THE SCHEDULE – SEAWOLF SPIKE:
Friday, Sept. 7                     Seattle Pacific vs. Chico State, 1:30 p.m.
                                                Recreation Center / Rohnert Park, Calif.
                                                Live stats        No live Webcast
 
                                                Seattle Pacific at Sonoma State, 7:00 p.m.
                                                The Wolves' Den / Rohnert Park, Calif.
                                                Live stats        Live Webcast
 
Saturday, Sept. 8                Seattle Pacific vs. UC San Diego, 11:15 a.m.
                                                Recreation Center / Rohnert Park, Calif.
                                                Live stats        No live Webcast
 
                                                Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State Stanislaus, 3:45 p.m.
                                                The Wolves' Den / Rohnert Park, Calif.
                                                Live stats        Live Webcast
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
        Seawolf Spike tournament home page 

SEATTLE – After saying 'aloha' to Hawaii, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are saying 'hello' to California and four more key non-conference volleyball matches this week.
                                 
The Falcons, coming off a 2-2 split in the islands and seeking to bounce back from a loss at San Francisco State on Tuesday, conclude the preseason portion of their 2012 schedule this week in the Seawolf Spike at Sonoma State University.
 
SPU opens play on Friday against undefeated Chico State, then gets a rematch against host and No. 23-ranked Sonoma State. On Saturday morning, No. 25 UC San Diego will be across the net from the Falcons, and the tournament concludes Saturday afternoon against Cal State Stanislaus.
 
Next week, Seattle Pacific serves up its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference points of the season – and just like their preseason competition, it'll be on the road. The Falcons open GNAC play at Simon Fraser next Thursday, Sept. 13, in Burnaby, B.C., then visit rival Western Washington in Bellingham on Saturday, Sept. 15, both at 7 p.m.
 
THIS WEEK, YOU CAN WATCH IT
Falcon fans were not able to look in on any of last week's four matches in Hawaii because live Webcasts were not available, and live stats were offered for just one of the four matches.
 
Things will be different this week. Live Webcasts will be available for the match against Sonoma State on Friday and the finale against Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday. Live stats will be available for all four matches. The appropriate links are at the top of this story, or can be found by clicking on the tournament home page.
 
ALL-STAR STATUS FOR FELLOWS
Senior outside hitter Cailin Fellows (Edmonds, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS) was named to the Honolulu Invitational/HPU Challenge all-tournament team. For the week, Fellows had a team-leading 37 kills (18 in a four-game victory against Chaminade), hit .162, had 18 digs and four block assists.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--The last time SPU came up against Chico State was at this same tournament in 2010. The Falcons won, 3-1, the third victory in their school-record 16-0 start.
-- It's not often that a team gets a chance at some redemption against a preseason opponent. But Seattle Pacific will have that chance on Friday night against Sonoma State, seeking to turn the tables after the Seawolves scored a three-game sweep last week in Hawaii. In two of those three games, the Falcons came back to forge late ties (24-24 and 25-25 in Game 1, then 23-23 in Game 3) before Sonoma closed it out.
-- Speaking of redemption, Seattle Pacific also will be out for a bit of that on Saturday against UC San Diego. Last year in Hawaii, the Tritons put a three-game sweep into the books. A hoped-for rematch in the NCAA West Regionals never happened because the two teams were in opposite halves of the bracket.
--The Falcons have had the dominant hand against Cal State Stanislaus, winning all 10 matches, the most recent of which was the 2008 season opener. SPU has won 30 of the 34 games in those 10 matches.
-- SPU is still trying to win a Game 1, having dropped the opener in all five matches so far.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
His team has been through some ups and downs through the first five matches of the season, but coach Chris Johnson has plenty of confidence as the Falcons head to their tune-up tournament prior to the start of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

“I think we've learned a lot about our team,” he said. “We had two tough games the first night against Sonoma State and came back and tied them. The next match against Chaminade, we won two 27-25 games, then we showed a lot of grit against Fresno Pacific.
 
“The heart and soul of our team is good, and the unity and passion are there.”
 
SCOUTING THE SEAWOLF SPIKE
CHICO STATE WILDCATS
All-time series: Chico leads, 9-6. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, Chico State 1 (25-18, 25-11,17-25, 25-16, Sept. 4, 2010 at Rohnert Park, Calif.). Wildcats on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: Sonoma won three out of four last week in Hawaii, the only loss coming in five games to Hawaii Pacific. Outside hitter Kelsey Hull was the catalyst when the Seawolves swept Seattle Pacific, as she pounded 18 kills and hit .406. Senior outside hitter Ally Sather and freshman outside hitter Caylie Seitz added nine kills apiece. Sather, however, has moved to the top of the offensive list for Sonoma, with 55 kills (3.67 per game) and a .286 hitting percentage. She also has a team-high six service aces, although three other Seawolves have five aces apiece. Freshman outside hitter Madelyn Densberger hits slightly higher (.290) and has 39 kills. Hull comes into the week with 40 kills and a .111 percentage.
 
UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS                                                                                                
All-time series: UCSD leads, 6-1. Current series streak: UCSD won 2. Last time: UCSD 3, SPU 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21; Sept. 2, 2011 at Honolulu). Tritons on the Web.
Tritons in a nutshell: UC San Diego, ranked 25^th this week after starting the season at No. 17, is coming off a split of four matches at last week's Grand Canyon Invitational. Freshman outside hitter Danielle Dahle is the big hammer at the net for UC San Diego with 47 kills (3.13 per game). She hits .148. An equally powerful weapon is sophomore middle blocker Sara McCutchan. Her .333 hitting percentage is tops among the Tritons' regulars, her 27 kills rank No. 2, and she is by far and away the team's blocks leader with 12, including two solos. McCutchan also has 10 of San Diego's 22 service aces.
                                                                                                                         
CAL STATE STANISLAUS WARRIORS
All-time series: SPU leads, 10-0. Current series streak: SPU won 10. Last time: SPU 3, Stanislaus 1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23; Aug. 29, 2008 at Rohnert Park, Calif.). Warriors on the Web.
Warriors in a nutshell: Stanislaus is coming off a 2-2 weekend at the Point Loma Nazarene Seaside Invitational in San Diego. The first of those matches was a four-game loss to SPU conference rival Northwest Nazarene. The Warriors went on to beat Point Loma and Southern Nazarene. Senior outside hitter Andrea Fett is Stanislaus' kills leader with 62, an average of 3.65 per game. She hits at a .186 clip. Senior opposite Jennifer Marsh has 49 kills and is hitting .282. Senior middle hitter Melissa Bishop is a tough customer at the net, as well, with 36 kills, a .236 hitting percentage and 16 blocks, with three solos.
 
POLLING PLACE
Seattle Pacific has been picked for a fourth-place finish in the GNAC preseason coaches poll that was released on Aug. 21. The Falcons received 61 points in the voting.
                                                                
Ahead of them, the coaches predicted a tight three-way battle for the championship. Western Washington received three first-place votes and 72 points; Western Oregon got four first-place votes and 71 points; and Alaska Anchorage got two first-place votes and 70 points.
                                                 
In the first American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) regular-season poll released on Monday, Sept. 3, the Falcons are still among others receiving votes and sit at No. 33. They were No. 31 in the preseason poll. Defending NCAA champion Concordia-St. Paul remains a unanimous No. 1. Western Washington went from unranked to No. 18.
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Cailin Fellows put down nine kills, and freshman Jackie Arnold  played error-free with four kills in her college debut on Thursday night, but SPU, despite a pair of big comebacks, fell short of 24^th-ranked Sonoma State in the season-opener, 27-25, 25-13, 25-23.
-- Fellows slammed 18 kills, and Shelby Swanson recorded a double-double of 47 assists and 12 digs as SPU survived a back-and-forth match to beat Chaminade, 21-25, 25-15, 27-25, 27-25.
-- Jessica Miller hammered a career-high 19 kills and Swanson posted her second straight double-double as SPU stormed back from two games down to beat six-time NAIA champion and current NCAA newcomer Fresno Pacific,
19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-14, 15-10.
-- Swanson delivered her third straight double-double, this one with 22 assists and 11 digs, but host Hawaii Pacific had things go its way for most of the match to sweep past SPU, 25-16, 25-15, 25-19.
-- Nikki Lowell had a season-high 14 kills, but San Francisco State had four players go for double-figure kills as the Gators beat the Falcons in a non-conference match, 25-16, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
In just the first five matches of the year, senior setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash. / Kamiakin HS) has nearly as many double-doubles (three) as she had for all of 2011 (seven). Swanson had 47 assists and 12 digs last Friday against Chaminade, 46 and 12 on Saturday afternoon against Fresno Pacific, then 22 and 11 on Saturday night against Hawaii Pacific. She now has 20 double-doubles for her career (all assist-dig).
 
The only other Falcon currently with double-doubles is senior outside hitter Cailin Fellows  with two, both of hers being kill-dig.
 
FRESHMAN IMPACT
Some of the newest Falcons wasted no time making their presence felt as key contributors to the team. Middle blocker Jackie Arnold (Anaheim, Calif.) played in 18 of the 19 games (starting all five matches) and has the early-season team hitting lead at .407. (Her hitting mark ranks No. 4 in the GNAC.) Arnold has 27 kills and just three errors on 59 attacks. She also has 12 blocks, with one solo.
 
Outside hitter Ellie Britt also started all four matches and played in 18 of the 19 games, logging 37 kills and six blocks.
 
Libero/defensive specialist Breanne Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) has gotten into all 19 games to come up with 31 digs and deliver four service aces.
 
SKY-HIGH CAREER HIGHS FOR SOPHS
Three SPU sophomores, all of whom are seeking much more playing time this season, made strong cases for themselves last week with career-high performances that left their previous best marks way behind them.
 
One of them, libero Brianna Leenders (Portland, Ore.), already was in the starting lineup after coming off the bench regularly last year. She made the most of it in Honolulu, with double-digit digs in all four matches, including a career-high 28 in Saturday's five-gamer against Fresno Pacific (previous best was 20). She came back just 3½ hours to dig up another 21 balls against Hawaii Pacific.
 
Outside hitter Jessica Miller (Fife, Wash. / Fife HS) hammered 19 kills on 59 swings against Fresno Pacific, way better than her 12 kills at Simon Fraser and 25 attempts against British Columbia last fall.
 
Middle blocker Madi Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) also came up big against Fresno with 13 kills on 34 attempts. That was her first double-digit kills performance and beat her previous high of nine from the previous day against Chaminade.  Her previous high for attacks was 25 also last Friday against Chaminade.

GNAC TOP 10, HERE COMES SHELBY
After her 34-assist performance at San Francisco State on Tuesday night, Shelby Swanson is just 25 away from climbing into the GNAC all-time top 10. Swanson now has 2,822 assists for her career. Currently in the No. 10 spot is Carlee Marble, who had 2,847 for Central Washington from 2007-11. Swanson started the season at No. 12 on the GNAC list, and moved up to No. 11 last Saturday against Fresno Pacific. The next rung in Swanson's sight will be No. 9 Lisa Hall (2,951 assists for Saint Martin's from 2003-06).

THAT'S A FIRST
When Nikki Cheek stepped onto the court last Saturday against Fresno Pacific, it marked her initial appearance in an SPU uniform. Cheek (Puyallup, Wash. / Emerald Ridge HS) is a junior, but did not play as a freshman in 2010, and was out with an injury last season. She wound up playing in two games against Frenso, coming up with one dig.
 
SNEAK PEEK
While they're in California this week, SPU's players will get a chance for an early-season look at Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals Western Washington and Central Washington. The Falcons won't face either of those teams in the tournament, but all three GNAC schools are playing the same four opponents – Chico State, Sonoma State, UC San Diego, and Cal State Stanislaus – over the course of the two-day tournament.
 
Seattle Pacific and Western will meet soon enough – next Saturday, Sept. 15, in Bellingham. Central will provide the opposition for the Falcons' home opener on Thursday, Sept. 27.
 
NUMERICAL MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th block             Shelby Swanson (has 88)
200^th point              Shelby Swanson (has 195.0)
3,000^th assist        Shelby Swanson (has 2,822)
                                                                                     
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK                       
200^th block              Nikki Lowell (has 215)
300^th dig                  Brianna Leenders (has 304)            
600^th dig                  Shelby Swanson (has 626)
600^th point              Cailin Fellows (has 605.0)
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons open GNAC play with two road matches next week. SPU crosses into Canada on Thursday, Sept. 13, to play at Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. Then on Sept. 15, it's back up Interstate 5 to Bellingham for an early-season match at rival Western Washington. Both start at 7 p.m.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for results, stats, news and notes from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.


GNAC STANDINGS
                                                GNAC        Overall
Western Washington            0-0              4-0
Central Washington              0-0              3-1
Northwest Nazarene             0-0              3-1
Western Oregon                    0-0              3-1
Alaska Fairbanks                  0-0              2-1
Seattle Pacific                        0-0              2-3
Alaska Anchorage                 0-0             1-3
Saint Martin's                         0-0              0-0
Simon Fraser                         0-0             0-0
Montana State Billings         0-0              0-4