Box Score
        Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – In no way did the Seattle Pacific Falcons want to get forced into a deciding fifth game against Simon Fraser on Thursday night.
 
Thanks to a sensational run at the end of Game 4, they didn't.
 
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 a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball victory against the Clan.
 
Scores for their home opener Royal Brougham Pavilion were 16-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-20.
 
The Falcons, after dominating Games 2 and 3, found themselves down 19-11 in Game 4. Then, with Simon Fraser (5-2, 0-1 GNAC) still up 20-16, sophomore outside hitter Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) got a kill for the point and sideout.
 
Britt took over the serve, and SPU kept going. Cavell had a tip and three kills in those last nine points, including kills for the final two points of the match.





"Ellie put in a ton of serves, and I think we got a fire in our bellies there," Falcons coach Chris Johnson said. "We were facing the possibility of going to a Game 5, and we said we can't let that happen. We started serving tough during that last run there. We had them out of system a lot more, and they started making a lot more hitting errors."
 
Junior outside hitter Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) hit at a .208 clip for SPU (6-5, 2-1 GNAC), which won its second straight. Britt added 10 kills. Junior setter Kendall Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) had 20 assists.
 
Junior setter Sara Biondi (Sacramento) had 19 assists and two solo blocks. Junior libero Brianna Leenders (Gresham, Ore.) came up with 26 digs.
               
SPU now turns its focus to No. 11-ranked Western Washington, which visits Brougham on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
"We're really excited," Biondi said. "We'll just be as prepared as we can and come into it from the get-go, right from the start, with a great attitude and strong mentality, and attack them right away."
 
On Thursday, it was Simon Fraser attacking right away. Up 7-6 in the opening game, the Clan went on a 7-1 run to take a 14-7 lead, and gradually stretched to as many as 11, as they hit .370.
 
The Falcons turned the tables in the second game, stringing together eight points in a row, the last seven of those with Leenders serving to turn a 4-4 tie into a 12-4 lead. Another big run in the third game – this one 12-1, with Langdon serving up the last seven points – left SPU up, 21-10.
 
"When we play that well, it's really exciting," Johnson said. "That's the talent level we have. We just need to make sure our mental focus matches it throughout the entire match."
 
Simon Fraser quickly took command of Game 4, scoring the first three points. Up 19-11, a fifth game seemed inevitable.
 
Until it didn't.
 
A kill by Cavell gave SPU the point and gave the serve to sophomore libero Breanne Wiekamp. In short order, a kill by senior middle blocker Nikki Lowell, another one by Cavell, one by Britt, and a Wiekamp ace made it 19-16. An attack error made it 20-16 for the Clan – but that was their final point of the night.
 
Seattle Pacific hit .188 for the match, including .344 in Game 3. Simon Fraser, after starting at .370 in Game 1, dropped to minus-.028, minus.200, and .071 for a final mark of .044 – the lowest by a Falcons opponent this season.
 
Like his players, Johnson is ready to turn his attention to Western Washington.
 
"Offensively, defensively – they're solid throughout," he said. "Their five hitters are all very good. We'll have to be at our best to have a chance to beat them on Saturday."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Simon Fraser 1
 
Game scores – 16-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-20.
 
Service aces – SFU 2 (2 players with 1), SPU 6 (Breanne Wiekamp 2).
Kills – SFU 37 (Kelsey Robinson 14), SPU 45 (Madi Cavell 17, Ellie Britt 10).
Assists – SFU 34 (Brooklyn Gould-Bradbury 28), SPU 43 (Kendall Langdon 20, Sara Biondi 19).
Digs – SFU 55 (Chan 13), SPU 61 (Brianna Leenders 26).
Blocks assists / solos – SFU 10 / 2 solo (Amanda Renkema 2 / 2 solo), SPU 15 / 5 solo (Jackie Arnold 5 / 0 solo, Nicole Schwend 4 / 0 solo.
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SFU 37-31-135--.044 (Gould-Bradbury 3-1-6--.333, Hait 6-2-17--.235), SPU 45-20-133--.188(Cavell 17-7-48--.208).
Attendance – 101.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 6-5, 2-1 GNAC. Simon Fraser 5-2, 0-1 GNAC.
 
Next match – Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 5:00 p.m.