Box Score

        Box score, play-by-play

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – During a week when they knew they had to take care of volleyball business, the Seattle Pacific Falcons did exactly that.
 
Madi Cavell had 14 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the week, and SPU won its third Great Northwest Athletic Conference match in as many outings with a sweep of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday night.
 
Scores in the Patty Center were 25-23, 25-13, 25-23.
 
At 3-0 in conference play – all in the past five days – and 9-2 overall, the Falcons now head into quite possibly their most rugged week of the season. They visit Alaska Anchorage on Monday night at 8 Pacific time. The Seawolves will bring an identical record of 9-2, 3-0 GNAC onto the court at their brand-new Alaska Airlines Center. Then, it's back home to face defending conference champion Western Washington on Thursday night in Brougham Pavilion, followed by a visit from Simon Fraser next Saturday to wind up a stretch of six matches in 12 days.
 
"It was closer tonight than we would have liked, and it was definitely closer than we would have liked against Western Oregon (in a comeback five-game victory on Thursday night)," head coach Chris Johnson said. "But the bottom line is we're 3-0 in conference."

 

The double-double for senior outside hitter Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) was her fourth of the season and 18^th of her career. She hit a season-high .440 with just three errors on 25 attacks.

 

Senior setter Sara Biondi (Sacramento, Calif.) played error-free with eight kills and also had 33 assists. Junior outside hitter Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) had nine kills on season-best .238 hitting, and senior opposite Jessica Miller (Fife, Wash. / Fife HS) crushed eight kills, including the match clincher, and hit a solid .294.
 
Seattle Pacific's final hitting percentage of .366 (48 kills-14 errors-93 attacks) was easily its best of the season, beating its previous high of .282 in Tuesday's 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin's in Brougham. Saturday's mark included .552 in the second game (18-2-29).
 
"We're excited about that," Johnson said. "We still had a few more errors than we would like, but we definitely got a lot of good kills and good production from people. It was a really solid outing for everyone."
 
Aside from a 15-11 Fairbanks lead, neither team was able to build a big advantage in Game 1. Tied at 23-23, SPU got the final two points on a kill by Britt and a service ace from senior libero Brianna Leenders (Gresham, Ore.).
 
A 6-1 run in the second game pushed a 7-6 lead out to 13-7, and the Falcons were in control the rest of the way. They then led for most of Game 3, including 20-14 before the winless Nanooks (0-11, 0-3 GNAC) went on a 9-3 surge to climb back to 23-23.
 
But after a Seattle Pacific timeout, a Cavell kill set up match point, and Miller immediately converted it after subbing back in.
 
Going 3 for 3 in the first week of conference play was significant, given the even tougher challenges that lie ahead, beginning on Monday at UAA.
 
"Anchorage has a super-athletic outside hitter in Katelynn Zanders," Johnson said. "They have a great opposite in Julia Mackey, and they play good defense.
 
"They're in a similarly designed system as we are, so it's kind of like looking in the mirror a little bit," he added. "It's just the team that performs better is going to win."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, September 20, 2014
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Alaska Fairbanks 0
 
Game scores – 25-23, 25-13, 25-23.
 
Service aces – SPU 4 (Breanne Wiekamp 2), UAF 1.
Kills – SPU 48 (Madi Cavell 14), UAA 36 (Sam Harthun 10, Mattice 10).
Assists – SPU 45 (Sara Biondi 33), UAF 36 (Greiser 25).
Digs – SPU 36 (Brianna Leenders 15), UAF 27.
Block assists / solo – SPU 6 / 0 solo (Jessica Miller 3 / 0 solo), UAF 8 / 2 solo (Hudson 2 / 1 solo, Podowicz 2 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 48-14-93--.366 (Sara Biondi 8-0-10--.800, Cavell 14-3-25--.440), UAF 36-15-96--.219 (Davis 9-3-19--.316).
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 9-2, 3-0 GNAC. UAF 0-11, 0-3 GNAC.
 
Next match – Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, Monday, 8:00 p.m. PDT.