Box Score
        Box score, play-by-play
 
LACEY, Wash. – Would she rather kill it or block it?
 
Nikki Lowell has done an exceptional job of both in her four years on the volleyball court at Seattle Pacific. Thursday night was a 'grand' continuation of that.
 
Lowell had 11 kills to pass 1,000 for her career and become the sixth 1,000-kill, 1,000-point player in school history, and she also became the No. 2 all-time blocker in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history as SPU bounced back from an opening-game loss to beat Saint Martin's.
 
Scores in Marcus Pavilion were 18-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20.
 
Senior middle blocker Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) started the night with 999 kills, and now has 1,010. The 1,000th came on SPU's first point of the match. Lowell passed 1,000 points on Sept. 13, and now has 1,247.5. Her 16 points on Thursday included eight block assists and one service ace.
 
Lowell's eight blocks put her at 405 for her career, moving her into the No. 2 spot on the all-time GNAC list. She passed Louise Free of Northwest Nazarene, who registered 402 total blocks from 1999-2002.
 
"I'm really grateful and blessed to have had the career I've had at SPU," Lowell said. "It has been really nice to just play, and I've gotten to play more than a lot of people. It's a great accomplishment and I'm happy about it, and I'll look back and be proud of it. But at the end of the day, it's just another kill."
 
So … kills or blocks?
 
"They're both pretty rewarding," said Lowell, the 32nd player in GNAC history with 1,000 kills. "Kills probably (are more exciting), but I've really worked to improve my blocking this year, and it has showed."
 
Added head coach Chris Johnson, "I was reading the list of SPU players she joined, and that's a very elite group. The ones (on the list) that I knew and coached were outside hitters. For a middle blocker to do that is that much more impressive because they're getting that many fewer sets. She is just a very impressive player."





Seattle Pacific plays its road finale on Saturday at Western Oregon, with a 7 p.m. first serve in Monmouth.
 
Junior outside hitter Madi Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) led SPU with 16 kills on Thursday. Junior outside hitter Jessica Miller (Fife, Wash. / Fife HS) played for the first time since suffering a finger injury on Sept. 19 at Alaska Anchorage, and was on target with 10 kills and just one error in 18 attacks for .500 hitting. She also had three block assists.
 
Junior setter Kendall Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) had 23 assists, and junior setter Sara Biondi (Sacramento, Calif.) was right behind with 22. Biondi also tied her career high with six block assists.
 




After dropping the first game, Seattle Pacific (13-10, 9-6 GNAC) took charge late in Game 2 with junior libero Brianna Leenders (Gresham, Ore.) serving up six straight point to stretch a 19-15 lead to 24-15.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) served five straight points late in Game 3 to help SPU extend an 18-17 lead to 23-17.
 
In the deciding game, it was Leenders and Britt again providing some solid serving. Leenders had five in row, part of a 6-0 Falcons run that took them from 15-11 down to 17-15 up. Then, with a 19-17 edge, Britt served up three more to give SPU some breathing room.
 
"I was very happy with the way we played in Games 2, 3 and 4," Johnson said. "We need to come out ready to play and play consistent throughout the entire match. I was really pleased with the spark we got off the bench from both Jessica and Ellie. It was a good hitting night for us, and our setters did a nice job of distributing the ball."
 
Saint Martin's (7-20, 3-12 GNAC) lost its seventh straight.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 1
 
Games scores – 18-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20.
 
Service aces – SPU 6 (6 players with 1), STM 2 (Kristyn Ross 2).
Kills – SPU 52 (Madi Cavell 16, Nikki Lowell 11, Jessica Miller 10), STM 47 (Julia Wabinga 18).
Assists – SPU 48 (Kendall Langdon 23, Sara Biondi 22), STM 46 (Cymbree Decosta 39).
Digs – SPU 69 (Brianna Leenders 23, Ellie Britt 12, Breanne Wiekamp 10), STM 76 (Kristyn Ross 19).
Block assists / solo – SPU 20 / 0 solo (Lowell 8 / 0, S. Biondi 6 / 0), STM 8 / 1 solo (Maddie Knecht 4 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 52-19-155--.213 (Jessica Miller 10-1-18--.500, Lowell 11-3-23--.348), STM 47-29-154--.117 (Wabinga 18-6-37--.324).
Attendance – 334.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 13-10, 9-6 GNAC. Saint Martin's 7-20, 3-12 GNAC.
 
Next match – Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, Saturday, 7:00 p.m.