Box Score

        Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
LACEY, Wash. – In the course of one set on Tuesday night, the Seattle Pacific Falcons saw for themselves the kind of volleyball they can play.
 
Hannah Lautenbach put down 12 kills and hit a solid .290, and Lexi Biondi added 10 kills with .240 hitting as SPU swept Saint Martin's in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
                                                                                                                                   
Scores in Marcus Pavilion were 25-23, 25-21, 25-16.
 
SPU (5-10, 3-4 GNAC) snapped a two-match losing streak. Its three conference victories have all been in sweeps.

 



Having won the first two games – the first one in a back-and-forth battle, the second one by hanging on at the end – the Falcons bolted to a 12-4 lead in the third.
 
Saint Martin's eventually got as close as three at 19-16. But Seattle Pacific scored the last six points, getting the match clincher on a combined block by Lautenbach and senior Luisa McInnis.
 
In that set, SPU hit .407 (14 kills, just three errors on 27 attacks), and limited the Saints (2-12, 1-6 GNAC) to just .081 hitting (11-8-37).

 

"That third set is really what we're looking for," Falcons head coach Chris Johnson said. "When you out-hit your opponent by 320 points, you're in good shape. That third set is the one I was happiest about."
 
Lautenbach agreed.
 
"It's really so nice when we have that energy and we just go out, especially in that third game when we're up two," she said. "It really just sets the pace of the game, we get the momentum, and it makes us all confident in each other that we can win."
 
After a bye on Thursday, the Falcons will be back in Brougham Pavilion on Saturday to face Montana State Billings at 7:00 p.m.
 
Sophomore opposite / middle blocker Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) also had nine digs and five block assists. Sophomore outside hitter Biondi (Albuquerque, N.M.) pushed past 200 career kills. She now has 205. Senior middle blocker McInnis (Santa Rosa, Calif.) hit .300 for the night (3-0-10) and was in on four block assists.
 
"Those three did a great job," Johnson said. "We talked about that in depth last night at practice. It's not just the hitters – you have to have a good pass, and have to have a good set. It's a bunch of things, but primarily, it's focus and just making sure we're learning to make better and better choices as hitters, being disciplined, being on time, and having the ball in a good place to hit."
 
Senior libero Breanne Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) recorded 21 digs (11 of them in Game 2), and freshman setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.) earned 33 assists. For Wiekamp, it was the fifth time in 15 matches she has topped 20 digs, with four of those being in three-gamers.
 
Up just 19-18 in Game 1 after 12 ties and six lead changes, the Falcons put three straight on the board for a 22-18 advantage. Saint Martin's eventually closed within one at 24-23, then Lautenbach slammed a kill that was deflected into the stands for the final point.

 

Ellie Britt sparked a 7-0 SPU scoring surge in the second game to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 15-9 lead. The senior outside hitter served the last six of those points, three of which were aces: two that dropped on the line in the corner, and one that was returned wide. (She also had three last Saturday at Alaska Fairbanks.) The Falcons expanded the lead to 22-13, then saw Saint Martin's get as close as three at 24-21 before Lautenbach finished it with a kill.
                                                             
SPU hit .176 for the match (40 kills-19 errors-119 attacks). Its defense limited Saint Martin's to just .110 (35-21-127). That's the seventh time it has kept an opponent below .200 hitting, winning five of those matches.
 
The Falcons had 16 block assists for the night.
 
"Our defense was great tonight. We weren't letting a whole lot of balls hit the floor," Johnson said. "We got some good touches and good deflections."

 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 0
 
Game scores – 25-23, 25-21, 25-16.
 
Service aces – SPU 4 (Ellie Britt 3), STM 3 (Nicolette Nesbitt 2).
Kills – SPU 40 (Hannah Lautenbach 12, Lexi Biondi 10), STM 35 (Julia Wabinga 10, Rebecca Mitchell 10).
Assists – SPU 37 (Symone Tran 33), STM 33 (Casandra Fwenton 27).
Digs – SPU 59 (Breanne Wiekamp 21), STM 57 (Elizabeth Colon 15).
Block assists / solo – SPU 16 / 0 solo (Lautenbach 5 / 0 solo), STM 12 / 1 solo (Kyra Davidson 5 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 40-19-119--.176 (Luisa McInnis 3-0-10--.300, Lautenbach 12-3-31--.290), STM 35-21-127--.110 (Wabinga 10-4-22--.273).
Attendance – 141.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 5-10, 3-4 GNAC. Saint Martin's 2-12, 1-6 GNAC.
 
Next match –       Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
                                Saturday, Oct. 10 / 7:00 p.m.
                                Brougham Pavilion