once at 12-12 but never trailed, and was tied just twice in Game 5 -- the last time at 3-3 -- but again never trailed.
“We just needed to minimize our errors and mentally get back up,” said Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS), who now has four double-doubles for the season and nine for her career. “We knew we could take them if our mental game was there. There were a few points in the third game where our energy just flip-flopped (to the positive side) and we were all in the game. That was just a confidence booster.”
Wodrich had nine kills and hit a stratospheric .615 in the fourth game. She and sophomore middle blocker Amber Johnson (Mount Vernon, Wash./Mount Vernon HS) combined on a block on game point to close out the 25-19 win and force the deciding fifth game.
Deadlocked at 3-3, Seattle Pacific ran off six of the next seven points to take command at 9-4. Western Oregon got as close as three, the last time at 13-10. Risser, who was back in action after being sidelined for last week's two road matches, tipped a ball over to set up match point, then sealed the deal herself with a kill.
Risser has seven of SPU's 17 double-doubles this fall and nine for her career. She and Wodrich also both passed their previous single-season highs for kills. Risser tallied 156 in 2008 as a sophomore and is up to 163 so far in '09. Wodrich had 125 last year as a freshman is at 139 this year.
After a slow start, hitting just .065 in the opening game, the Falcons picked up their hitting throughout the night. They closed it out with a .407 performance in Game 5 -- 11 kills and no errors on 27 attacks -- to finish at .184 for the match.
Western Oregon (4-10, 1-2 GNAC) went the other direction, hitting .258 and .219 on the way to its 2-0 lead, then dipping to .021 and .030 before a .214 mark in the deciding game left the Wolves at .135 for the match.
“We came out too slow and too flat, and that hurt us,” Johnson said. “We were making too many unforced errors the first couple of games. We told them that we didn't have a whole lot of things that we needed to change. We just needed to play better.”
Cortney Weedman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had 30 assists, and Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) came up with 26 digs. Amber Johnson had a career-high eight blocks, including one solo.
The Falcons have a bye on Saturday and return to the court next Wednesday in Brougham against Western Washington at 7 p.m.
NCAA Volleyball
Thursday, September, 24, 2009
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 3, Western Oregon 2
Game scores -- 17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-10.
Service aces -- SPU: Sarah Risser 2. WOU: Danielle English 4.
Kills -- SPU: Lindsey Wodrich 17, Sarah Risser 13. WOU: Danielle Reese 19, Sylvia Herrold 12.
Blocks -- SPU: Amber Johnson 8, Paige Hoffman 4, Wodrich 4. WOU: Laura Sakala 4.
Assists -- SPU: Cortney Weedman 30, Shelby Swanson 18. WOU: Amy Herron 41.
Digs -- SPU: Anna Herold 26, Wodrich 17, Risser 10. WOU: English 32, Reese 20, Heron 19.
Attendance -- 205.
Records
Seattle Pacific 9-6, 3-0 GNAC.
Western Oregon 4-10, 1-2 GNAC.
Next match -- Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, Wednesday, Sept. 30, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.
