THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Nov. 3          Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                         Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                         Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Thursday, Nov. 5        Seattle Pacific at Montana St. Billings, 6:00 p.m. PST
                                        Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
                                        Live Webcast        Live stats
 
  
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – As they try to get back on the winning side of the ledger, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have an unusual week on their volleyball calendar.
 
SPU will play host to Saint Martin's on Tuesday night at 7:00 in Brougham Pavilion, wrapping up a three-match homestand.
 
Then, the Falcons begin a three-match road trip on Thursday when they visit Montana State Billings. The first serve against the Yellowjackets is at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
Seattle Pacific had success against both of those teams during the first half the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule, sweeping the Saints in Lacey, and winning in four games against Billings in Brougham Pavilion.
 
With a new week looming, the Falcons will be looking to halt a six-match losing streak. They are in a three-way for seventh in the GNAC standings with Western Oregon and Alaska Fairbanks.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Free Webcasts and free live stats will be available for all GNAC matches, home and away. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
5 CAREER HIGHS IN 2 MATCHES FOR CRESPI
Most of the career highs that Shaun Crespi had at the start of last week are no longer her career highs at the start of this week.

 

The freshman middle blocker rewrote not one or two, but five career highs in home matches against the Alaska schools.
 
When SPU and Alaska Fairbanks went five games last Thursday, Crespi (Camarillo, Calif.) had 10 kills on 25 attacks. The kills total was her first time in double digits for college, beating her previous mark of nine that she had reached three times. Her 25 attacks was five more than she had recorded twice previously.
 
But the new career best that really jumped out was Crespi's 10 block assists, also against Fairbanks, thereby putting her first collegiate double-double into the books. That was nearly twice as many as her old high of six, set at home on Oct. 17 against Northwest Nazarene. The 10 also was a new Crespi high for total blocks in a match.
 
On Saturday against Alaska Anchorage, Crespi hit .500, with six kills and just one error on 10 attacks. That beat out her previous high of .375 (6-0-16), set just a week earlier on Oct. 24 at Concordia.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The Tuesday-Thursday scheduling combo means a rare Saturday off for Seattle Pacific.
-- The series against Saint Martin's has been decidedly one-sided in favor of SPU. The Falcons have won 27 in a row against the Saints, a streak that began in 2002.
-- SPU has posted three-game sweeps in 11 of the last 12 Saint Martin's matches.
-- On the other hand, things have been more back-and-forth recently against Billings, as the teams have split two of the past three seasons, including 2014.
-- The Falcons have prevailed on their last two visits to Alterowitz Gymnasium. Both went to five sets, and the 2013 win was of the dramatic come-from-behind variety after the Yellowjackets won the first two sets.
-- Senior outside hitter Ellie Britt probably will remember last year's trip to Montana, as she put 15 kills onto the Alterowitz hardwood.
-- Sophomore outside hitter Lexi Biondi no doubt is looking forward to another match against Billings. When the teams played in Brougham on Oct. 10, Biondi went for a career-high 27 kills, and a .458 hitting percentage that also was a career high.
-- Freshman setter Symone Tran's career-high of 53 assists also came in last month's MSUB match.
-- Coach Chris Johnson is 21-0 against Saint Martin's, and 5-0 against third-year Saints coach Kara Peterson.
-- Johnson has an 11-7 record against Billings, including 5-2 against coach Lisa Axel.





SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 2-19, 1-13 GNAC (11th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 49-5. Current series streak: SPU won 27. Last time: SPU 3, StM 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-16; Oct. 6 at Lacey). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's has lost its last 11 matches. It nearly ended that rough stretch last Saturday, winning the first two games against Alaska Fairbanks before the Nanooks came back to pull out a five-game victory. The Saints have a comeback win of their own, rallying twice from a game down to beat Western Oregon in five on Sept. 24 for their only conference victory. Leading the offensive charge is senior 5-foot-8 outside hitter Julia Wabinga, who has 170 kills for the season (2.58 per game, ranking No. 17 in the GNAC). Wabinga had 10 kills and hit .273 in last month's match against SPU. Senior middle blocker Kyra Davidson, standing 6-3, has put down 141 kills (2.01), and also is the leading blocker for Saint Martin's with 80, with 15 solos included in that total. Junior setter Cassandra Fenton has 430 assists, and also is the team's top server with 12 aces.
 
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 4-19, 3-11 GNAC (10^th )
All-time series: SPU leads, 26-9. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, MSUB 1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-20; Oct. 10 at Seattle). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Billings has dropped its last three after a hard-fought five-game victory against Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 22 in Montana. Outside hitter Ashlynn Ward, a 6-foot-1 junior, is MSUB's go-person on offense, as she has 271 kills for the season, an average of 3.27 per game that ranks No. 4 in the GNAC. The Falcons got a good look at Ward in October, as she went for 14 kills in a four-gamer in Brougham Pavilion. Ward hits .211. Closing in on 200 kills for the year is 5-11 senior middle blocker / opposite Audri Marrs, now with 170. In addition, Marrs is the team's leading blocker with 56, nine of which are solos. Another threat is 6-foot freshman middle blocker Taylor Albertson, who averages 2.21 kills per game and hits .218. Senior setter Kyndal Williams not only sets up her teammates (she begins the week with 816 assists), she slips in a few kills of her own. The 5-9 Williams has 45 for the year, and also leads the team with 22 service aces.
                               
FALCONS REPLAY
– SPU picked up 20 points on blocks and twice had one-game leads against Alaska Fairbanks, but the Nanooks came back for an 18-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13 win in Brougham Pavilion last Thursday.
– A career-best .500 hitting performance by Shaun Crespi and nine kills by Lexi Biondi weren't enough last Saturday as No. 11-ranked Alaska Anchorage swept the Falcons, 25-22, 25-20, 25-17.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Symone Tran made it four straight matches with a double-double when she recorded one in last Thursday night's five-gamer against Alaska Fairbanks, and Shaun Crespi recorded the first of her career. Tran now has 10 for the year, which equals the total of 2014 leader Madi Cavell, who totaled 10 kill-dig double-doubles. Tran's are all assist-dig.
 
2015 double-doubles:
Shaun Crespi (1 season / 1 career)
10K-10B vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 29

Hannah Lautenbach (3 season / 4 career):
11K-15D vs. Academy of Art, Sept. 11;
19K-20D at Simon Fraser, Sept. 17;
17K-17D vs. Northwest Nazarene, Oct.17.
 
Symone Tran (10 season / 10 career):
20 AST-11D vs. Azusa Pacific, Sept. 10;
25 AST-11D vs. Hawaii Pacific, Sept. 12;
51 AST-15D at Simon Fraser, Sept. 17;
32 AST-10D vs. Concordia, Sept. 24;
37 AST-13D vs. Western Oregon, Sept. 26;
34 AST-10D at Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 3;
51 AST-12D vs. Northwest Nazarene, Oct. 17;
39 AST-11D at Western Oregon, Oct. 22
28 AST-11D at Concordia, Oct. 24;
39 AST-13D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 29
 
FROM TOP 50 .. TO TOP 40 … TO TOP 25
With her college career gradually winding down, Falcon senior libero Breanne Wiekamp keeps moving up the NCAA national list for digs.

 

Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) had 48 digs combined in last week's home matches against the Alaska schools. That included 33 in five games against Fairbanks, and 15 in three games against Anchorage, giving her an average of 6.0 per game for the week.
 
For the season, Wiekamp's per-game average is 5.55, high enough retain her spot at No. 25 in Division II heading into the week. She has been hovering between No. 31 and No. 49 for much of the season, but moved up to No. 25 last week.
               
If the year ended today, that 5.55 would be the third-best single-season average in SPU history. The only player higher would be all-time leader Anna Herold, who averaged 6.20 in 2011 and 6.03 in 2008.
 
GETTING SO-O-O CLOSE
Senior middle blocker Luisa McInnis is about as close as she possibly can be to her 500th career point without actually having it. But she'll have an opportunity to take care of it this week.

 

McInnis (Santa Rosa, Calif.) comes into the week with 499 points off of 367 kills, 30 service aces, 30 solo blocks, and 144 block assists. (The block assists count for half a point apiece).
 
Of those points, 399.5 of them were earned during her two years at Santa Rosa Junior College (304 kills-30 aces-26 solo blocks-79 block assists). She has 99.5 points during the two seasons she has been at SPU (63 kills-0 aces-4 solos-65 block assists).
 
McInnis had three kills against both Saint Martin's and Billings last month, along with four block assists vs. the Saints and three vs. the Yellowjackets.
 
A DIFFERENT LOOK
Coach Chris Johnson decided to switch things up in last Saturday's match against Alaska Anchorage, going with what is referred to as a 6-2 offensive system. That meant considerable playing time for sophomore outside hitter Colleen Hannigan, and freshman setter Molly Langdon.

 

Both played in all three games. Hannigan (Brentwood, Calif.) had three kills on 24 attacks and also came up with four digs. Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) had 16 assists (just one fewer than Symone Tran) and five digs.
 
With six matches left in the season, Hannigan already has far exceeded her freshman numbers. In 2014, she played in 10 matches totaling 18 games, posting six kills and four digs. This year, she has been on the floor in 14 matches totaling 28 games, with 23 kills and 19 digs.
 
Tran has done the bulk of SPU's setting this fall. But Langdon stepped in very nicely with 24 assists, two digs, and one kill on Oct. 15 against Central Washingtonwhen Tran was out sick.
 
AROUND THE WEST
The four-way tie for first place in the GNAC did not unravel at all last week, as Alaska Anchorage, Western Washington, Central Washington, and Northwest Nazarene won both of their matches to climb to 12-2.
 
It will unravel some this week, as Central (on Thursday) and NNU (on Saturday) both make the trip to Anchorage. Northwest Nazarene beat the Seawolves last month in Idaho.
 
Sonoma State is still clinging to the lead in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Those Seawolves are 14-1 (18-3 overall), with Cal State San Bernardino right behind at 14-2 (21-3). Both should be shoo-ins for the NCAA West Regionals.
 
Dixie State (11-3) has a one-match lead in the Pacific West standings. The Red Storm is 14-8 overall. Cal Baptist is second at 10-4 (17-5 overall).
 
The first of three sets of regional rankings that ultimately determine the NCAA qualifiers is due to be released this week.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons wind up their 2015 road schedule next week with a visit to Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, on Thursday, Nov. 12, followed by a trip to Central Washington in Ellensburg on Saturday the 14th. The NNU match begins at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time, and the first serve at Central will be at 7:00.
 
Seattle Pacific's season concludes the following week at home against Western Washington on Nov. 19, and Simon Fraser on Nov. 21, both at 7:00. The match against Simon Fraser will be Senior Night in honor of Jessica Boyle, Ellie Britt, Luisa McInnis, and Breanne Wiekamp.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                              GNAC            Overall
Alaska Anchorage           12-2       20-2
Western Washington         12-2       18-4
Central Washington         12-2       16-5
Northwest Nazarene         12-2       15-7
Concordia                   7-7       15-7
Simon Fraser                6-8        8-10
Western Oregon              4-10       7-16
Seattle Pacific             4-10       6-16
Alaska Fairbanks            4-10       4-17
Montana State Billings      3-11       4-19
Saint Martin's              1-13       2-19