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SEATTLE – Even Lindsey Wodrich seemed unable to believe that she had that many kills.

But she did.

Wodrich hammered a career-high 26 kills on Saturday afternoon, and Sarah Risser and Shelby Swanson both posted double-doubles as 17th-ranked Seattle Pacific swept Central Washington in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match, 3-0.

Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-22, 25-20, 25-21, the 13th SPU sweep in 19 matches this season.




Junior outside hitter Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) easily eclipsed her previous career high of 19, which she first set as a freshman in 2008 and matched last season. Her previous 2010 season high was 17 in a three-game sweep of Sonoma State on Sept. 4.

Wodrich's 26 kills was the second-highest ever for a three-game GNAC match. The only better performance was 27 by Mallory Bergstrom of Alaska Fairbanks against Saint Martin's in 2003.

“I've been making a lot of errors lately, and I think today, I just went in with a goal of fewer errors and just rip it when that starts to get me into rhythm,” said Wodrich, who had just seven errors on 48 attacks Saturday for a team-leading .396 percentage. “And I got into a rhythm, and Shelby (Swanson) was doing a great job of setting me up.

“It was a team effort, and that was fun.”

The double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs for senior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was her ninth of the season and the 28th of her career. Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) put her fourth double-double of the season and seventh of her career into the books with 42 assists and 10 digs.

The Falcons (18-1, 10-1 GNAC) had three players hit for better than .300. In addition to Wodrich's .396, Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) hit .333 (6-1-15) and Risser hit .304 (12-5-23).




As a team, Seattle Pacific hit.306 (52-18-111). The Falcons limited Central Washington to .178 hitting (28-12-90). That was the 17th time in 19 matches SPU has kept its opponent below .200 hitting.

“We talked a bit about just taking better care of the ball and not making too many bad mistakes,” Falcons coach Chris Johnson said. “They've been doing a great job of that, both today and Thursday night over in Idaho (in a three-game sweep of Northwest Nazarene) of just not giving the other team free points.

“When the other team has to get a kill to beat us, that makes it really tough,” Johnson added.

Seattle Pacific's conference-leading defense also kept Central Washington star Kady Try in check. Try got just seven kills on 25 total attacks, and wound up at -.040 hitting. In the Falcons' four-game victory at CWU on Sept. 18, Try took 54 swings and had 15 kills. Try came into the match leading the GNAC at 4.33 kills per game. She didn't get more than three kills in any of Saturday's three games.

The Falcons raced to a 9-1 lead in Game 1, with sophomore setter Swanson serving up seven straight points, including back-to-back service aces. Central (8-8, 6-5 GNAC), behind the powerful serving of Kristel Baeckel, put together a 7-0 run of its own to get within 15-14. The Wildcats finally climbed into a 17-17 tie before SPU put five straight points on the board.

Seattle Pacific went on a 5-1 run to turn a 15-15 tie into a 20-16 lead in Game 2. It was 24-22 when Hoffman and freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell combined on a block to clinch that game.

The Falcons led most of Game 3 before Central forged in front, 14-13. But SPU went ahead to stay with four of the next five points, and, fittingly, clinched the match on Wodrich's 26th kill.

“We knew Central was a tough team, and we knew we had to work really hard, and that's what we did,” Wodrich said. “Shelby was distributing the ball really well. And our defense, as always, was doing a great job, and that allowed our offense to open up.”

SPU's .306 hitting was its second-best mark of the season, trailing only the .337 it hit in a homecourt sweep of Montana State Billings on Sept. 27.


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

(No. 17) Seattle Pacific 3, Central Washington 0

Game scores – 25-22, 25-20, 25-21.

Service aces – CWU: Three players with 1. SPU: Shelby Swanson 2.
Kills – CWU: Meg Ryan 9, Kady Try 7. SPU: Lindsey Wodrich 26, Sarah Risser 12.
Assists – CWU: Carlee Marble 24. SPU: Shelby Swanson 42.
Blocks – CWU: Kristel Baeckel 4, Erin Smith 3. SPU: Paige Hoffman 3, Nikki Lowell 2.
Digs – CWU: Brandie Vea 8. SPU: Anna Herold 11, Swanson 10, Risser 10.
Hitting (kills-errors-total attacks) – CWU: Molly Mayer 3-0-7--.429, Baeckel 3-0-7--.429, CWU 28-12-90--.178. SPU: Wodrich 26-7-48--.396, Hoffman 6-1-15--.333, Risser 12-5-23--.304, SPU 52-18-111--.306.
Attandance – 203.

Records – Seattle Pacific 18-1, 10-1 GNAC. Central Washington 8-8, 6-5 GNAC.

Next match – Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, Thursday, Oct. 21, 7:00 p.m.