Box Score

        Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – They put the ball on everyone's hands, and sent it to practically every spot on the court: A kill down the line. A tip to the far corner. A stuff at the net on a service return. Four points on blocks.

When most things have to go the right way to win a deciding fifth game, they went the right way for the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Thursday night.

Madi Cavell put up a double-double of 15 kills and 16 digs, Nikki Lowell had 14 kills, and Jackie Arnold slammed 10 kills and had a career-high nine block assists as SPU came from behind for a five-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball victory against Western Oregon.

Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 24-26, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20,15-10.





It was the fourth time this season that a match went the distance for the Falcons (8-8, 4-4 GNAC), who return to Brougham Pavilion on Saturday at 7 p.m. to take on Saint Martin's. They now have won three of those.

"The last couple games and the way we were playing – if we can play this way all the time, pass this well, hit this well, and get everybody involved, we're going to be tough to beat," SPU head coach Chris Johnson said. "It's just a lot of things we talk about – discipline and executing. When we do those things well, we play well."

In addition to logging her sixth double-double of the season and ninth as a Falcon, junior outside hitter Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) had a career-high eight block assists – three of those in the fourth game, and three more in the fifth.

Sophomore middle blocker Arnold (Anaheim, Calif.) slammed 10 kills and came up with a career-best nine block assists, with four in Game 4 (three in tandem with Cavell) and three more in Game 5 (two of them with Cavell).

"We wanted to come out (for the final game) and bring a lot of energy and quickly crush the team and move on, not letting them get a lead early," Arnold said. "We definitely jumped on that. It was really exciting. We were super pumped, and just came out really well."

SPU allowed the first point of the deciding game, but then ran off four in a row to go in front for good.

A kill by senior outside hitter Nicole Schwend (Oregon City, Ore.) tied it at 1-1 and gave the Falcons sideout. Then it was a Western Oregon attack error, a well-placed tip to the back corner by junior setter Sara Biondi, and finally a dunk at the net by senior middle blocker Lowell when the Wolves sent back a short return of a hard serve by sophomore libero Breanne Wiekamp.

"It was awesome, especially after the way we played in Game 3 – we just didn't feel good about the way we came out in that game," Cavell said. "Then to be able to turn around and really execute and do what the coaches were telling us to do made the biggest difference and gave us a lot of confidence."

Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) finished the night with 14 kills, getting half of those in an error-free last two games (7-0-10, .700). She wound up at .346 hitting for the night. She had six total blocks, with two solos.

Biondi (Sacramento, Calif.) wound up with four kills, 22 assists and two blocks. Junior libero Brianna Leenders (Gresham, Ore.) had a team high 19 digs, and junior setter Kendall Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) led with 23 assists.





Seattle Pacific hit .174 overall, but was at a solid .400 (9-1-20) in the fifth game. Western Oregon (5-13, 2-6 GNAC) was at .173 for the match, but the Falcons limited the Wolves to .000 (5-5-21) in Game 5.

SPU had a chance at game point in the opener, up 24-23 before Western Oregon ran off the final three. The Falcons reversed that in Game 2. Down 21-19, they scored six straight to take it, the last five with Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) serving.

The Wolves jumped to leads of 4-0 and 9-2 in Game 3. Seattle Pacific got as close as 10-9, but WOU put up 11 of the next 13 points for a 21-11 advantage. The Falcons built a 10-5 lead in the fourth game and never let it shrink below two points, the last time at 16-14.


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 3, Western Oregon 2

Game scores – 24-26, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20, 15-10.

Service aces – WOU 2 (Jordin Ramos 2), SPU 4 (4 players with 1).
Kills – WOU 60 (Hasnnah Deede 12, Krissi Kemper 12), SPU 56 (Madi Cavell 15, Nikki Lowell 14, Jackie Arnold 10).
Assists – WOU 55 (Ramos 23), SPU 51 (Kendall Langdon 23, Sara Biondi 22).
Digs – WOU 65 (Megan Triggs 20), SPU 66 (Brianna Leenders 19, Cavell 16).
Block assists / solo – WOU 14 / 2 solo (Deede 5 / 2 solo), SPU 26 / 3 solo (Arnold 9 / 0 solo, Cavell 8 / 0 solo, Lowell 4 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – WOU 60-32-162--.173 (Kemper 12-2-19--.526), SPU 56-29-155--.174 (Sara Biondi 4-1-7--.429, Lowell 14-5-26--.346).
Attendance – 206.

Records – Seattle Pacific 8-8, 4-4 GNAC. Western Oregon 5-13, 2-6 GNAC.

Next match – Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 7:00 p.m.