THE SCHEDULE             Thursday, Oct. 14: SPU at NW Nazarene, 6:00 p.m. 
                                          Johnson Sports Center/Nampa, Idaho 
                                          Live Webcast        Live stats

                                          Saturday, Oct. 16: C. Washington at SPU, 2:00 p.m. 
                                          Brougham Pavilion (2,650)/Seattle, Wash. 
                                          Live Webcast        Live stats


       Weekly release, with complete stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – For the first time this season, the Seattle Pacific volleyball team will be in bounce-back mode. But to hear them tell it, they were ready to bounce back as soon as the final point of last Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference showdown at Western Washington went into the books.

The Falcons will aim to return to the win column when they visit Nampa, Idaho, on Thursday night to take on Northwest Nazarene. Then on Saturday afternoon, they're back home in Brougham Pavilion after three straight road matches for their second meeting of the season against Central Washington. First serve is at 2 p.m.

With those two contests, the second half of 18-match GNAC season will be under way for Seattle Pacific. The Falcons nearly came through the first half unscathed, but rival Western had other ideas last Saturday night and took a three-game victory, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18. That ended SPU's school-record start at 16 straight victories.

Even so, the Falcons find themselves sharing first place in the standings as they head into the second half, and still very much in the postseason picture.




TWO FOR THE BOOKS
As an outside hitter, it's no surprise when junior Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) racks up a big number of kills. But she also is getting the job done defensively. In last Saturday's match at Western Washington, Hoffman set a career high in digs for the second time this season, coming up with 18. That beat her previous mark of 15, which she first in the five-game season-opener against San Francisco State on Sept. 3, and matched in a four-gamer against Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 10. This latest mark came in just three games.

Sophomore setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) did more than post another double-digit assist performance in last Thursday's sweep at Simon Fraser. She logged four service aces, breaking her previous record of three, which she first set last year, then tied on Sept. 4 against Chico State.

SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS 
SPU knows it'll have two tough challenges this week to find its winning stride again. But coach Chris Johnson says his team is ready for them.

"Northwest Nazarene always has a good crowd, they're close to the court and loud during timeouts, so you have to go onto the court when you take your timeout so you can hear each other," Johnson said. "That presents a challenge in and of itself. But it's a team we played well against the first time we played them, and I don't expect anything different this time as far as our level of play."

Then there's Central Washington, one of just six teams to take at least a game off of the Falcons this fall.

"They're going to have a lot of fans here because they have the Battle in Seattle football game that night, so that might feel like more of an away game," Johnson said. "They have Kady Try, who is killing 4 1/2 balls a game, which is a lot. We have to be ready to defend her, as well as the rest of that team."

SCOUTING NORTHWEST NAZARENE (Oct. 14)
All-time series: SPU leads, 17-4. Current series streak: SPU won 4.
Last time: SPU 3, Northwest Nazarene 0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-11 at Seattle; Sept 18, 2010). Northwest Nazarene on the Web.
Crusaders in a nutshell: After a 3-1 start in conference play, Northwest Nazarene has dropped four of its last six, winning a five-gamer at Fairbanks last Thursday, then falling in four at Anchorage on Saturday. In the Sept. 18 match at SPU, the Crusaders never led, were tied just twice, and were limited to .000 hitting for the match. Reisa Fessler, Becky Flores and Carly Dranginis all have more than100 kills, with Fessler's 120 leading the way. (Her five kills in Seattle topped NNU that night.) Senior Haley Havern is one of the GNAC's leading liberos, averaging 5.09 digs per game.

SCOUTING CENTRAL WASHINGTON (Oct. 16)
All-time series: Central leads, 31-29. Current series streak: SPU won 1.
Last time: SPU 3, Central Washington 1 (25-19, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23 at Ellensburg; Sept. 16, 2010). Central Washington on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: By any measure whatsoever, this is SPU's closest series among long-standing opponents. In addition to just a two-match difference in the win-loss column, total games won is 106 for SPU, 103 for Central. Outside hitter Kady Try is still Central's main threat. Her 205 kills (a GNAC-leading 4.36 per game), which included 15 against SPU is September, is more than twice as many as any teammate. Senior middle blocker Kristel Baeckel, who came off the bench for seven kills and six blocks in just the final two games of the September match, has started every contest since then. She now averages 1.92 kills and 1.32 blocks per game, and has climbed past SPU's Nikki Lowell for the conference lead in hitting at.383. 

HOW TO THEY COMPARE?
(With conference ranking)                 SPU             NNU             CWU
Hitting percent                                      .221 (2)       .122 (8)       .183 (4)
Opponent's hitting percent                .116 (1)       .168 (6)       .162 (5)
Kills per game                                     13.75 (1)       9.98 (8)    11.21 (6)
Assists per game                               12.89 (1)       8.93 (8)    10.42 (6)
Aces per game                                      1.70 (3)       1.25 (8)      1.27 (7)
Blocks per game                                   2.01 (4)       2.05 (3)      1.82 (6)
Digs per game                                     16.81 (1)     15.82 (4)    15.21 (5)




POLLING PLACE
The Falcons checked in at No. 17 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II poll, which was released on Monday. That was a drop of five spots from last week. Seattle Pacific received 314 points in the voting.

After not being mentioned in the preseason poll, the Falcons moved to the top of the “others receiving votes” list (essentially, No. 26) in the first regular-season poll on Sept. 6, then subsequently moved up to No. 20, a tie for No. 17, No. 15, and, last week, No. 12.

Western Washington (11-2, 8-1 GNAC) edged ahead of SPU at No. 16 with 335 points. Elsewhere in the West Region, Cal State San Bernardino lost a five-gamer to Cal State East Bay and dropped to No. 8; East Bay moved up two places to No. 23, and Cal State Monterey Bay stayed at No. 24. Also receiving votes were Cal State Los Angeles (No. 30 overall) and Alaska Anchorage (tie for No. 32).

FALCON REPLAY
--Sarah Risser and Paige Hoffman each had 11 kills, and Shelby Swanson logged a career-high four service aces as Seattle Pacific came from behind in Game 1 and then polished off a GNAC sweep of Simon Fraser last Thursday. Scores in SFU's West Gym were 26-24, 25-13, 25-18. The sweep was Seattle Pacific's seventh straight and 11th in 16 matches.

Junior outside hitter Hoffman finished at .450 hitting. She got her 11 kills on 20 total attacks, with just two errors. Sophomore setter Swanson, whose previous career high for service aces was three, also had 32 assists. Junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) added seven kills, with three of those coming during a decisive 5-0 run in Game 3 as the Falcons turned a 13-13 tie into an 18-13 lead.

--Wodrich, Risser and Swanson all had double-doubles, and Hoffman came up with a career-high 18 digs for Seattle Pacific on Saturday, but the night belonged to Western Washington as the 17th-ranked Vikings swept the 12th-ranked Falcons in a GNAC showdown, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18. It was the first loss of the season for SPU (16-1, 8-1 GNAC), as Western Washington (11-2, 8-1 GNAC) climbed into a first-place tie in the conference standings.

Junior outside hitter Wodrich had 15 kills and 12 digs. Senior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) put down 13 kills and had 12 digs. Sophomore setter Swanson had 39 assists and 11 digs. The 18 digs for junior outside hitter Hoffman were three more than her previous career high.

MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
-- Junior libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) now has 1,506 digs for her career and needs just 47 more to pass the SPU career mark of 1,552 set by Torii Mount from 2005-08.
--Sophomore middle blocker Angie Pricco (Brier, Wash./Blanchet HS) is four blocks away from reaching 100 for her career. She has 41 this year. She also needs just five more kills to reach 100.
--Junior outside hitter Paige Hoffman is 38 kills way from 500.
--Freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) needs 38 kills to reach 200 and just 4.5 points to reach 200.

MILESTONES MADE
--Senior outside hitter Sarah Risser has surpassed 2,500 total attacks for her career. She now has 2,501. And, on her way to 1,000 points, she now has hit the 900-point mark, coming into this week with 900.5.
--Shelby Swanson has moved beyond the 1,000-assist mark for her career. With 39 assists last Saturday at Western Washington, she has 1,029.
--Lindsey Wodrich broke through the 500 mark for career kills last Saturday. Her 15 kills against WWU give her 509 for her career. On the same night, her 12 digs put her at exactly 500.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES AND OTHER DELIGHTFUL DIGITS
--Through 17 matches, the Falcons have put 19 double-doubles into the book: eight by Sarah Risser, six by Lindsey Wodrich, three by Shelby Swanson, and two by Paige Hoffman. All are kill-dig double-doubles except for Swanson's, whose are assist-dig. Risser now has 27 for her career, Wodrich has 16 and Swanson has six. Both of Hoffman's have come this year.
-- SPU has kept 15 of its 17 opponents below .200 hitting this season. In five of those matches, opponents went steadily down in hitting percentage from first game to last. They also have kept seven opponents below .100 hitting, including a -.136 by Saint Martin's that ranked as the third-best defensive mark in GNAC history.
--The Falcons lead the GNAC in four major statistical categories: opponents' hitting percentage (.116), kills per game (13.75), assists per game (12.89) and digs per game (16.81).
--Individually, Seattle Pacific has two GNAC leaders: Shelby Swanson in assists (11.47) and Anna Herold in digs (5.49).
-- Sarah Risser is No. 2 in kills at 4.00 per game, No. 2 in points at 4.55 per game, and No. 4 in service aces at 0.40.
--Nikki Lowell is No. 2 in GNAC hitting at .372. Fellow middle blocker Kristel Baeckel of Central Washington has taken over the top spot with her .383 average. Although Lowell's totals are considerably better (162 kills to 48, 336 attacks to 94), Baeckel now has reached GNAC minimum standards of at least 3.0 kills per game, and has played in more than 50 percent of Central's games (25 of 48).
--Lowell and Angie Pricco are No. 7 and No. 8 in blocks per game at 1.02 and 0.96, respectively.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
--Shelby Swanson remains No. 6 in all of Division II for assists per game at 11.43. The leader is Cara Carson of Southwest Minnesota State at 12.43.
--Anna Herold ranks No. 17 in digs per game at 5.49.
--Sarah Risser is No. 17 in kills at 4.00, and No. 21 in points at 4.55.
--Nikki Lowell, hitting .372, is up to No. 24 on this week's list.
--The Falcons are 13th in assists per game (12.89), and 16th in kills (13.75).

Click on this link for a look at how GNAC teams and players rank nationally.

ON THE HONOR ROLL
--Outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Sept. 7 after earning MVP honors at the season-opening Seawolf Spike in Rohnert Park, Calif. Wodrich capped her performance in the Labor Day weekend tournament when she hit .455 with 17 kills as the Falcons swept past Sonoma State on the Seawolves' home court.
--Redshirt freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell made it two straight GNAC Player of the Week awards when she was recognized on Sept. 13 for her performance in the Hawaii Invitational. Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) hit a sky-high .714 in a three-game sweep of Chaminade on Sept. 11. For the four-match tournament, Lowell put down 41 kills with just seven errors on 82 total attacks.
--Shelby Swanson, who racked up 109 assists in three Seattle Pacific victories during the final week of September, was named the GNAC Player of the Week for Sept. 27-Oct. 2. The sophomore setter had 35 assists against Montana State Billings, 38 against Alaska Anchorage and 36 against Alaska Fairbanks.

UP NEXT
The Falcons are back on the road next Thursday when they visit Saint Martin's in Lacey at 7 p.m. Then, they return to Brougham Pavilion for an afternoon match on Saturday, Oct. 23 when Western Oregon comes calling at 1 p.m. Those will be the second and final meetings against both schools this season. Seattle Pacific swept both teams during the first portion of GNAC play.

TICKET TALK
Tickets for SPU's home matches can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 3rd Ave. W.) on match day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to the listed start time for all home matches.

General admission tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling (206) 281-2085 at least 72 hours in advance.

SPU students who show their school identification will be admitted free to all home matches.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for a look at results, schedules, stats and notes from the GNAC.

GNAC STANDINGS 
                                                    Conference     Overall
Seattle Pacific                                 8-1                 16-1
Western Washington                    8-1                 11-2
Alaska Anchorage                          6-3                 11-6
Western Oregon                             6-3                   8-6
Central Washington                      5-4                    7-7
Northwest Nazarene                     5-5                    5-10
Alaska Fairbanks                           3-6                    5-10
Montana State Billings                  2-7                    2-16
Simon Fraser                                  2-8                    2-12
Saint Martin's                                  1-8                    1-13