Volleyball program celebrate 25 years with Alumni Night on Sept. 25
       2010 schedule
      
SEATTLE – Starting with the very first serve in September and extending all the way to the final point in November, the Seattle Pacific Falcons will have a chance to give themselves a boost in the West Regional rankings as they pursue a second consecutive trip to the NCAA volleyball tournament.

From two preseason tournaments through 18 Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches, SPU will be across the net from a West Region opponent every time it takes the court this fall, beginning with a season-opening road trip to California.

“We want to get those in-region matches to give ourselves an opportunity to help our rankings,” coach Chris Johnson said of the determining factor that gets teams into the NCAA tournament. “We're excited to go.”

The Falcons, coming off a 17-12 season, start off with four matches at the Seawolf Spike in Rohnert Park, Calif., on the weekend of Sept. 3-4. San Francisco State is first up on Friday, Sept. 3, at 11:15 a.m., followed by Cal State Stanislaus at 3:45 p.m. that afternoon.

The next day, SPU meets Chico State at 1:30 p.m., and host Sonoma State at 7 p.m.

San Francisco State and Sonoma State were both NCAA qualifiers last year.

Seattle Pacific heads across the Pacific Ocean the following week for the Hawaii Invitational in Laie on Oahu. The Falcons start off that tournament on Friday, Sept. 10, against NCAA qualifier Hawaii Hilo at 5 p.m. PDT, then play at Brigham Young-Hawaii at 10:30 p.m. PDT. They wind up the tourney and preseason play the following day with visits to Chaminade (5 p.m. PDT) and Hawaii Pacific (10 p.m. PDT).

The start of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play is Sept. 16 at Central Washington in Ellensburg. The first home match of the year for the Falcons is set for Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. against Northwest Nazarene.

The early part of the GNAC schedule will be in the Falcons' favor in that after their match opener in Ellensburg, they play five of the next six in Brougham, starting with the NNU match. Included in that stretch is a Saturday, Sept.  25 contest against Saint Martin's that will be Alumni Night, as SPU celebrates the 25th anniversary of its volleyball program. (Click on the above link for more details and free sign-up information.)

Also part of that early-season home schedule is a visit from defending conference champion Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.

Conference rival Western Washington comes to town on Thursday, Nov. 4. A visit from GNAC newcomer Simon Fraser winds up the home schedule with Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. The regular-season finale is Nov. 13 at Montana State Billings.

“There are two times in the season where we play Western and Alaska Anchorage in back-to-back weeks, and those are going to be two of the top teams in conference for sure,” Johnson said. “So if there's one spot where we're going to need everyone healthy and able, that will be it.

“We have a strong group of returners and a strong incoming class. So I think we have a great shot of winning the conference.”



2010 SEATTLE PACIFIC VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
Seawolf Spike (at Sonoma State)
Sept. 3        San Francisco State                     11:15 a.m.
Sept. 3        Cal State Stanislaus                      3:45 p.m.
Sept. 4        Chico State                                    1:30 p.m.
Sept. 4        Sonoma State                                7:00 p.m.

Hawaii Invitational (at Laie/Honolulu, Hawaii)
Sept. 10        Hawaii Hilo (at BYU-Hawaii)        5:00 p.m.
Sept. 10        at Brigham Young-Hawaii          10:00 p.m.
Sept. 11        at Chaminade                              5:00 p.m.
Sept. 11        at Hawaii Pacific                        10:00 p.m.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Sept. 16        at Central Washington                7:00 p.m.
Sept. 18        Northwest Nazarene                  7:00 p.m.
Sept. 23         at Western Oregon                    7:00 p.m.
Sept. 25        Saint Martin's (Alumni Night)      7:00 p.m.
Sept. 27        Montana State Billings               7:00 p.m.
Sept. 30        Alaska Anchorage                      7:00 p.m.
Oct. 2           Alaska Fairbanks                        2:00 p.m.
Oct. 7           at Simon Fraser                          7:00 p.m.
Oct. 9           at Western Washington              7:00 p.m.
Oct. 14        at Northwest Nazarene               6:00 p.m.
Oct. 16        Central Washington                    2:00 p.m.
Oct. 21        at Saint Martin's                          7:00 p.m.
Oct. 23        Western Oregon                         1:00 p.m.
Oct. 28        at Alaska Fairbanks                    8:00 p.m.
Oct. 30        at Alaska Anchorage                  8:00 p.m.
Nov. 4         Western Washington                  7:00 p.m.
Nov. 6         Simon Fraser (Senior Night)       7:00 p.m.
Nov. 13       at Montana State Billings            6:00 p.m.

All times Pacific.
All home matches at Royal Brougham Pavilion, 3414 3rd Ave. W.