Box score, play-by-play

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – It must be something about seeing Alaska Fairbanks on the other side of the net. And whatever it is, it brings out the best in Paige Hoffman and Angie Pricco.

Hoffman had 11 kills, including the 500th of her Seattle Pacific career, and hit a career-best .625 on Thursday night, and Pricco had six kills while hitting a career-high .714 as the 13th-ranked Falcons swept past Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match, 3-0.

Scores at The Patty Center were 25-20, 25-14, 25-13.

With their fifth straight sweep and 16th in 22 matches this fall, the Falcons (21-1, 13-1 GNAC) took over sole possession of first place in the standings by half a game in front of Western Washington, which was idle. They'll face a sizable challenge to maintain that lead on Saturday night when they visit defending conference champion Alaska Anchorage at 8 p.m. PDT.

Junior outside hitter Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) had 11 kills and just one error on 16 total attacks for a .625 hitting percentage. That easily eclipsed her previous career high of .500, which she put into the books against this same Fairbanks team on Oct. 2 in Seattle. On that day, Hoffman had 11 kills and one error on 20 swings.

Hoffman also had a career-high three service aces.

Sophomore middle blocker Pricco (Brier, Wash./Blanchet HS) put down six kills with just one error on seven swings for a .714 percentage. That beat her previous career best of .667 (5-1-6) – which she also posted in the previous match against the Nanooks.

“They were both just unstoppable,” SPU coach Chris Johnson said. “Paige could put it wherever she wanted, and Angie was hitting between the blocks. They were both just doing a great job of doing their jobs.”

In the past three matches, Hoffman has hit .429, .412, and now .625, with a total of 27 kills and just one error on 54 attacks. Her season average is now .299.

Senior outside hitter Sarah Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) put down 10 kills for SPU, junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) added and posted a team-high 11 digs, and freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) had six kills and hit .500. Sophomore setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) set up 39 assists.

“It was pretty typical of the way we've been playing – we started out kind of average, almost like feeling them out and just not quite aggressive enough,” Johnson said. “Then we just found ourselves and got more aggressive and got more confidence and started putting balls down."

Behind 6-5 in the first game, the Falcons strung together six straight points to go ahead for good and eventually built their lead to 20-11.

Seattle Pacific was down 10-6 in Game 2, then scored 19 of the next 23 points, including the final seven in a row, to finish it off for a 2-0 lead.

“They had gotten some points, then we got them back,” Johnson said. “We were focused the whole time and just kept our composure. We don't want to be comfortable giving up (scoring) runs, but once we get in that situation, we don't hit the panic button.”

Except for a 1-1 tie, Seattle Pacific led all the way in Game 3, taking command with an 8-0 run to expand a 4-3 lead to 12-3. Sparking that surge was freshman libero Christina Brashear (West Linn, Ore.) who made her SPU debut earlier in Thursday's match and served up the last seven of those eight points. 

Seattle Pacific hit a season-best .369 as a team (42 kills, 11 errors, 84 attacks). That included a .536 performance (16-1-28) in Game 3. The Falcons limited Alaska Fairbanks (5-14, 3-10 GNAC) to just .067 hitting (27-21-90). That was the ninth time in 22 matches SPU has kept an opponent below .100 hitting. 


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Patty Center/Fairbanks, Alaska

(No. 13) Seattle Pacific 3, Alaska Fairbanks 0

Game scores – 25-20, 25-14, 25-13.

Service aces – SPU: Paige Hoffman 3, Shelby Swanson 2. UAF: Two players with 1.
Kills – SPU: Hoffman 11, Sarah Risser 10. UAF: Marybeth Wikander 7, Tereza Bendlova 6.
Assists – SPU: Shelby Swanson 39. UAF: Mandy Grierson 22.
Blocks – SPU: Angie Pricco 3, Hoffman 2. UAF: Erica Gage 2, Casey Tidwell 2.
Digs – SPU: Lindsey Wodrich 11, Anna Herold 8. UAF: Jessica Eicher 5.
Hitting (kills-errors-total attacks) – Pricco 6-1-7--.714, Hoffman 11-1-16--.625, Nikki Lowell 6-1-10--.500, Risser 10-3-26--.269, SPU 42-11-84--.369. UAF: Wikander 7-2-14--.357, Bendlova 6-1-16--.312, UAF 27-21-90—.067.
Attendance – 283.

Records – Seattle Pacific 21-1, 13-1 GNAC. Alaska Fairbanks 5-14, 3-10 GNAC.

Next match – Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, Saturday, 8 p.m. PDT.