Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – Anna Herold said it was just another day doing what she enjoys doing.

The Seattle Pacific volleyball record book says it was a little bit more than just another day.

Herold had 16 digs to help her break the all-time Seattle Pacific career mark in that statistical category, and the 13th-ranked Falcons hit the volleyball 20-victory level for the first time since 2006, sweeping Western Oregon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match, 3-0.

Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-18, 25-13, 25-15.





Junior libero Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) now has 1,557 digs for her career. That broke the old record of 1,552, which was set by Torii Mount from 2005-08. Mount racked up her total in 362 games over four seasons. Herold needed just 274 games in less than three seasons to rewrite it.

“It just kind of comes with the love of the game. I don't feel like I did anything special,” Herold said. “I just went out, and I play my hardest all the time. It's great to get recognition, but more than that, it's just fun to play the game.”

From SPU coach Chris Johnson's point of view, it's definitely fun to have Herold playing the game – not to mention setting a career record – for his team.

“It's exciting for her, and I'm certainly glad to have her anchoring our defense,” Johnson said. “A lot of it is just natural instinct just to see the play and read the hitters and be in the right place. She really has fun out there, and she just has that drive to keep the ball off the floor.”

Reaching the 20-victory mark made it 13 times in the 25 years of the program that a Falcon team has won at least that many matches, most recently by going 24-3 in 2006. Their all-time record for wins is 26 in the 1989 season, when Seattle Pacific finished 26-26.

“We said at the start of the year that our goal was to work hard every day and play our best. And whatever comes of that, whether it's a conference championship or 20 wins would be just a byproduct of what we were trying to do,” Johnson said.

Junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) led Seattle Pacific with 10 kills, and hit .231. Two SPU players had error-free days on offense: freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) had nine kills on 17 attacks and finished at .529 hitting, and junior outside hitter Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) had seven kills on 17 attacks, winding up at .412 hitting.

That's the second straight match Hoffman has topped the .400 mark, having hit .429 in Thursday night's sweep at Saint Martin's.





SPU, ranked second behind Cal State San Bernardino in the West Region, wound up hitting .237 as a team with 34 kills and just 12 errors on 93 swings. The Falcons' defense limited Western Oregon (10-8, 8-5 GNAC) to .097 (24 kills, 15 errors on 93 attacks), making it two straight matches this season they've kept the Wolves below .100. Overall this year, Seattle Pacific has done that nine times in its 21 matches.

Senior outside hitter Sarah Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) came up with 13 digs, three service aces and two blocks. Lowell led SPU with four blocks, and sophomore setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) had 25 assists and two service aces. The Falcons had eight aces for the day, while Western Oregon, the GNAC leader with 123 aces for the season, served just two.

Down 7-5 in the first game, Seattle Pacific went ahead for good with a 5-0 run, then used another 5-0 surge at 18-17 to take command. The Falcons ran off the first three points in Game 2 and again in Game 3, and never trailed or found themselves in a tie for the rest of the afternoon.

“I think we're taking confidence in our season so far in what we've been able to do,” Johnson said. “But we still have our heads on our shoulders, so to speak. We know we have areas where we need to improve, and that's good. It's good to have things to work on, and it's good to be humble and that we're not a perfect team, and that we do have weaknesses that we have to work on.”

It was during a rally on one point in the second game when Herold tied and then broke the digs record. She had three digs in just a span of few seconds, and Wodrich slammed a kill to finish the point, making it 21-10 for the Falcons.

“To have the school record is a huge honor, because there have been a lot of awesome liberos before me,” Herold said.

SPU heads north next week, playing at Alaska Fairbanks next Thursday night at 8 PDT, and at Alaska Anchorage next Saturday night at 8.


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

(No. 13) Seattle Pacific 3, Western Oregon 0

Game scores – 25-18, 25-13, 25-15.

Service aces – WOU: Two players with 1. SPU: Sarah Risser 3, Shelby Swanson 2.
Kills – WOU: Stephanie Beeler 8, Krissi Kemper 5. SPU: Lindsey Wodrich 10, Nikki Lowell 9, Paige Hoffman 7.
Assists – WOU: Jorden Burrows 14. SPU: Shelby Swanson 25.
Blocks – WOU: Becky Blees 4, Beeler 3. SPU: Lowell 4, Risser 2, Wodrich 2, Angie Pricco 2.
Digs – WOU: Megan Triggs 12, Danielle Reese 11. SPU: Anna Herold 16, Risser 13.
Hitting (kills-errors-total attacks) – WOU: Beeler 8-3-22--.300, Blees 3-1-11-.182, WOU 24-15-93--.097. SPU: Lowell 9-0-17--.529, Hoffman 7-0-17--.412, Wodrich 10-4-26--.231, SPU 34-12-93--.237.
Attendance – 213.

Records – Seattle Pacific 20-1, 12-1 GNAC. Western Oregon 10-8, 8-5 GNAC.

Next match – Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, Thursday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. PDT.