Box score, play-by-play

NAMPA, Idaho – No mistake about it: The Seattle Pacific Falcons made a lot fewer of them on the volleyball court Thursday night.

They came home with the result to show for it.

Sarah Risser pounded 16 kills, hit .308, and scored Seattle Pacific's last three points of the match, clinching it with a service ace, as the 17th-ranked Falcons powered back into the volleyball win column on Thursday night with a 3-0 sweep of Northwest Nazarene.

Scores of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference match in the Johnson Sports Center were 25-19, 25-17, 25-22.

The Falcons (17-1, 9-1 GNAC) bounced back from last Saturday's three-game loss at Western Washington with their 12th sweep of the season, two of which came against Northwest Nazarene (5-11, 5-6 GNAC). SPU remained tied for first with WWU after the Vikings recorded a road sweep at Western Oregon on Thursday.

“We took better care of the ball – just 12 errors on 106 swings. We just played solid,” SPU coach Chris Johnson said.

Seattle Pacific, after hitting just .153 with 20 errors in last Thursday's victory and Simon Fraser and .155 with 22 errors in the loss at Western Washington, was back in form against the Crusaders. The Falcons finished at .274 with 41 kills. Its conference-leading defense limited Northwest Nazarene to .162 hitting (37 kills, 19 errors on 111 attacks), the 16th time in 18 matches an SPU opponent has hit below .200 for the match.

"We said we'd take our swings if we had them, but if not, make them earn it,” Johnson said.

Junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) led SPU with 15 digs, sophomore setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) had 36 assists, and sophomore middle blocker Angie Pricco (Brier, Wash./Blanchet HS) came up with three blocks, as did freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.). Pricco also had three kills and hit .500 for the match; Lowell had eight kills and hit .410.

Senior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) not only finished off the match on Thursday, she had the kills that put the final point on the board in Games 1 and 2. She got her 16 kills on 39 attacks with just four errors.

Risser also had a strong outing when SPU swept Northwest Nazarene in Seattle on Sept. 18. She hit a career-high .484 that night with 18 kills. She came into Thursday's match ranked No. 17 nationally in kills per game (4.00).

“Sarah had a great night when she got back to the front row,” Johnson said. “That last game, I just told Shelby to set to her, and I told Sarah, 'We're going to you.' Wherever she was hitting, it was going down.”

The Falcons used a 6-1 run to snap a 13-13 tie in Game 1 and take command at 19-14. They also used a 6-1 surge in the second game, extending a 10-9 lead to 16-10, and never let Northwest Nazarene get closer than four.

“We talked about it before the match and said if we can come out in the first five minutes and put pressure on them and make them get a kill, we'll be in good shape," Johnson said.

SPU was down 20-17 in Game 3 when it strung together five straight points to go in front for good: a kill by Risser, a kill by Swanson, a block by Pricco and Swanson, a kill by Pricco, and a bad set by the Crusaders.

Seattle Pacific returns home for a Saturday afternoon match against Central Washington at 2 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Harmon & Elizabeth Johnson Sports Center/Nampa, Idaho

(No. 17) Seattle Pacific 3, Northwest Nazarene 0

Game scores – 25-19, 25-17, 25-22.

Service aces – SPU: Sarah Risser 2. NNU: Two players with 1.
Kills – SPU: Risser 16, Nikki Lowell 8, Paige Hoffman 7. NNU: Becky Flores 10.
Assists – SPU: Shelby Swanson 36. NNU: Laticia Lehman 16, Briana Claassen 12.
Blocks – SPU: Angie Pricco 3, Lowell 3, Swanson 2. NNU: Reisa Fessler 3.
Digs – SPU: Lindsey Wodrich 15, Anna Herold 12. NNU: Haley Hevern 16, Kailey Trautman 14.
Hitting (kills-errors-total attacks) – SPU: Pricco 3-0-6--.500, Lowell 8-2-15--.400, Risser 16-4-39--.308, Paige Hoffman 7-2-21--.238; SPU 41-12-106--.274. NNU: Claassen 5-1-9--.444, Haley Abbott 6-1-15--.333, Flores 10-5-23--.217, NNU 37-19-111--.162.
Attendance – 521.

Records – Seattle Pacific 17-1, 9-1 GNAC. Northwest Nazarene 5-11, 5-6 GNAC.

Next match – Central Washington at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 2:00 p.m.