THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 26 Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
Live Webcast Live stats
Saturday, Sept. 28 Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 5:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
Live Webcast Live stats
Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
SEATTLE – Well, look who's home.
After opening the 2013 volleyball season with two California tournaments and their first two Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches on the road, the Seattle Pacific Falcons get to play in their own Brougham Pavilion this week. SPU will welcome Simon Fraser to town on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and arch-rival Western Washington on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
The Falcons are all even at 5-5 after venturing to San Bernardino, Calif. (splitting four matches), Belmont and Hayward, Calif. (again splitting four), and Alaska (falling at Anchorage, but winning at Fairbanks). That leaves them ahead of last year's pace, when they were 4-6 after 10 matches.
What's more, SPU will get to stick around for a while. Counting this week's two matches, five of their next seven are in Brougham.
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.
VOLLEYBALL IN THE MIX ON TRIPLEHEADER SATURDAY
The most anticipated home match of the year for SPU is Saturday when nationally ranked and conference favorite Western Washington comes to Brougham Pavilion for a special 5 p.m. first-serve time. While that no doubt will be a biggie, it's actually one of three home events on the Falcon docket that day, timed in such a way that fans can take in all three, if they wish.
The action begins at 1 p.m. when the nationally ranked women's soccer team plays host to Northwest Nazarene at Interbay Stadium. Then, after the 5 p.m. volleyball match, the men's soccer team is at Interbay to kick off against Montana State Billings at 7:30 p.m.
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The Falcons are
20-7 in all-time home openers. That includes victories against Simon Fraser in 1987 and 1988.
-- They are
8-4 in GNAC home openers.
-- Coach
Chris Johnson's first eight SPU teams were 5-3 in home openers.
-- This is the third time Simon Fraser has been the home-opening match for the Falcons. However, the Clan have been on the other side of the net in the home finale in 2010 and 2012.
-- In the 27-year history of the program, Seattle Pacific is
187-75 in Brougham Pavilion. That includes perfect marks in 1988 (8-0), 2000 (11-0), 2006 (10-0), and 2010 (9-0).
-- Last year's home record was 5-4.
-- Through the 12 years of GNAC play, Western has six season sweeps (including last year, the Falcons have two (most recently in 2009), and the other four have been split.
-- During Johnson's eight seasons at the helm, SPU has two sweeps and Western has three, with three splits. The Falcons also beat the Vikings in a five-game NCAA West Regional semifinal match in 2010, making Johnson 8-9 all-time against WWU coach Diane Flick.
-- SPU is 6-0 against Simon Fraser since the Clan joined the conference in 2010.
SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER CLAN: 5-1, 0-0 GNAC (tie 7th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 24-9.
Current series streak: SPU won 11.
Last time: SPU 3, SFU 0 (31-29, 25-18, 25-22; Nov. 17, 2012 at Seattle).
Clan on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: Simon Fraser comes into its conference opener on a five-match winning, streak, having swept all three opponents in its own tournament last weekend. The Clan have allowed opponents to hit at just a .102 clip, which ranks as the best mark in the GNAC. Offensively, they have the No. 2 hitting average at .220. Junior outside hitter
Kelsey Robinson leads Simon Fraser with 70 kills, an average of 3.33 per game, which puts her No. 6 in the conference. Junior middle blocker
Amanda Renkema is close behind with 62 kills, a 2.95 average. She also is No. 8 in GNAC hitting at .302, and junior middle blocker
Madeline Hait is No. 10 at .277. Junior outside hitter
Jessica Young, who had 23 total kills in the two matches against SPU last season, also returns.
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 7-1, 0-0 GNAC (tie 7th)
All-time series: WWU leads, 37-25.
Current series streak: WWU won 2.
Last time: WWU 3, SPU 1 (25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 25-18; Nov. 15, 2012 at Seattle).
Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Western enters the week with the GNAC's top hitting average of .333, which ranks second in Division II, fueled by two of the D2's top five hitters: Junior middle blocker
Kayla Erickson at .484 is No. 2, and senior middle blocker
Emily Boerger at .453 is No. 5. In addition, sophomore opposite
Jennica McPherson hits at a .312 clip (No. 5 in the GNAC) and sophomore outside hitter
Rachel Roeder is at .283 (No. 9). Helping set up that offense is junior
Taylor Dillard, whose average of 11.69 assists per game is No. 8 nationally. Junior defensive specialist / libero
Samantha Hutchinson is No. 2 nationally in digs per game at 6.5. The Vikings swept their first five matches of the season. Their only loss was in their most recent match, a four-gamer to host and then-No. 24 Sonoma State on Sept. 14 at the Seawolf Spike preseason tournament.
FALCONS REPLAY
-- SPU fought back from a six-point deficit to take a one-point lead late in the fourth game before host Alaska Anchorage ran off four straight points and went on to close out a
25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 25-23 victory in the GNAC opener last Thursday.
--
Ellie Britt had 15 kills,
Nikki Lowell hit a season-high .571, and the Falcons hit a season-best .470 with 42 kills and just three errors in a
25-16, 25-22, 25-14 win at Alaska Fairbanks last Saturday.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
SPU recorded two double-doubles last week, both at Alaska Anchorage. Junior outside hitter
Madi Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) had 15 kills and 10 digs, and junior setter
Kendall Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) came up with 23 assists and a career-high 15 digs.
SPU now has nine 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 (4 season / 7 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
Kendall Langdon (2 season / 2 career) – 25A-12D vs. Cal State L.A., Sept. 6; 23A-15D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 19.
FALCONS NO. 3 IN NCAA BLOCKING
Defense continues to be a strong suit for the Falcons this fall, as they moved up to No. 3 in NCAA Division II for blocks per game. SPU is still at 2.62 per game, same as last week, but that was enough to climb two places. The only two teams higher are No. 1
West Texas A&M (2.97) and No. 2 Oakland City (2.68).
Nikki Lowell has a lot to do with SPU's ranking. At 1.31 blocks per game, she ranks No. 10 in D2. The leader is Laura Iwuchukwu of West Texas A&M at 1.81. Andrea Terpstra of Northwest Nazarene is second at 1.50.
Last year after 10 matches, the Falcons were averaging 1.78 blocks per game, and finished the season at 1.69.
Click on
this link to see how the Falcons and other GNAC teams and players stack up nationally.
BUT WAIT … THERE'S MORE
Seattle Pacific also continues to keep its opponents in check for hitting percentage, limiting them to .152. Through 10 matches last year, that mark was .202, and at season's end, it was .190.
WHO YA GONNA STOP?
Opposing defenders know that SPU has three players who are most likely to find the floor with their attacks: outside hitters
Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) and
Madi Cavell, or middle blocker
Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.). But based on their stats, the Falcons
certainly can keep those defenders guessing as to which player will get the chance to swing at it. Cavell currently leads SPU with 113 kills, ever so slightly ahead of Lowell and Britt, who are tied with 109 apiece.
Only one other team in the GNAC has its top three bunched that close: Western Oregon has Hannah Deede with 101 kills, Christie Colasurdo with 100, and Cherene O'Hara with 93. Alaska Anchorage has Katelyn Zanders and Julia Mackey with 152 apiece, and Brooke Pottle with 100.
PERFECT BEGINNING FOR HOMMES
Freshman middle blocker
Maddi Hommes (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden HS) made her Seattle Pacific debut in the third game at Alaska Fairbanks last Saturday. It was very brief, but Hommes made good on it, logging a kill on her only attack of the match.
Hommes will be a two-sporter at SPU. When the volleyball season is done, she'll turn her attention to indoor and outdoor track and field.
SCHWEND MAKES IT COUNT
When an injury kept junior opposite
Jessica Miller on the sidelines last Saturday at Fairbanks, coach
Chris
Johnson called upon senior
Nicole Schwend to make her first career start – and she didn't disappoint.
Schwend had two kills with no errors on seven attacks. But just as important, she played a big role in limiting Fairbanks outside hitter Sam Harthun to 13 kills. Most of those (eight) came in Game 2 when the Nanooks made a furious rally to get within two points before SPU won it. But she had just five the rest of the night, and finished at .219 hitting.
POLLING PLACE
Western Washington will come to town on Saturday as the coaches' preseason pick to win the GNAC title. The Vikings received seven of the 10 first-place votes and 77 total points.
Seattle Pacific was picked for fifth, and
Simon Fraser was tied for ninth with Saint Martin's.
In this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
national poll, Western climbed two places to No. 11, even though it was idle last week.
Minnesota Duluth remained No. 1, gathering 44 of the 48 first-place votes.
From around the West Region,
Brigham Young-Hawaii stayed No. 4,
UC San Diego dropped two places to No. 10,
Fresno Pacific fell three to No. 15,
Sonoma State climbed two to No. 16, and
Cal State San Bernardino was up two to No. 20.
Central Washington dropped out of the top 25, but still received enough votes to rank No. 27.
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100th block Madi Cavell (has 91)
100th dig Kendall Langdon (has 98),
Jessica Miller (has 96)
200th assist Kendall Langdon (has 198)
200th kill Ellie Britt (has 180)
500th team win Seattle Pacific (has 495)
1,000th kill Nikki Lowell (has 877)
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
100th assist Brianna Leenders (has 100)
100th dig Nikki Lowell (has 101)
200th point Ellie Britt (has 208.0)
800th dig Brianna Leenders (has 826)
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on
this link for news, notes, results and statistics from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
UP NEXT
The Falcons get the first of two bye weeks, with no match next Thursday before playing host to
Montana State Billings on Saturday, Oct. 5. That one in Brougham Pavilion has an unusual 1:00 p.m. start time.
GNAC STANDINGS
GNAC Overall
Northwest Nazarene 2-0 6-2
Alaska Anchorage 2-0 8-6
Central Washington 1-1 5-5
Seattle Pacific 1-1 5-5
Western Oregon 1-1 4-7
Alaska Fairbanks 1-1 2-11
Western Washington 0-0 7-1
Simon Fraser 0-0 5-1
Montana State Billings 0-2 2-8
Saint Martin's 0-2 2-10
