THE SCHEDULE
        Thursday, Sept. 19 SPU at Alaska Anchorage, 8:00 p.m. PDT
        Wells Fargo Sports Complex / Anchorage, Alaska
        Live Webcast and live stats

        Saturday, Sept. 21 SPU at Alaska Fairbanks, 8:00 p.m. PDT
        The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
        Live Webcast        Live stats


        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – Preseason play is history. Now, the volleyball matches that count the most begin for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.

Coming off a split of eight contests in a pair of California tournaments the past two weekends, the Falcons hop back on a plane to go the opposite direction this week, heading north to take face Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday in the first two matches of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season.

First serve both nights is at 8 p.m. Pacific time.

SPU went 2-2 in last week's Route 92 Showdown. On Friday, they defeated Holy Names in four, then turned the tables on Cal State Los Angeles with a five-game victory, after the Golden Eagles had won a four-gamer the prior week. But on Saturday, Seattle Pacific fell short of Azusa Pacific in three and Cal State East Bay in four.

The Alaska matches will be the last two in a season-opening stretch of 10 straight away from home..





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. For the Anchorage contest, live stats can be found on the same site as the Webcast. The Fairbanks match will have separate links for the Webcast and live stats. All pertinent links can be found at the top of this story.

PICKING THE PACK
As conference play begins, Western Washington is the favorite to win the GNAC championship. In their preseason poll, coaches gave the defending champion Vikings seven of the 10 first-place votes and 77 total points. But close behind was Central Washington with 72 points and two first-place votes.

Anchorage and Seattle Pacific, on opposite sides of the net tonight, were picked for third (63 points) and fifth (49), respectively. They tied for fourth place last year with 11-5 records. Saturday opponent Alaska Fairbanks was eighth in the poll.

ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHT ON CAVELL
Junior middle blocker / opposite Madi Cavell is one of five athletes featured in the fall issue of Seattle Pacific's ETC Magazine. The cover story focuses on the ultimate examples of student-athletes who combine success in sports with similar success in their studies.

An English major with a concentration on creative writing, Cavell sports a 3.7 GPA.

ETC Magazine is available at the University Communications office in Weter Hall.

SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--The Falcons are 7-5 all-time in GNAC openers. That includes 5-3 when the openers have been on the road, and 1-1 in openers at Anchorage.
--GNAC play has opened with an Alaska trip three times, most recently in 2008.
--Coach Chris Johnson is 7-1 in GNAC openers. The only one that didn't go into the win column was 2008 at Alaska Fairbanks.
--In his eight years as head coach of the Falcons, Johnson is 10-6 against Anchorage (4-4 in Alaska) and 14-2 against Fairbanks (7-1 in Alaska).
--SPU and Anchorage split last year's two matches, each winning in the other's gym. The Falcons' victory in the Wells Fargo Center was their first since 2007.
--After falling twice to Fairbanks in 2008, SPU has won eight straight against the Nanooks.
--At 4-4 coming out of non-conference play, SPU is two wins ahead of last season's 2-6 mark after eight matches.
--That non-conference record included three common opponents with Alaska Anchorage, albeit in different tournaments: Cal Poly Pomona (Seattle Pacific won in four; UAA in five), Cal State San Bernardino (SPU won in five, Anchorage lost in three), and UC San Diego (both teams lost in three).
--SPU and Fairbanks were both in last weekend's Route 92 Showdown, and came up against two common opponents: Cal State East Bay (Falcons lost in four, Nanooks were swept) and Cal State Los Angeles (SPU won in five, UAF lost four; the Falcon lost to CSULA in four games the previous week).
--The four-game victory against Holy Names last Friday was Johnson's 150^th as coach of the Falcons.

COACH CHRIS JOHNSON SAYS ...
(On starting the GNAC season with a road trip to Alaska)
"It's always nice to get Alaska out of the way before we start classes – we've gotta play them sometime. We're definitely excited to start conference play."

(On last weekend's tournament in California)
"There were some great things that happened last weekend with an unorthodox lineup. But whenever you lose, you want to make sure you learn from it and move forward. We're working on things in practice to deal with those weaknesses that we need to correct. The mentality of the team is still positive, and they're still working hard."

(On Anchorage being a tough place for a visiting team to play)
"They're just a good team, and Chris Green is a good coach. Good teams aren't easy to beat, no matter where you are."

SCOUTING THE ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 6-6, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 28-15. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, UAA 1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23; Nov. 10, 2012 at Anchorage). Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: Anchorage played some top-caliber teams in their 12 preseason matches, three of whom are nationally ranked (current No. 4 Brigham Young-Hawaii, No. 8 UC San Diego, and No. 22 Cal State San Bernardino). The Seawolves fell to UCSD and San Bernardino last week at the UC San Diego Invitational. Sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Zanders leads the way with 129 kills and hits .197, and fellow sophomore outside / opposite Julia Mackey is right behind with 126 kills, and hits .225. Senior middle blocker Jodi Huddleston hits .306, and has 47 blocks (seven solos). Zanders is coming off a 20-kill performance in last Saturday's five-game loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Huddleston hit .619 (14-1-21) in a five-game win against Cal Poly Pomona last Friday.

SCOUTING THE ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 1-10, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 32-9. Current series streak: SPU won 8. Last time: SPU 3, UAF 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18; Nov. 8, 2012 at Fairbanks). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: Fairbanks halted a season-opening 10-match losing streak last Saturday with a three-game victory against co-host Notre Dame de Namur in the final match of the Route 92 Showdown. Sophomore outside hitter Sam Harthun, The GNAC co-Freshman of the Year and an All-GNAC honorable mention pick last fall, is by far and away UAF's offensive leader with 142 kills, nearly double that of her closest teammate, Senior outside hitter Keri Knight, who has 74. Harthun is hitting at a .183 clip. She had a season-high 19 kills, and made it her first double-double of the year with 10 digs against Notre Dame de Namur. Junior middle blocker Morgan McGrath has 24 total blocks, with three solos.

FALCONS REPLAY
--Ellie Britt had a double-double of 14 kills and 12 digs, and Nikki Lowell led the way with 16 kills as SPU opened the Route 92 Showdown with a four-game victory against Holy Names last Friday morning.
--Later that day, Lowell put down a career-high 20 kills and passed the 1,000-point mark for her career as the Falcons downed Cal State Los Angeles in five games.
--The offense never got untracked on Saturday morning as SPU fell in three straight to Azusa Pacific.
--The Falcons won a close Game 1 before Cal State East Bay ran off three straight in the final match of the Route 92 tourney.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
SPU recorded four double-doubles last week, as Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) and Madi Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) each had two.

Britt's came back-to-back against Holy Names and Cal State Los Angeles. Cavell also had one against Cal State L.A., and another on Saturday against Cal State East Bay.

SPU now has seven double-doubles for the season:

Ellie Britt (3 season / 3 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
Madi Cavell (3 season / 6 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.
Kendall Langdon (1 season / 1 career) – 25A-12D vs. Cal State L.A., Sept. 6.

A GRAND DOWN, ONE TO GO
Senior middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) started the season within reach of 1,000 career points and 1,000 kills. She got the 1,000th point last week early in SPU's five-victory against Cal State Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. Midway through the first game, Lowell put down a kill that gave the Falcons a 17-11 lead and gave her exactly 1,000 points. She comes into this week with 1,048.

In the kills department, Lowell heads to Alaska with 857.

ONE RUNG AT A TIME FOR LANGDON
When it comes to steady, consistent improvement, junior setter Kendall Langdon has been Exhibit A through Seattle Pacific's first eight matches.

Getting the start in the first match of the year, Langdon immediately racked up a career-high 22 assists against Cal State Los Angeles on Sept. 6. A few hours later against Cal Poly Pomona, she topped that with 25.

Last Friday in the Route 92 Showdown opener against Holy Names, Langdon did herself one better, finishing with 26 assists. But once again, that career high didn't even last a full day, as she earned 27 later on Friday in the five-game victory against Cal State L.A.

SHOWING WHAT SHE CAN DO
Freshman outside hitter Lexi Biondi (Albuquerque, N.M.), Sara's cousin, got into just one game of one match in SPU's season-opening tournament on Sept. 6-7. But last weekend, she started all four matches, and quickly showed what she is capable of doing. In the Route 92 Showdown opener on Friday against Holy Names, Biondi slammed 12 kills and came up with three digs in SPU's four-game victory.

For the weekend, she finished with 22 kills and 11 digs playing in all 16 games through the Falcons' four matches.

Getting the start in the first match of the year, Langdon immediately racked up a career-high 22 assists against Cal State Los Angeles on Sept. 6. A few hours later against Cal Poly Pomona, she topped that with 25.

Last Friday in the Route 92 Showdown opener against Holy Names, Langdon did herself one better, finishing with 26 assists. But once again, that career high didn't even last a full day, as she earned 27 later on Friday in the five-game victory against Cal State L.A.

FALCONS AMONG THE BEST IN BLOCKS
While offense can come and go in any sport, defense can keep teams in the thick of it.

Through eight matches, SPU ranks No. 5 in NCAA Division II at 2.62 blocks per game. Factoring into that is senior Nikki Lowell, who is No. 5 individually within D2 at 1.41 blocks per game. In the GNAC, the Falcons and Lowell are No. 2.

SPU is the third-toughest team to hit against in the GNAC, as its opponents hit just .158.

The blocking mark is almost a full block per game better than last year's 1.69. The opponents' hitting average is 32 points below last season's .190.

Click on this link to see how the Falcons and other GNAC teama stack up nationally.

SETTING THEM UP, AND THEN SOME
At 5-foot-10, junior Sara Biondi (Sacramento, Calif.) can do more than just set the ball for one of Seattle Pacific's attackers. She can get up on defense, too, and has proven it through the first two weeks of the season with 27 total blocks. That's tied with Madi Cavel for second-most on the team behind Nikki Lowell's 45. Of those 27, three are solo, which ties Biondi with Ellie Britt for the second-highest total. The only Falcon with more solos is Lowell with five.

And yes, Biondi is setting the ball very well, too. Splitting time at that position with fellow junior Kendall Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) Biondi has 136 assists, and picked up the 1,000th of her career last week. Langdon leads SPU with 158. At 4.39 assists per game, Biondi ranks 12th in the GNAC, and at 0.87 blocks, she is tied for 16th.

Biondi is one of just two regular setters – Tamara Nipp of Simon Fraser is the other – to be listed among the GNAC leaders in both assists and blocks.

POLLING PLACE
As GNAC play begins, two conference teams remained ranked in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll. Western Washington is No. 13, down one place from last week, and Central Washington is No. 24, down two spots.

Other West Region teams ranked in the top 25 are No. 4 Brigham Young-Hawaii, No. 8 UC San Diego, No. 12 Fresno Pacific, No. 18 Sonoma State, and No. 22 Cal State San Bernardino.

MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th block Madi Cavell (has 89)
100^th dig Nikki Lowell (has 99), Jessica Miller (has 96)
200^th point Ellie Britt (has 180.0)
500^th team win Seattle Pacific (has 494)
800^th dig Brianna Leenders (has 788)
1,000^th kill Nikki Lowell (has 857)

MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
100^th assist Kendall Langdon (has 158)
150^th win Coach Chris Johnson (has 151)
300^th kill Madi Cavell (has 327), Jessica Miller (has 314)
1,000^th assist Sara Biondi (has 1,034)
1,000^th point Nikki Lowell (has 1,048)

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for news, notes, results and statistics from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

UP NEXT
Home at last. With 10 straight road matches behind them, the Falcons are home in Brougham Pavilion next week. Simon Fraser comes to town on Thursday, Sept. 26, for a 7:30 p.m. match (30 minutes later than the usual start time). Then, arch-rival, nationally ranked and conference favorite Western Washington visits on Saturday the 28th at a special start time of 5 p.m. The WWU match will be the middle event of a Falcon sports tripleheader. At Interbay Stadium, the women's soccer team hosts Northwest Nazarene at 1 p.m., and the men play Montana State Billings at 7:30 p.m.


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