Box score, play-by-play
 
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – It takes a whole lot of everything – including consistency – to beat a team such as Western Washington on the volleyball court.
 
That's where the Seattle Pacific Falcons fell short on Saturday night.
 
Cailin Fellows put down 10 kills for Seattle Pacific, but Kayla Erickson had 14 for Western Washington, and Marlayna Geary added 12, leading the 14^th-ranked Vikings to a 3-0 sweep of the Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
 
Scores in Carver Gym were 25-22, 25-11, 25-12.
 
Senior outside hitter Fellows (Edmonds, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS) was the only player in double-figure kills for the Falcons (4-7, 1-1 GNAC). Sophomore middle blocker / opposite Madi Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) and sophomore libero Breanna Leenders (Portland, Ore.) each came up with 11 digs. Senior setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash. / Kamiakin HS) had 21 assists.
 
The Falcons hung right with Western for most of the first game. Seattle Pacific had a 12-11 lead when the Vikings went on a 6-2 run to go up 17-14. Then, down 24-18, SPU saved four game points before Western closed it out.
 
But the Vikings had almost total command of the final two games. They scored the first three points of Game 2 and led the entire way, going on a 9-1 surge to finish it. Then, after spotting the Falcons a 2-1 lead in the third game, Western ran off nine in a row to make it 10-2, and never let SPU closer than seven.
 
“I felt real good about the way we played in Game 1,” Seattle Pacific coach Chris Johnson said. “We swung aggressively, played good defense, and followed our scouting report well. And we were passing well for the most part. Everything was working the way we wanted it to.
 
“Then we started making too many errors in the second game. We had twice as many errors as we should have,: Johnson said. "We have to have consistent performances. We've got to learn how to pressure teams in a consistent, steady way.”
 
SPU had just 27 kills for the match and was limited to .065 hitting. Western Washington (9-1, 2-0 GNAC) had two fewer attacks than SPU (108-106), but hammered 17 more kills (44) and hit a solid .292, almost right on its season average of .293.
 
It was the first time in the last four matches, beginning with the NCAA West Region semifinals in 2010, that the teams did not go to a fifth game.
 
Seattle Pacific has a bye next Thursday, then plays at Montana State Billings next Saturday at 6 p.m. PDT. That will the last of 12 straight road matches to start the season for the Falcons. They'll play their home opener in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Sept. 27, against Central Washington.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012
Carver Gym / Bellingham, Wash.
 
(No. 14) Western Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-22, 25-11, 25-12.
 
Service aces – SPU 1 (Madi Cavell 1), WWU 6 (Jennica McPherson 2, Samantha Hutchinson 2).  Kills – SPU 27 (Cailin Fellows 10), WWU 44 (Kelsey Moore 14). Assists – SPU 26 (Shelby Swanson 21), WWU 42 (Laurie Yearout 39). Digs – SPU 43 (Cavell 11, Brianna Leenders 11), WWU 53 (Hutchinson 18). Block assists / solo blocks – SPU 4 / 1 solo, WWU 12 / 1 solo (Emily Boerger 4 / 0 solo). Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) —SPU 27-20-108--.065 (Ellit Britt 2-0-3--.667), WWU 44-13-106--.292 (Erickson 14-3-24--.458). Attendance – 314.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-7, 1-1 GNAC. Western Washington 9-1, 2-0 GNAC.
 
Next match – Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings, Sept. 22, 6:00 p.m. PDT.