CAL STATE LOS ANGELES INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
All matches at Eagles Nest / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
Friday, Sept. 4            Seattle Pacific vs. Molloy College, 7:00 p.m.
                                       Seattle Pacific vs. Dixie State, 4:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, Sept. 5       Seattle Pacific vs. Lewis University, 11:30 a.m.
                                      Seattle Pacific at Cal State Los Angeles, 7:00 p.m.

                                      Live stats (all matches)       No live Webcasts
  
        Complete weekly release (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – They've already had a chance to play some informal matches in Costa Rica. They've had a chance to play an exhibition against one of the top collegiate teams from Canada.
 
Now, the Seattle Pacific Falcons get to play some matches that count.
 
SPU will officially open its 2015 schedule this weekend with a trip south to the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational.
 
The Falcons will have four matches – two on each day of the two-day gathering. They'll start against Molloy College of New York in the tournament opener on Friday morning at 9. Then, they'll square off against West Region rival Dixie State at 4:30 p.m.
 
On Saturday, Lewis University of Illinois will be across the net at 11:30 a.m. Seattle Pacific then concludes the tournament against the host Golden Eagles, another West Region rival, at 7:00 p.m.
 
This will be the first of two preseason tourneys for the Falcons before they begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Simon Fraser.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Fans will be able to keep track of the Falcons throughout the tournament, as free live stats will be available from all matches. The appropriate link is at the top of this story. No live video or audio will be available.
 
SPU PICKED 6^TH IN GNAC
Conference coaches voted the Falcons for a sixth-place finish in the preseason poll that was released on Aug. 24. Seattle Pacific, coming off a 12-14 overall record and 6-12 GNAC mark in 2014, received 52 points in the voting.
 
Alaska Anchorage is the preseason favorite, albeit not by an overwhelming margin. The Seawolves were one of four teams to receive first-place votes, picking up five and a total of 92 points. Close behind is defending champion Northwest Nazarene with three firsts and 85 points.
 
Central Washington and Western Washington tied for third. Each picked up one first-place vote and 84 points. The other school finishing ahead of the Falcons in the poll was Simon Fraser with 58 points.
 
SCOUTING THE 2015 FALCONS
From the returning starters to the newcomers to everyone in between, the Falcons are prepared to make this 30th season of SPU volleyball  as special and as successful as they can under the guidance of Chris Johnson, who is starting his 11th year as head coach.

 

Senior outside hitter Ellie Britt can provide plenty of offensive firepower. She started 21 of the 24 matches played last season, and racked up 159 kills, the third-highest total on the team, and also supplied 114 digs and 24 total blocks.
 
Hannah Lautenbach started 23 of her 25 matches as a freshman in 2014, moving to the right side after beginning as a middle blocker. She slammed 120 kills, and her 63 total blocks ranked No. 3 on the team.
 
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lexi Biondi is back after recovering from knee surgery, and will be looking to improve upon the 90 kills and 77 digs she delivered as a freshman in 2013. Senior middle blocker Luisa McInnis started seven matches and had a hand in 32 total blocks.
 
Senior libero Breanne Wiekamp has never missed a set in her first three seasons, getting onto the court for all 303 that the Falcons have played during that time.
 
Returning players Colleen Hannigan (sophomore outside hitter) and Jessica Boyle (senior middle blocker) saw limited action in 2014. Sophomore libero Sophie Kuehl is looking for her first action after redshirting last year.
 
Heading up the list of newbies is freshman setter Symone Tran. She was a second-team MaxPreps All-American in leading Jesuit High School of Beaverton to a perfect 31-0 season and the Oregon Class 6A (large school) state championship.
 
Freshman outside hitter Dani Johnson was the conference MVP and an All-State player at Sehome High in Bellingham (Wash.) last fall. Freshman setter Molly Langdon, the younger sister of now-graduated Kendall (Langdon) Carver, was a first-team all-league player and team MVP for Irvine (Calif.) High School. Freshman middle blocker Shaun Crespi was a second-team all-league pick at Westlake (Calif.) High, and freshman libero Amanda Ganete was a Northwest Oregon Conference second-teamer last fall for Liberty High of Hillsboro, Ore.





SCOUTING THE MOLLOY COLLEGE LIONS
All-time series: First meeting. Lions on the Web.
Lions in a nutshell: Molloy, a member of the East Coast Conference, is coming off a 12-17 campaign. The Lions return their leading offensive threat in 5-foot-10 opposite Danielle Williams. She pounded a team-high 262 kills last fall, hitting .204. She also came up with 34 total blocks. Cassie Palmer, a 5-9 senior outside hitter / defensive specialist, had 147 kills. Spencer Williams, a 5-11 junior who can play middle blocker or opposite, put down 122 kills and led Molloy with 68 blocks, 13 of those solo. Samira Escobar established herself as the team's leading defensive specialist as a freshman last fall with 452 digs.
 
SCOUTING THE DIXIE STATE RED STORM
All-time series: SPU leads, 2-0. Current series streak: SPU won 2. Last time: SPU 3, Dixie State 1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-17; Sept. 5, 2014 at Seattle). Red Storm on the Web.
Red Storm in a nutshell: Dixie's loss to the Falcons in last year's SPU Tournament and the Falcons turned out to be just a bump in the road, as the Red Storm went on to a 22-9 overall record and advanced all the way to the NCAA West Regional championship match. But graduation hit Dixie State hard. Its top four in kills and two of the top three in blocks are gone, as is setter and leading server Shelby Sorenson (952 assists, 33 aces). The top returner on offense is 6-2 junior middle blocker Lindsay Jones (112 kills, .339 hitting). Also back is senior libero Alex Anderson (541 digs).
 
SCOUTING THE LEWIS FLYERS
All-time series: First meeting. Flyers on the Web.
Flyers in a nutshell: Lewis, located about 30 minutes southwest of Chicago, put together a nine-match winning streak as part of its 22-8 overall record in 2014 and went to the NCAA Midwest Regionals. The Flyers have four of their top five in kills back on the court: 5-10 senior opposite Alexis Davito (375 kills, .285 hitting), 6-1 sophomore middle Aly Schneider (265 kills, .362 hitting), 6-1 senior middle Morgan Cebula (261 kills, .336 hitting), and 6-0 senior outside / opposite Cassidy Parsons (179 kills). Schneider led the team in blocks with 62 (13 solo), and Cebula was close behind with 76 (a team-high 19 solo). Davito served up 46 aces.
 
SCOUTING THE CAL STATE L.A. GOLDEN EAGLES
All-time series: CSULA leads, 7-5. Current series streak: SPU won 2. Last time: SPU 3, CSULA 0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-19; Sept. 5, 2014 at Seattle). Golden Eagles on the Web.
Golden Eagles in a nutshell: Cal State L.A. was quick out of the gate last year and finished at 17-8. Back for her senior season is 5-10 outside hitter Iona Lofrano, one of the best in the country at her position. She was on two All-Region teams and was a third-team All-American last fall with her 405 kills (4.22 per game), .226 hitting and 42 blocks. JamieAnn Bero, a 6-0 junior middle blocker, had 190 kills, hit .325, served 22 aces, and had a team-high 85 blocks. Right behind her in blocking with 84 was Mia Alcaraz, now a sophomore. Kelsey Molner had an outstanding freshman season at setter with 920 assists, and a team-leading 29 aces.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU has never played Molloy or Lewis.
-- On the other hand, this is the third straight year that Seattle Pacific and Cal State L.A. have clashed in preseason play. The teams split two matches in 2013 (the Golden Eagles in four games; the Falcons in five), and played last year in Brougham, with SPU sweeping in three.
-- The match against CSULA will the only one for the Falcons against a California Collegiate Athletic Association opponent.
-- Last year, the Falcons went 3-1 in each of their two preseason tournaments.
-- Seattle Pacific is 15-14 all-time in season-opening matches. That includes 6-4 during coach Chris Johnson's 10 years at the helm.
-- Johnson's teams are 3-5 all-time against Cal State L.A.
-- The two matches against Dixie State – both four-game SPU victories – have been under Johnson's direction.
-- While all four contests will be part of the Falcons' overall record, the matches against CSULA and Dixie State will be a factor when the West Region rankings begin.
-- Seattle Pacific was 6-8 outside of Brougham Pavilion last year.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
The Falcons racked up 21 double-doubles last season. Madi Cavell (10) and Sara Biondi (8), both of whom have graduated, led the way.
 
Among SPU's returning players, senior outside hitter Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) recorded two last season and has seven for her career. Sophomore opposite Hannah Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) had one last year.
 
WIEKAMP STILL ON TRACK FOR IRONWOMAN
 

It's not counted among school records, but senior libero Breanne Wiekamp begins her final season with a chance to join a very exclusive SPU club – so exclusive, in fact, that is has just one other member.
 
If Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) plays in every set this fall, she will become just the second Falcons in the 30-year history of the program to be on the court for every possible set of her career. Through her first three years, she has played in all 303 sets: 103 as a freshman, 101 as a sophomore, and 99 as a junior.
 
The only other "ironwoman" for the Falcons has been middle blocker Nikki Lowell. She saw action in all 405 sets from 2009-12.
 
HITTING THE BIG THREE-OH
This will be the 30th season of volleyball at Seattle Pacific. The program was started in 1986, with coach JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner at the helm. She was succeeded by Kellie Ryan, who in turn was succeeded by current head coach Chris Johnson, now in his 11th year.
 
Through those now-almost three decades, the Falcons have built an overall record of 517-372 (.582 winning percentage). They have six conference (or division) championships, seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and have produced five All-Americans.
 
The 30th anniversary will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 26, when Western Oregon visits with a special afternoon starting time of 2:00 p.m.

 

HOMMES ON THE MEND
Junior middle blocker Maddi Hommes is out for the year after suffering a major knee injury during preseason practice. Hommes (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden HS) led the team in total blocks last fall with 85, then competed in both indoor and outdoor track for the second straight year.
 
Under NCAA rules, she will be allowed to apply for a medical redshirt, and thus still would have two years of eligibility remaining when she returns next fall.
 
WHAT A BUNCH OF BRAINIACS OUT THERE
After putting a program-record eight players onto the GNAC All-Academic team last fall, the Falcons pulled in two more major honors this summer for their success in the classroom.
 
In July, they won the GNAC team academic award for volleyball with a combined cumulative grade-point average of 3.43 for the entire school year. It's the third time in the past four seasons and fourth time overall that SPU has won it for volleyball.
 
Then in August, Seattle Pacific was the only GNAC school to receive an American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award.
 
YOU CAN CALL HER COACH WODRICH
A powerful outside hitter during her playing days, Lindsey Wodrich has returned to SPU. But instead of wearing her familiar No. 14, Wodrich will be dressed in professional attire as she takes on the role of lead assistant coach on Chris Johnson's staff.

 

Wodrich officially came aboard in July. She takes the place of Whitney Reehm, who had that position from 2012-14 before moving to California.
 
Now 25, Wodrich graduated in 2012, earning a degree in family and consumer sciences, with a focus on fashion design. During her four years, she became just the sixth Falcon to finish her career with more than 1,000 career kills (1,041). She helped Seattle Pacific qualify for three straight trips to the NCAA West Regionals, and was part of the record-setting 2010 team that went 26-3 and reached the regional final for the first time ever.
 
UP NEXT: CROSSOVER TOURNEY IN BROUGHAM
For the second year in a row, the Falcon will host a preseason tournament in Brougham Pavilion. The GNAC – Pacific West Crossover is scheduled for next Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 10-12.
 
SPU will be joined by three of its conference rivals – Alaska Fairbanks, Montana State Billings, and Simon Fraser – along with Pac West members Academy of Art, Azusa Pacific, Cal Baptist, and Hawaii Pacific.
 
A total of 16 matches will take place, with five on the Thursday (first one at 10:00 a.m.), six on Friday (first one at 9:00 a.m.), and five on Saturday (first one at 9:30 a.m.). The Falcons will play one on Day 1 (vs. Azusa Pacific at 3:00 p.m.), two on Day 2 (vs. Academy of Art at 1:30 p.m., and vs. Cal Baptist at 8:30 p.m.), and one on Day 3 (vs. Hawaii Pacific at 7:30 p.m.).
 
Daily ticket prices are $6 for adults, and $3 for youths and seniors. Each day requires a separate ticket, but that ticket is good for all matches on that day.