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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Her hard-hitting teammates often get more of the limelight. Shelby Swanson just quietly goes about her job to make sure that they do.

Doesn't matter whether it's a preseason tournament in September – or the NCAA Division II West Regional championships in November.

Seattle Pacific sophomore setter Swanson had not one career high, but two on Friday night: 56 assists and 29 digs, and Sarah Risser put down 17 kills as the Falcons advanced to their first West title match, beating rival Western Washington with a five-game victory against rival Western Washington.

Scores in Coussoulis Arena were 12-25, 25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 15-11.

SPU (26-2), ranked No. 14 nationally, will play sixth-ranked and regional No. 1 seed Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday night at 7 for the West title and a spot in the Elite Eight. The Coyotes swept past fourth-seeded UC San Diego in Friday's other semifinal, 25-14, 25-11, 25-23.

“It's just starting to sink in,” Swanson said of the Falcons' appearance in the regional final. “Tonight, we're going to celebrate our victory. Tomorrow morning, we have our game faces on.”

Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) set her previous career high of 54 assists on Thursday in a five-game first-round victory against Cal State Los Angeles. That mark lasted barely more than 24 hours. Her 29 digs more than doubled her previous career best of 14, which she set last year as a freshman.

“I knew this match was exciting and huge, and we just needed to win it,” Swanson said. “I just play within myself, and the team helped. The passing helped, and the same with the hitters getting their kills.”

Even Falcons coach Chris Johnson found himself doing a double-take at Swanson's double-double.

“I saw the assists first, and I thought, 'Awesome – she beat it again,” Johnson said. “Then I looked at the digs and went, 'Holy crap.' That was absolutely outstanding.

The victory tied SPU's all-time single-season total of 26, which was set in 1989. 

“We never set a certain goal like we were going to win this many,” Swanson said. “We just want to play to the best of our ability at all times, and just take care of the details.”

Senior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.), junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS), and junior opposite Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) joined Swanson in the double-double department. Risser had 18 digs to go along with her 17 kills; Wodrich had 15 kills and 22 digs, and Hoffman posted 12 kills and a career-high 19 digs.

Redshirt freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) had 16 kills, just one shy of her career high, which she had tied in Thursday's victory. Lowell also had six block assists.

“It was another one of those matches where everyone was playing well and going hard and working together to do whatever they could do for the team,” Johnson said. “We never gave up at all, not for a second. We're just playing great volleyball, staying aggressive, staying disciplined, and getting it done.”

This was the third match this season between the Falcons and the 15th-ranked Vikings (20-4). Western Washington won a three-game sweep in Bellingham on Oct. 9. Seattle Pacific bounced back with a four-game win in Seattle on Nov. 4.

“We knew it was going to be a battle going in,” Johnson said. “We would have loved to have beaten them in four, but we weren't able to quite pull out that fourth game.”

Added Swanson of facing the Vikings again, “It was the biggest incentive ever – we were so stoked. We couldn't have asked for a better match. It felt so awesome to play them one last time.”

SPU never trailed in the deciding fifth game, scoring three straight points to snap a 2-2 tie. The Falcons extended the lead to as many as four points at 11-7. Western Washington twice got back within one, the last time at 12-11, before Seattle Pacific ran off the last three points: a kill by Lowell, a kill by Risser, and an attack errors by Western's Emily Jepsen on match point.

“We had the same mentality that we had for the last game (on Thursday): just go all-out and play as hard as we could, and play as it was our last match – because we knew it could be,” Swanson said.

The Falcons came out flat in the opening game, as Western, up 16-12, ran off the final nine points to close it out. But then, Seattle Pacific led from start to finish in Game 2 to get even.

Down 6-2 in the early portion of Game 3, SPU went on a 5-1 run to tie it at 7-7. A 23-20 lead melted into a 23-23 tie, and the Falcons subsequently had three tries at game point before clinching it at 27-25 when Wodrich directed a kill through two Western Washington blockers at the net.

The Vikings led throughout most of the fourth game, with a seven-point bulge at 19-12. SPU put together a 7-1 spurt, knotting it at 20-all, then Western scored five of the final seven points to force the deciding game.

The Falcons hammered a season-high 67 kills and hit .162 for the match. They came up with 116 digs, with junior Anna Libero (Bothell, Wash,/Shorecrest HS) collecting 24 to go along with Swanson's 29 and Wodrich's 22.



NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament
Friday, November 19, 2010
Coussoulis Arena/San Bernardino, Calif.

(No. 14) Seattle Pacific 3, (No. 15) Western Washington 2

Game scores – 12-25, 25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 15-11.

Service aces – WWU: Kari Rice 3. SPU: Two players with 1.
Kills – WWU: Megan Amundson 15, Emiliy Jepsen 14, Marlayna Geary 10. SPU: Sarah Risser 17, Nikki Lowell 16, Lindsey Wodrich 15, Paige Hoffman 12.
Assists – WWU: Kari Rice 51. SPU: Shelby Swanson 56.
Blocks – WWU: Emily Jepsen 4, Rice 3, Bailey Jones 3, Kathryn Mertens 3. SPU: Lowell 6, Hoffman 4, Swanson 3.
Digs – SPU: Swanson 29, Anna Herold 24, Wodrich 22, Hoffman 19, Risser 18.
Hitting (kills-errors-total attacks) – WWU: Rice 5-0-9--.556, Mertens 8-0-19--.421, Jepsen 14-2-40--.300, WWU 61-23-213--.178. SPU: Lowell 16-3-36--.361, Angie Pricco5-1-15--.267, Hoffman 12-2-44--.227, SPU 67-30-228--.162.
Attendance – NA.

Records – Seattle Pacific 26-2, Western Washington 20-4.

Next match – Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State San Bernardino or UC San Diego, championship, Saturday, 7 p.m.