THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 17 Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
Live Webcast Live stats
Saturday, Oct. 19 Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
Live Webcast Live stats
Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
SEATTLE – The road was bumpy last week. So the Seattle Pacific Falcons will be trying to smooth things out when they return to Brougham Pavilion for a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball matches.
The Falcons will play host to Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin's on Saturday, both at 7:00 p.m.
Those two matches will bring SPU to the midpoint of the conference schedule, as the Wolves and Saints are the only two teams they haven't yet seen this fall.
Seattle Pacific is coming off of a five-game loss at Central Washington and a four-gamer at Northwest Nazarene. But the Falcons have enjoyed some success in Brougham so far, winning two of their three matches, including a sweep of Montana State Billings on Oct. 5 in their most recent home match.
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live Webcasts and live stats will be available for every GNAC match, home and away. All live Webcasts are through Stretch Internet, the conference's official provider of streaming video. Live stats for Seattle Pacific home are provided by Sidearm Sports. Appropriate links for both can be found at the top of this story.
21 TO TOP 5 FOR LOWELL
It might not happen this week, but the
Nikki Lowell is playing, it's going to happen soon: The senior middle blocker is on the brink of moving into SPU's all-time top five for career blocks.
Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) currently has 359 total blocks, with 34 solos and 325 block assists. Currently occupying the No. 5 spot on the SPU career list is
Lori Johnson, with 380 from 1986-89. With 11 regular-season matches remaining, that total is well within Lowell's reach.
The No. 4 slot belongs to
Gaylene MacDonald, with 412 from 1987-88. The all-time leader is
Tosca Lindberg with 773 from 1989-92.
Lowell's 325 block assists rank No. 4 on the all-time GNAC list. Among those ahead of her is Western Oregon's
Becky Blees, at No. 2 with 343. At No. 1 is former Northwest Nazarene player
Cammy Dranginis with 367.
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
- -Last year, SPU and Western Oregon
traded a pair of three-game sweeps, each pulling it off on the other team's home court.
- -Coach
Chris Johnson and Western Oregon coach
Brad Saindon have faced each other 10 times, with the Falcons owning a 7-3 advantage.
-- Saindon's Wolves won both matches in 2008; Johnson's Falcons did likewise in 2009, '10, and '11.
-- SPU and Western Oregon faced two common non-conference opponents in preseason play, albeit in different tournaments. Both swept Holy Names. The Wolves beat Cal State East Bay in four, but the Falcons fell in four to the Pioneers.
-- SPU has
won 22 in a row against Saint Martin's. That's their longest current winning streak against any opponent.
-- The last time the Saints prevailed was a five-gamer at Lacey in 2001.
-- This will be the first match between Johnson and new Saint Martin's coach
Kara Peterson.
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 5-12, 2-5 GNAC (tie 7th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 22-15.
Current series streak: WOU won 1.
Last time: WOU 3, SPU 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-20; Nov. 3, 2012 at Seattle).
Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: Western Oregon will be out to snap a four-match losing streak, having fallen in four games at Simon Fraser and in three at Western Washington last week. Senior middle blocker
Becky Blees continues to be an offensive threat for the Wolves. She leads the team with a .271 hitting average, ranking No. 10 in the GNAC. But she's hardly the only person to whom the Wolves can turn for a point. Junior opposite
Hannah Deede leads WOU with 140 kills, with junior middle blocker
Cherene O'Hara (135), Blees (126) and freshman outside hitter
Christie Colasurdo (125) close behind. Blees and Deede also are tough on the block. Blees has 84 total (two solos), and Deede has 66 (all block assists). Deede has a team-high 16 service aces. The Wolves' signature victory this season was a come-from-behind five-gamer against then-No. 24 Central Washington in the GNAC opener on Sept. 19.
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 6-13, 2-5 GNAC (tie 7th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 44-5.
Current series streak: SPU won 22.
Last time: SPU 3, Saint Maritn's 0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-14; Nov. 1, 2012 at Seattle).
Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: After a 1-8 start, Saint Martin's has gotten onto a better track, going 5-5 since then. That includes a 3-0 homecourt sweep of Simon Fraser last Saturday night as the Saints hit a solid .304 with 46 kills and just 12 errors on 112 attacks. Junior outside hitter
Kristyn Ross sparks the Saint Martin's offense with a team-leading 237 kills. Her 3.43 average per game in that department ranks No. 5 in the GNAC. Sophomore middle blocker
Kyra Davidson gets the job done both offensively (topping the Saints with a .231 hitting average) and defensively (a team-best 66 blocks, with 12 solos). Davidson has 166 kills. Sophomore outside hitter
Carrie Starbuck (129 kills) and freshman outside hitter
Brooke Good (118) also can find the floor. Starbuck and Good are strong servers, as well, with 18 and 16 aces, respectively.
FALCONS REPLAY
-- SPU fought back twice from one-game deficits, but Central Washington sprinted to a 5-1 lead in the deciding fifth game to pull out a five-game victory last Thursday in Ellensburg,
25-17, 19-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-10.
--
Madi Cavell slammed 17 kills for on Saturday night, but Northwest Nazarene had four players in double-digit kills to beat the Falcons in Nampa, Idaho,
25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 25-15.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Seattle Pacific posted two double-doubles last week – one by sophomore outside hitter
Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) and the other by junior setter
Kendall Langdon (Irvine, Calif.), both in Thursday's five-game loss at Central Washington.
For the season, the Falcons have 14 double-doubles:
Ellie Britt (5 season / 5 career) – 16K-12D at Cal State San Bernardino, Sept. 7; 14K-12D vs. Holy Names, Sept. 13; 12K-12D vs. Cal State Los Angeles, Sept. 13; 12K-12D vs. Western Washington, Sept. 28; 14K-11D at Central Washington, Oct. 10.
Madi Cavell (5 season / 8 career) – 18K-11D at Cal State San Bernardino, Sept. 7; 11K-11D vs. Cal State Los Angeles, Sept. 13; 10K-13D vs. Cal State East Bay, Sept. 14; 15K-10D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 19; 10K-13D vs. Western Washington, Sept. 28
Kendall Langdon (4 season / 4 career) – 25A-12D vs. Cal State L.A., Sept. 6; 23A-15D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 19; 13A-11D vs. Western Washington, Sept. 28; 23A-13D at Central Washington, Oct. 10.
A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
It wasn't necessarily the play that Kendall Langdon had in mind. But when instincts met opportunity, the SPU junior setter wound up with the first kill of her college career.
Early in Game 2 of last Saturday's match at Northwest Nazarene, sophomore teammate
Ellie Britt set a ball that Langdon tipped over the net. An NNU player subsequently put the ball into the net trying to play it, giving the point to the Falcons, and officially crediting Langdon with a kill.
While it was Langdon's first kill, it was her second attack, her previous one having come last season.
SINCE WE'RE TALKING FIRSTS …
Langdon's usual job is to set it up,
Brianna Leenders' job is to dig it up – and last Thursday at Central Washington, she had a team-high 22. But she also picked up a kill, her first of the season and the third of her career. Midway through the second game, the junior libero from Gresham, Ore., got a ball back over the net that the Wildcats were unable to return.
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF CAREER HIGHS
Madi Cavell and
Jackie Arnold both came up with a best-ever performance in different statistical categories last Thursday at Central Washington.
Junior outside hitter Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) had 19 digs against the Wildcats. That exceeded her previous best single-match mark of 13, which she had reached three times, most recently on Sept. 28 at home against Western Washington.
Sophomore middle blocker Arnold (Anaheim, Calif.) sent the ball toward the floor 21 times, beating her previous best of 20 attacks. That old mark also was set Sept. 27, 2012, also against Central.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Falcons are tied for No. 9 in NCAA Division II for blocks per game this week. SPU is averaging 2.59 blocks per game, the same as Cal Baptist.
West Texas A&M is still the leader, its average up slightly this week to 3.04 per game. Miles College of Birmingham, Ala., has moved up to No. 2 at 2.74, then it's nine teams – including the Falcons – bunched between 2.66 (No. 3 Southern Indiana) and 2.58 (No. 11 Shepherd College of Shepherdstown, W.V.).
SPU senior
Nikki Lowell is No. 14 in blocks per game at 1.28, and
Jackie Arnold is up to No. 42 at 1.1.
Click on
this link to see how the Falcons and other GNAC teams and players stack up nationally.
WELCOME TO THE LEADERS LIST
Arnold wasn't listed among the national leaders until this week because she hadn't played in at least two-thirds of SPU's total sets. Now, she has. Arnold missed four matches (16 sets) in a preseason tournament because of illness.
Arnold also is among the GNAC's hitting leaders, at No. 11, because she now is averaging a minimum of three attacks per set.
TRACKING THOSE TOP 10s
Among Seattle Pacific's regulars, five are in the top 10 of at least one GNAC statistical category heading into this week:
Nikki Lowell 2nd in blocks (1.28 per game)
Brianna Leenders 6th in digs (4.14)
Jackie Arnold 7th in blocks (1.10)
Madi Cavell 10th in kills (3.02)
Kendall Langdon 10th in assists (4.91)
POLLING PLACE
Western Washington is still the only GNAC team in the top 25 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association
national poll. The Vikings stayed at No. 7 this week.
Alaska Anchorage continues to gain some national notice, picking up 19 points in the voting to tie for No. 30.
The West Region still has six teams in the top 25, with
Brigham Young-Hawaii (13-1 overall) remaining at No. 5.
UC San Diego (15-2, No. 10) and
Sonoma State (15-2, No. 11) each climbed one place.
Cal State San Bernardino (13-4, No. 14) jumped two.
Fresno Pacific (9-6, No. 23) fell one, and
Point Loma Nazarene(16-3) joined for the first time, claiming the No. 25 spot.
Defending national champion
Concordia-St. Paul is No. 1 once again.
AROUND THE WEST
Along with the six West Region teams in the top 25, others are putting together some solid records that likely will have them among those in the conversation when the first regional rankings come out later this month.
Cal State Los Angeles and
Cal State Monterey Bay of the California Collegiate Athletic Association are both 11-6 overall.
In the Pacific West Conference,
Cal Baptist is 12-6 (the Lancers received 10 points in AVCA voting this week),
Hawaii Pacific is 13-4, and Azusa Pacific is 12-5.
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100th dig Jessica Miller (has 96)
300th assist Kendall Langdon (has 285)
400th dig Breanne Wiekamp (has 395)
500th team win Seattle Pacific (has 497)
1,000th dig Brianna Leenders (has 923)
1,000th kill Nikki Lowell (has 915)
2,000th attack Nikki Lowell (has 1,985)
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
100th block Jackie Arnold (has 103)
300th dig Madi Cavell (has 310)
400th kill Madi Cavell (has 414)
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on
this link for news, notes, results and statistics from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
UP NEXT
SPU opens the second half of conference play next Thursday night in Bellingham when they visit No. 7-ranked
Western Washington at 7 p.m. Next Saturday, it's a trip to
Simon Fraser for a 7 p.m. first serve. Seattle Pacific fell to the Vikings, but topped the Clan in four games in Brougham Pavilion last month.
GNAC STANDINGS
GNAC Overall
Alaska Anchorage 7-0 13-6
Western Washington 6-0 13-1
Northwest Nazarene 6-2 10-4
Central Washington 4-4 8-8
Seattle Pacific 3-4 7-8
Simon Fraser 2-4 7-5
Saint Martin's 2-5 6-13
Western Oregon 2-5 5-12
Alaska Fairbanks 2-5 3-15
Montana State Billings 1-6 3-12
