THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, Oct. 5            Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 1:00 p.m.
                                          Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                          Live Webcast        Live stats
 
               
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – The volleyball season started less than a month ago. But already, it's almost midseason for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
The Falcons will hit the halfway point of their 26-match schedule this Saturday when they play host to Montana State Billings. That contest will be an unusually early one, with the first serve set for 1:00 p.m. It also will wind up a three-match homestand for SPU.
 
Although it is the midpoint of their season as a whole, the Falcons are still early in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule. This will be the fifth of their 18 conference contests
 
Seattle Pacific heads into the week with both of its records level: 6-6 overall, 2-2 in the GNAC. The Falcons are coming off a split of last week's two home matches, beating Simon Fraser in four games, but falling to then-No. 11 Western Washington in three.
 
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.
 
MOVIN' ON UP
The Falcons continued their climb as one of the best blocking teams in NCAA Division II. SPU is now No. 2 with an average of 2.63 blocks per game in the latest national stats that were released on Monday.
                                                      
The only team ahead of Seattle Pacific is West Texas A&M at 2.98 blocks per game.
 
Last week, the Falcons were No. 3 at 2.62 blocks. They had a total of 12.5 (five solos, which count for 5.0, and 15 block assists  which count for 7.5) in last Thursday's four-game victory against Simon Fraser. They logged another 6.5 (no solos, 13 block assists) in a three-game loss to Western Washington last Saturday.
 
Senior middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) is No. 17 in D2 at 1.24 blocks per game.

Click on this link to see how the Falcons and other GNAC teams and players stack up nationally.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU and Montana State Billings split last year's two matches, each team winning on its home court.
-- The Yellowjackets' victory, coming in four games on Sept. 22 in Billings, was their first against the Falcons since 2009.
-- Coach Chris Johnson is 7-6 all-time against the Yellowjackets, including 4-2 in Seattle.
-- Johnson is 1-1 against second-year MSUB coach Lisa Axel.
-- The Falcons have won three straight against the Yellowjackets in Seattle.
-- Last season's match in Brougham Pavilion was in stark contrast to the earlier one. When they played in MSUB's Alterowitz Gymnasium, the Jackets had 55 kills and hit .328. But when they came to Seattle a month later, the Falcons limited them to just 24 kills and .010 hitting.
-- The Falcons hit well in both MSUB matches: 48 kills and .258 on the road; 39 kills and .352 at home.
-- Junior outside hitter Monica Grimsrud continues to double up for the Yellowjackets, playing basketball as well as volleyball.
-- With 142 kills, Grimsrud has two more than SPU team leader Madi Cavell's 140.
 




COACH CHRIS JOHNSON SAYS …
(On the team's overall performance against Western Washington)
"I thought we played really well, for the most part. I thought our mental focus was improved and our competitiveness was improved. We did a really good job defensively. We outdug them, and that's a big deal. We're really happy with that."
 
(On having three players record double-doubles against Western)
"I feel like you expect your outside hitters to have double-digit kills, and you expect your setter to have double-digit assists. For all three of them to do that (also have double-digit digs) goes to how well we were playing defense tonight."
 
(On moving forward and taking advantage of having just one match this week)
"I think the girls are taking it to heart about the changes they need to make in mechanics and the improvements that need to happen. It's a perfect time (for the Thursday bye week) with schools starting and everything. Then we'll get back to it on Wednesday and go hard and get after it. If you can hold this team (Western Washington) to .143 hitting, you can hold your own with anyone. If we can make the fixes we need to make on offense, we'll be in pretty good shape."
 
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 3-9, 1-3 GNAC (tie 7^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 22-8. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, MSUB 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-13; Oct. 20, 2012 in Seattle). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Billings comes to town on a winning note, sweeping past Simon Fraser last Saturday in Montana, 25-18, 25-15, 25-22. That ended a five-match losing streak, during which it was swept in all five. Two of the Jackets' three victories this fall have been in sweeps, the other coming against Cal State Stanislaus. In fact, Montana State Billings beat Stanilaus twice, albeit in two different preseason tournaments. As expected, Monica Grimsrud has been the go-to player on offense for the Yellowjackets. Her team-high 142 kills,30 more than her nearest teammate (junior hitter Chelsey Walter has 112). Grimsrud's average of 3.84 kills per game ranks third in the GNAC. Sophomore setter Kyndal Williams leads the team in assists (364, an average of 9.58 per game) and service aces (12). At 5-9, she can get up on the block, as well, with 15. Walter sets the pace with 23 blocks, and Grimsrud has 21, including five solos.
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Madi Cavell had 17 kills, coming within one of her career high, and SPU finished the match on a 14-1 scoring run – including the last nine points -- to close out Simon Fraser last Thursday in Brougham, Pavilion, 16-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-20.
-- Cavell, Ellie Britt, and Kendall Langdon all had double-doubles, and Seattle Pacific kept Western Washington to a season-low .143 hitting mark, but the 11th-ranked Vikings came from eight points down to win Game 2, then got off to a 6-0 jump in Game 3 to sweep past the Falcons in a GNAC match last Saturday in Brougham Pavilion, 25-20, 27-25, 25-18.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
SPU recorded three double-doubles last week, all in Saturday's match against Western Washington. Sophomore outside hitter Ellie Britt had 12 kills and 12 digs; junior outside hitter Madi Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) had 10 kills and 13 digs, the latter tying her career high; and junior setter Kendall Langdon had 13 assists and 11 digs.
 
SPU now has an even dozen double-doubles for the season:
 
Ellie Britt (4 season / 4 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.
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 (3 season / 3 career) – 25A-12D vs. Cal State L.A., Sept. 6; 23A-15D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 19; 13A-11D vs. Western Washington, Sept. 28.
 
'D' STILL GETTING IT DONE
Being the No. 2 blocking team in Division II isn't the only way in which the Falcons are playing well defensively. They continue to keep opponents' hitting attacks in check.
 
That was especially evident against nationally ranked Western Washington last Saturday. WWU came into the match with a .323 average, among the top five in the country, but finished well below that against SPU at .143. The Falcons also dug up 68 balls against the hard-hitting Vikings.
 
Two nights earlier, Seattle Pacific limited Simon Fraser to .044 hitting. The Clan started off hot at .370 in the first game. But the Falcons slowed them down considerably after that to minus-.028 in Game 2, then minus-.200 in Game 3, and a mere .071 in Game 4.
 
Through 12 matches, only two SPU opponents have hit better than .200, and two have finished below .100.
 
TWO-PRONGED APPROACH
With two quality setters on the team, the Falcons are taking advantage of the talents that juniors Kendall Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) and Sara Biondi (Sacramento, Calif.) bring to the court.
 
Langdon has played in all 46 games so far, and Biondi has played in 45. Langdon leads Seattle Pacific with 231 assists, an average of 5.02 per game, and has 89 digs, a 1.93 per-game average that ranks fourth on the team. She also is a steady server, recording seven aces – well within reach of the 10 she had as a sophomore in 2012.
 
Biondi has 205 assists, an average of 4.56 per game. She also gets involved on the attack, with 17 kills, and is No. 2 on the Falcons with 36 blocks. Biondi's six solo blocks lead the team.
 
IRONWOMEN GALORE
Approaching the midpoint of the season, the Falcons have six players who have been in all 46 games. That group includes sophomore outside hitter Ellie Britt, junior outside hitter Madi Cavell, setter Kendall Langdon, junior libero Brianna Leenders (Gresham, Ore.), senior middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calf.), and sophomore libero Breanne Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.).
 
Lowell (350 games) and Wiekamp (149) have played every game of their SPU careers.
 
QUIETLY REWRITING THEIR RECORDS
Individual blocking accomplishment sometimes slip under the radar, but senior Nicole Schwend (Canby, Ore.) and sophomore Ellie Britt each set new career highs in that department last Thursday against Simon Fraser.
 
Britt had two solo blocks for the first time as a Falcon. She had recorded one solo in three previous matches, most recently on Sept. 14 against Azusa Pacific.
 
Schwend had four block assists, doubling her previous high of two, which she set on Sept. 7 in a five-game victory against Cal State San Bernardino.
 
AROUND THE WEST
With everyone now fully into conference play, the West Regional picture is starting to take some shape.
 
In the California Collegiate Athletic Association, three teams – all of them nationally ranked – have emerged as legitimate contenders for one of the region's eight berths in the NCAAs. Cal State San Bernardino is 5-0 in the conference, 9-4 overall; Sonoma State is 3-1 with a 10-2 overall mark, and UC San Diego is 3-2, and 11-2 overall.
 
The Pacific West has five teams unbeaten in conference play – and No. 6-ranked Brigham Young-Hawaii isn't one of them. The Seasiders dropped a five-gamer at Hawaii Pacific last Thursday, and now are 3-1 in the Pac West, 8-1 overall. The five with perfect conference records are Dixie State (6-0, 9-3 overall), Point Loma Nazarene (5-0, 11-3), Cal Baptist (5-0, 8-5), Hawaii Pacific (4-0, 10-2), and Azusa Pacific (3-0, 10-2).
 
POLLING PLACE
Just one GNAC team is ranked, and one other received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll. Western Washington is No. 9, a jump of two places. Alaska Anchorage, which is 4-0 in the conference and 10-6 overall, received votes that totaled five points.
 
Defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul took over the top spot from Minnesota-Duluth.
 
From around the West Region, Brigham Young-Hawaii fell two places to No. 6, UC San Diego dropped two to No. 12, Sonoma State climbed three to No. 13, Cal State San Bernardino is up four to No. 16, and Fresno Pacific went down six spots to No. 21.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th block            Madi Cavell (has 97)
100^th dig                Jessica Miller (has 96)
300^th dig                Madi Cavell (has 279)
400^th dig                Breanne Wiekamp (has 371)
400^th kill                 Madi Cavell has 379
500^th team win     Seattle Pacific (has 496)   
1,000^th kill              Nikki Lowell (has 889)
               
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
100^th dig                 Kendall Langdon (has 117)
200^th assist           Kendall Langdon (has 231)
200^th kill                 Ellie Britt (has 202)
 
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for news, notes, results and statistics from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
Following two straight weeks at home, the Falcons return to the road next Thursday, Oct. 10, visiting Central Washington in Ellensburg at 7:00 p.m. Two days later, they'll be in Idaho to take on Northwest Nazarene in Nampa at 6:00 p.m. PDT. The Crusaders were picked for just seventh in the preseason poll, but head into this week in third place.


GNAC STANDINGS
                                              GNAC    Overall
Alaska Anchorage               4-0          10-6
Western Washington          2-0            9-1
Northwest Nazarene           3-1            7-3
Western Oregon                  2-1            5-8
Central Washington            2-2            6-6
Seattle Pacific                      2-2            6-6
Montana State Billings       1-3            3-9
Alaska Fairbanks                1-3            2-13
Simon Fraser                       0-2            5-3
Saint Martin's                       0-3            4-11