NCAA WEST REGIONAL SCHEDULE:
All matches at Coussoulis Arena/San Bernardino, Calif.

Thursday, Nov. 18 – Quarterfinals
Match 1: (3) Western Washington vs. (6) Alaska Anchorage, noon
Match 2: (2) Seattle Pacific vs. (7) Cal State Los Angeles, 2:30 p.m.
Match 3: (4) UC San Diego vs. (5) Sonoma State, 5 p.m.
Match 4: (1) Cal State San Bernardino vs. (8) BYU-Hawaii, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 19 – Semifinals
Match 5: Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 5 p.m.
Match 6: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 20 – Championship
Match 7: Winner 5 vs. Winner6, 7 p.m. 

Live Webcasts of all matches at http://acm.csusb.edu/videoproduction/livevideo.html 

Live stats of all matches at http://www.ccaalivestats.com/bernardino/vball/xlive.htm 


       TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
       Weekly release, with complete stats (PDF)
       Interactive NCAA bracket


SEATTLE – Same tournament. Same venue.

But a much better Seattle Pacific volleyball team. And a much better seed, too.

One year ago, the Falcons got in to the NCAA Division II West Regionals as the eighth and final seed with a 17-11 record. They were sent home promptly, losing to top-seeded Cal State Bernardino in a first-round sweep.

But this week, SPU heads back to San Bernardino as the No. 2 seed on the strength of a 24-2 record and the co-championship of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Falcons would love another shot at host Cal State San Bernardino, but first things first: an opening-round match against Cal State Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon.

Seattle Pacific and the Golden Eagle serve it up at 2:30 p.m. The winner advances to Friday's 5 p.m. semifinals, and a GNAC opponent is guaranteed to be on the other side of the net as No. 3 seed Western Washington and No. 6 Alaska Anchorage meet in the tournament opener at noon Thursday.

The title match is set for Saturday night at 7.





SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
While SPU has played Cal State L.A. previously, the Golden Eagles were not on the docket this season. So coach Chris Johnson has been spending time familiarizing himself with Thursday's first-round regional opponent.

“In looking at their stats, I think they're similar to us in a lot of ways,” Johnson said. “They have two good outside hitters, and they have a middle blocker who gets a lot of balls and gets a lot of kills, similar to Nikki (Lowell). It's going to be about match-ups and serving and passing and who comes to play that day. They've had four losses in five-gamers, and if they win those, they're 20-6. So it's not a team we can take lightly.”

Playing a squad that they haven't seen this year presents its own set of challenges to the Falcons.

“It's a fresh team, so we have to make sure mentally that we're paying attention to what's going on,” he said. “We have to take inventory of what they're doing and where they're hitting the ball and where the openings are.

“We're going to do everything we can to be ready for them,” Johnson added. “We have a few more kills per game (than they do), and we're statistically better on defense and offense. But none of that matters once we get head to head.”

SIXTH TOURNAMENT, FIRST WIN?
The Falcons have been to the NCAAs before – five times, in fact. But they have yet to log their first regional victory. The closest SPU has come to moving into the West semifinals was in 2006 when it went five games against Chico State before falling, 29-31, 30-24, 26-30, 30-23, 15-9.

Other first-round opponents for Seattle Pacific have been Cal State San Bernardino (2000 and 2009), Hawaii Pacific (2001) and Cal State Los Angeles (2005).

Last year, the No. 8-seeded Falcons lost to No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino, 25-13, 25-19, 25-16.

BEEN HERE BEFORE
Of SPU's six trips to regionals – including this one – four have been played in San Bernardino. That would be the 2001, 2006, 2009 and 2010 tournaments.

FAST START
While the Falcons have fallen short at regionals, they have made a habit of getting off to a fast start. Seattle Pacific won the opening game against Hawaii Pacific in 2001 (30-26), Cal State Los Angeles in 2005 (30-28) and Chico State in (31-29).

SCOUTING THE WEST REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS
Seattle Pacific (24-2, 15-2 GNAC) vs. Cal state Los Angeles (16-10, 13-9 CCAA)
Tournament seeds: Seattle Pacific No. 2, Cal State Los Angeles No. 7
All-time series: CSULA leads, 6-2. Current series streak: CSULA won 5.
Last time: Cal State L.A. 3, SPU 0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-23 at Los Angeles; Aug. 28, 2009).
AVCA rankings (as of Nov. 15 poll): Seattle Pacific No. 14, Cal State Los Angeles unranked.
Regional rankings (as Nov. 10 final poll): Seattle Pacific No. 2, Cal State Los Angeles No. 9.
Cal State Los Angeles on the Web
Golden Eagles in a nutshell: At one point late in the season, CSULA was just 8-8 in conference action and 11-9 overall. But the Eagles won five of their last six to play their way into the final regional rankings of the season and then play their way into the tournament. Among their victories in the final week of CCAA play was a four-gamer on the road against fellow tournament qualifier Sonoma State. One of the biggest offensive and defensive threats for Cal State L.A. is sophomore middle blocker Marquis Mora. She hits a team-leading .293 and has 229 kills, the third-highest total on the squad. She also has a team-high 93 blocks, with 17 solos. Junior outside hitter Natalia Gonzalez leads in kills with 246, and senior outside hitter Zuzana Cizova gets it done both ways, with 239 kills and 241 digs, both ranking No. 2 on the team. Cal State L.A. ranked fifth among the 12 CCAA teams in hitting at .217 and tied for second in defense at .181. The offense would have ranked third in the 10-team GNAC, but the defense would have been down in seventh.

HOW TO THEY COMPARE?
(With GNAC/CCAA ranking)
                                                           SPU             CSULA
Hitting percent                               .236 (2)       .217 (5)
Opponent's hitting percent        .120 (1)       .181 (T2)
Kills per game                             13.79 (1)    12.71 (6)
Assists per game                       12.76 (1)    11.66 (6)
Aces per game                              1.71 (3)      1.67 (5)
Blocks per game                           1.93 (4)      1.95 (4)
Digs per game                             16.22 (3)    14.36 (9)
3-gamers                                        18-1              9-3
4-gamers                                          5-1              4-3
5-gamers                                          1-0              3-4

REAPING THE REWARDS
Seattle Pacific's play against GNAC competition netted multiple honors when the all-conference team was announced on Monday, Nov. 14.

Middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) was named the Freshman of the Year. That marks the third time in the past four season that a Falcon has collected that honor. Current senior setter Joelle Perez won in 2007, and current junior libero Anna Herold got it in 2008.

Coach Chris Johnson was named co-Coach of the Year. It was his third GNAC coaching award in his six seasons here. Johnson shared this one with Western Washington's Diane Flick.

Senior outside hitter Sarah Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was a first-team selection for the second straight year. Joining her on the first team were Lowell and junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS).

The Falcons also had three second team selections. Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) made it for the second straight season. Junior opposite Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) and sophomore setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) each gained their first all-conference recognition.

POLLING PLACE
The Falcons remained No. 14 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II poll, which was released on Monday. SPU received 376 points in the voting. The Falcons are one spot of Western Washington.

Concordia-St. Paul remained a solid No. 1, receiving 29 of the 32 first-place votes and 796 points

Among West Regional teams, Cal State San Bernardino remained in the No. 6 spot. No other West teams are among the top 25. UC San Diego, the No. 4 seed in the regional tourney, got 16 points and is No. 28.

LOWELL AIMING FOR A RECORD
Redshirt freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell is well within range setting Seattle Pacific's single-season school record for best hitting percentage. Through the 26 regular-season matches, Lowell hit a GNAC-leading .389 (243 kills, 53 errors on 486 total attacks), which also ranks 12th in all of NCAA Division II. The all-time school record – set in 1987, just the second year of the Falcon program – is .370 by Gaylene MacDonald.

If Lowell stays above that .370 mark, it will be her second school record of the season. Earlier, she set a single-match mark when she hit for .833 accuracy (10 kills, no errors on 12 attacks) on Sept. 27 at home in a sweep of Montana State Billings.

The single-season GNAC record for hitting percentage is .418 by Central Washington's LeAnne McGahuey in 2004.

MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
--Sophomore setter Shelby Swanson is still very much on target for a 1,000-assist season. She starts the week with 987. She would be the first setter with 1,000 assists for SPU since current senior Joelle Perez racked up 1,118 as a freshman in 2007.
--Junior libero Anna Herold is five games away from her 300th as a Falcon.
--Freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell is seven points away from 300 for her career.

MILESTONES MADE
--Sarah Risser set a career-high in hitting at Billings with a .462 performance (6 kills, 0 errors on 13 attacks).
--Paige Hoffman set two career high in Billings: .647 hitting, and four service aces.
--Lindsey Wodrich had a career-high three solo blocks at Billings.

AND EVEN MORE MILESTONES
During the course of the current season …
--Sarah Risser has passed 900 career kills (904), 2,500 attacks (2,808) and 1,000 points (1,013.0).
--Paige Hoffman has passed 500 career kills (543).
--Anna Herold has broken the school career record of 1,552 digs (she has 1,646).
--Angie Pricco has passed 100 career kills (126) and 100 career blocks (116).
--Shelby Swanson has passed 1,000 career assists (1,362) and 300 digs (312).
--Lindsey Wodrich has passed 600 career kills (611) and 700 points (722.5).
--Nikki Lowell set an SPU single-season match record by hitting .833 (10 kill, 0 errors on 12 attacks) against Montana State Billings on Sept. 27.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES AND OTHER DELIGHTFUL DIGITS
--The Falcons have 27 double-doubles in 25 matches this season. Sarah Risser has 10, with 29 for her career, Lindsey Wodrich has seven (17 career), Shelby Swanson has six (nine career) and Paige Hoffman has three, all of them coming this year. Risser, Wodrich and Hoffman all have kill-dig double-doubles; Swanson's are assist-dig.
-- SPU has kept 23 of its 26 opponents below .200 hitting this season. They also have kept nine opponents below .100 hitting.
--The Falcons lead the GNAC in three major statistical categories: opponents' hitting percentage (.120), kills per game (13.79), assists per game (12.76). SPU is No. 2 in hitting percentage (.236), and No. 3 in digs (16.22) and service aces (1.71).
--Sophomore setter Shelby Swanson leads the GNAC in assists at 11.48 per game.
--Nikki Lowell retains the GNAC hitting lead at .389. She has a 45-point lead over No. 2 Cortney Lundberg of Alaska Anchorage (.344). Both are playing this week at regionals.
--Junior opposite Paige Hoffman climbed two spots this week to No. 4 in hitting at .315. Hoffman raised her percentage by 10 points in the regular-season finale at Montana State Billings.
--Factoring in just GNAC matches, Lowell and Hoffman are 1-2 in hitting at .395 and .350, respectively.
-- Senior outside hitter Sarah Risser remains No. 2 in kills at 3.79 per game, and is No. 3 in points per game at 4.33. She also ranks sixth in service aces per game at 0.40.
--Junior libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) is moved up to No. 2 in the GNAC in digs per game at 5.27.
--Lowell remains No. 6 in the GNAC for blocks per game at 0.99. Angie Pricco (Brier, Wash./Blanchet HS) is No. 10 at 0.86.
--Lindsey Wodrich remains No. 5 in GNAC kills this week at 3.15.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
--Nikki Lowell climbed three spots to 12th in NCAA Division II hitting with her .389 average.
--Shelby Swanson is up one place to No. 6 in assists per game at 11.48.
--Sarah Risser ranks No. 25 in kills per game at 3.79.
--Anna Herold moved up two spots to No. 25 in digs at 5.27.
--The Falcons are No. 17 in D-2 for assists at 12.76 per game. They rank 20th in kills at 13.79 and 39th in hitting at .236.

Click on this link for a look at where Seattle Pacific and GNAC players and teams rank in NCAA Division II statistics.

WHAT A WAY TO FINISH
Every team wants to go into postseason at the top of its game, and the Falcons certainly are doing that. They won their last three GNAC matches, and put their best performance of the season on the floor in last Saturday night's conference finale at Montana State Billings.

Hitting a season-best .423 as a team and led by the career-high hitting performances of junior opposite Paige Hoffman at .647 and senior outside hitter Sarah Risser at .462, SPU rolled past Montana State Billings on the Yellowjackets' court, 25-15, 25-12, 25-12. Hoffman also served a career-high four aces, and junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich had a career-best three solo blocks.

MAKING THE GRADE
For the second straight year, Lindsey Wodrich has earned a spot on both the GNAC All-Academic team and on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.

Wodrich, a family and consumer sciences major with a 3.65 GPA, was one of four Falcons named to the conference academic squad. She is joined by junior opposite Paige Hoffman, who, like Wodrich, made it for the second time. Shelby Swanson (3.87, undeclared major) and sophomore middle blocker Angie Pricco (3.24 in business administration) were named for the first time.

Wodrich gained a spot on the CoSIDA College Division (NCAA II, III and NAIA) third team.

Athletes on the GNAC team must have at least a 3.2 GPA, be in their second year of competition at their school, and must be a starter or significant reserve. CoSIDA honorees also must be a starter or key reserve, but must carry at least a 3.3 GPA.

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


GNAC FINAL STANDINGS 
                                                   Conference     Overall
Seattle Pacific                               16-2                 24-2
Western Washington                  16-2                 19-3
Alaska Anchorage                        13-5                18-8
Western Oregon                           12-6                14-9
Central Washington                     11-7                13-10
Northwest Nazarene                     7-11                7-17
Alaska Fairbanks                           5-13                7-17
Montana State Billings                  5-13                5-23
Simon Fraser                                  4-14                4-18
Saint Martin's                                  1-17                2-22