THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 24        Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7:00 p.m.
                                         Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
                                         Live Webcast and live stats
 
Saturday, Oct. 26        Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser, 7:00 p.m.
                                         West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
                                         Live Webcast and live stats
 
               
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – Nothing quite having some extra energy heading into a critical portion of the season – and that's exactly what the Seattle Pacific Falcons have.
 
SPU will carry a two-match winning streak onto the road this week to begin the second half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Falcons and nationally ranked Western Washington will serve it up on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Bellingham. On Saturday, they'll head to Canada for a 7 p.m. contest against Simon Fraser.
 
Last week, Seattle Pacific (9-8, 5-4 GNAC) won both of its conference matches for the first time this season. On Thursday, they twice came from a game down to beat Western Oregon in five. On Saturday, they came back from a late deficit in Game 1 to put a 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin's into the books.
 
The Falcons are at the start of a three-match road stretch. After this, they'll have just two more road matches, those coming in mid November.
 
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.
 
ONE WIN TO 500
When the Falcons secure their next victory, wherever that might happen, it will be the 500th in program history.
 
Coming into this week's matches, SPU has an overall record of 499-355 (.584 winning percentage) since the volleyball program started in 1986.
 
The last milestone victory – No. 400 – came on Oct. 25, 2007, a 3-0 sweep at Alaska Fairbanks. Chris Johnson, now in his ninth season as SPU's head coach, was at the helm for that one, late in his third season.
 
The first two century mark victories (1991 and 1996) were under the guidance of coach JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner. The 300th (2001) was with Kellie Radloff in charge. The 100th (San Francisco) and 300th (Northwest Nazarene) were achieved at home. The 200th (Montana State Billings) and 400th (Fairbanks) were on the road.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Seattle Pacific's most recent win at Western Washington was a four-gamer on Oct. 31, 2009.
-- After winning in Anchorage last season, WWU's Carver Gym is the only GNAC facility in which SPU's seniors have not tasted a victory.
-- Western (.119) and SPU (.142) are the toughest teams to hit against in the conference.
-- Prior to losing to Anchorage last Saturday, Western Washington had won its first seven GNAC matches in three-game sweeps. The Vikings have swept 13 of their 16 matches so far.
-- Although six of nine all-time losses to Simon Fraser have come on the road, the Falcons have won their last six matches in Burnaby for an 8-6 all-time record on the Clan's home court.
-- Coach Chris Johnson's teams are 8-11 all-time against Western Washington and its coach, Diane Flick. They are 7-0 against Simon Fraser, all since the Clan joined the GNAC in 2010.
--SPU's 12-match winning streak against Simon Fraser currently ranks as its second-longest against any opponent. The only one longer is 23 straight against Saint Martin's.

 



SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 14-2, 7-1 GNAC (2^nd)
All-time series: WWU leads, 38-25. Current series streak: WWU won 4. Last time: WWU 3, SPU 0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-18; Sept. 28, 2013 at Seattle). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Expect Western Washington to come out even more pumped on Thursday as it looks to get back on track after losing in five games at home last Saturday night to Alaska Anchorage. That was just their 13th home loss in 14 years they've been playing on the SportCourt surface in their gym (117-13 since installing it in 2000). Even with that setback, the Vikings still lead the GNAC in five major statistical categories, including a .292 hitting percentage and a .119 opponents' hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Kayla Erickson, who stands an even 6 feet, is the leading hitter in D2 at .428, and 6-foot-1 senior middle blocker Emily Boerger is No. 5 at .398. Erickson is No. 2 in GNAC kills at 3.65 per game (she had 19 against Anchorage on Saturday), and is No. 5 in blocks among conference players at 1.15 per game. Another Western weapon is 5-11 sophomore opposite Jennica McPherson. In fact, while SPU limited Erickson to eight kills and Boerger to five in Seattle last month, it was McPherson who came through for the Vikings with a team-high 10. (She slammed 15 vs. UAA.)
 
SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER CLAN: 8-6, 3-5 GNAC (6^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 25-9. Current series streak: SPU won 12. Last time: SPU 3, Simon Fraser 1 (16-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-20; Sept. 26, 2013 at Seattle). Clan on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: Simon Fraser has been up and down through the first portion of conference play. The Clan were swept on the road by last-place Montana State Billings, then came back less than a week later at home to fight off two match points and beat Central Washington in five games. The Clan won a four-gamer at Western Oregon, but was swept two nights later at Saint Martin's. Junior outside hitter Kelsey Robinson leads Simon Fraser with 169 kills (3.38 per game average, No. 6 in the GNAC), putting down 14 of those in September at SPU. Also getting the job done on offense for the Clan are junior middle blocker Amanda Renkema (126 kills / 2.52 average) and junior middle blocker Madeline Hait (104 / 2.21).
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- 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 twice came from a game behind to beat Western Oregon in five games last Thursday in Brougham Pavilion, 24-26, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20, 15-10.
-- Cavell had 11 kills, and Arnold hit a team-leading .533 on Saturday, leading the Falcons to a sweep of Saint Martin's, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Madi Cavell had SPU's lone double-double last week, recording it in the five-game victory against Western Oregon.
                                               
For the season, the Falcons have 15 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 (6 season / 9 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; 15K-16D vs. Western Oregon, Oct. 19.
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.
 
GNAC HONOR FOR ARNOLD
Jackie Arnold, who had a career-high nine block assists in last Thursday's five-game victory against Western Oregon, has been name the Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball co-Defensive Player of the Week.
                                                
Sophomore middle blocker Arnold (Anaheim, Calif.) earned the first Player of the Week honor as a Falcon. It was SPU's second Player of the Week this season. Senior middle blocker Nikki Lowell won the defensive honor on Sept. 9 a solid performance in four matches at the Coyote Classic in San Bernardino, Calif.
 
LOWELL CLIMBS ANOTHER RUNG
With 11 block assists last week, senior Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) moved up to No. 3 on the all-time GNAC list for that statistic. She now has 336 block assists, moving her past Northwest Nazarene's Erin Hellberg (332 from 1998-2001; Hellberg is on the list because her 2001 senior season was the inaugural year of the GNAC). Still ahead of Lowell is all-time leader Cammy Dranginis of NNU (367 from 2006-09) and current Western Oregon senior Becky Blees (352).
 
Lowell also is up to 372 total blocks. That puts her fourth on the all-time conference list; Blees is in eighth with 365. Dranginis also is the all-time leader there with 473.
 
At the start of the season, Lowell was No. 18 on the GNAC block assists list and tied for 26th in total blocks.
 
In addition, she is nine blocks away from taking over sole possession of No. 5 on the all-time Seattle Pacific total blocks list. That spot currently belongs to Lori Johnson (380 from 1986-89).
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
With Lowell and sophomore Jackie Arnold leading the way, the Falcons jumped five places to No. 4 nationally at 2.67 blocks per game. West Texas A&M still leads at 3.00 per game.
 
Lowell's average of 1.32 per game ranks 10th in NCAA Division II (up from 1.28 and 14th last week), and Arnold's average of 1.14 boosted her 13 places to 29th on the national list.
 
IT'S RALLY TIME
Of Seattle Pacific's nine victories this season, four have been achieved in come-from-behind fashion. The most recent was last Thursday's five-gamer against Western Oregon after the Falcons were down 1-0 and 2-1.
 
That comeback mentality carried over to Saturday night's sweep of Saint Martin's. SPU was in a 23-20 hole late in the first game, but scored the final five points to take it, then went on to win the next two, 25-19, 25-16.
 
Earlier this season, the Falcons came from 1-0 down to beat Cal Poly Pomona and Simon Fraser in four, and roared back from 2-0 down to topple Cal State San Bernardino.
 
BIG SERVES COME IN SMALL PACKAGES
She might not be the tallest player out there, but sophomore libero Breanne Wiekamp can pack a punch with her serve. Five times in the Western Oregon match, the Falcons put multiple points on the board when Wiekamp (5-foot-4 from Laguna Niguel, Calif.) was behind the service line. That included a five-point run to close out Game 2, squaring the match at a game apiece.
 
SPU also enjoyed a pair of three-point runs with Wiekamp serving, the most crucial of those early in Game 5 when a 1-1 tie became a 4-1 advantage, and the Falcons never trailed again.
 
Seattle Pacific got some solid efforts from other players last week, as well. Kendall Langdon, Brianna Leenders, Ellie Britt, Nikki Lowell, and Madi Cavell all had multiple-point turns with the serve. Langdon was serving when the Falcons scored the last four points to rally for an opening-game victory against Saint Martin's. Britt served up a decisive six-point stretch of the third game against the Saints.
 
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 1st in blocks (1.32 per game)
Jackie Arnold 6^th in blocks (1.14 per game), 8th in hitting (.282)
Brianna Leenders 6^th in digs (4.20 per game)
Madi Cavell 10^th in kills (3.05 per game)
Kendall Langdon 10^th in assists (4.92 per game)
 
POLLING PLACE
In large part because it was a tight five-gamer, Western Washington was able to stay in the top 10 of this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, even though the Vikings fell short of Alaska Anchorage last Saturday night. Western dropped just one place to No. 8 this week. However, it wasn't enough to boost the Seawolves into the top 25, even though they've won nine in a row and have a 15-6 record. They're at No. 29 this week.
 
Concordia-St. Paul stayed at No. 1. From the West Region. Brigham Young-Hawaii (15-1) remained No. 5; Cal State San Bernardino (15-4) was up two spots to No. 12; UC San Diego (16-3) fell three to No. 13; Sonoma State (16-3) was down three to No. 14; and Fresno Pacific (10-6) stayed at No. 23. Point Loma Nazarene (18-4) dropped out of the top 25, but is still at No. 26.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th dig                 Jessica Miller (has 96)
500^th team win     Seattle Pacific (has 499)
1,000^th dig             Brianna Leenders (has 960)            
1,000^th kill             Nikki Lowell (has 936)
1,200^th assist       Sara Biondi (has 1,187)
                               
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
300^th assist          Kendall Langdon (has 325)
400^th dig                Breanne Wiekamp (has 412)           
2,000^th attack      Nikki Lowell (has 2,029)   
 
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for news, notes, results and statistics from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will be off next Thursday night with their final bye of the season, then fly out to Montana State Billings for a match against the Yellowjackets on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 6:00 p.m. PDT. Seattle Pacific swept Billings on Oct. 5 in Brougham Pavilion.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                              GNAC    Overall
Alaska Anchorage               9-0          15-6
Western Washington          7-1          14-2
Northwest Nazarene           6-3          10-5
Central Washington            5-4            9-8
Seattle Pacific                       5-4            9-8
Simon Fraser                       3-5            8-6
Saint Martin's                       3-6            7-14
Western Oregon                  3-6            6-13
Alaska Fairbanks                2-7            3-17
Montana State Billings       1-8            3-14