THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 24       Concordia (Ore.) at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
                                           Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                           Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Sept. 26       Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                          Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                          Live Webcast        Live stats
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
        Catching Up With ... SPU volleyball original Deri Paulson Kispert
  
SEATTLE – After a rough week on the road, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are hoping another week of practice and some familiar surroundings will yield better volleyball results.
 
SPU will play its first two home Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches this week, playing host to Concordia of Oregon on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and Western Oregon on Saturday afternoon at 2:00.
 
Both match times are different than usual to account for the numerous freshman orientation activities taking place across campus this week in advance of next Monday's start of the fall academic quarter.
 
The Falcons had runs of good play last week, but wound up on the losing end of contests at Simon Fraser (3-2), and nationally ranked Western Washington (3-0).
 
This is SPU's second home stint of the season, following four matches in the GNAC – Pacific West Crossover Tournament on Sept. 10-12.
 
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.
 
THE BIG THREE-OH IS HERE FOR SPU
The 2015 campaign is the 30^th in the history of the Seattle Pacific volleyball program. That milestone will be recognized on Saturday when Western Oregon visits for a GNAC match at 2:00 p.m.
 
A recognition ceremony will take place during the 10-minute break between Games 2 and 3. A number of former Falcons are expected to be in the gym, including a handful from the inaugural team.
 
The program began in 1986 under the direction of coach JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner, who is still teaching at SPU in the Health & Human Performance department. She guided the team through its first 14 seasons, then turned the reins over to former Falcons player Kellie Radloff (nee Ryan). Current coach Chris Johnson took over in 2005, and now is starting his 11th year at the helm.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Concordia's visit will mark the first time since 2010 that SPU has taken the court against a GNAC newcomer.
-- Simon Fraser was the most recent team to bear the GNAC "newbie" distinction on Seattle Pacific's schedule. The Falcons won in a three-game sweep on Oct. 7, 2010 in Burnaby. (However, they had been leaguemates previously when both were members of NAIA District 1 from 1987-90.)
-- SPU and Concordia have played seven previous non-conference matches. The most recent of those was an exhibition last year in Portland when the Falcons pulled out a five-game victory, coming from 1-0 and 2-1 down in games, and then rallying from 13-11 behind in Game 5 to win, 16-14
-- The last Cavaliers visit to Seattle was Oct. 13, 1998, when SPU won in a three-game sweep, 15-10, 15-11, 15-0.
-- SPU's best-ever single-match hitting mark of .494 was achieved against Concordia on Oct. 13, 1987.
-- Seattle Pacific and Western Oregon won on their respective home courts last year. The Falcons went five games to prevail in Brougham Pavilion; the Wolves answered back with a three-game sweep in Monmouth.
-- Concordia has five Washingtonians on its 18-player roster, and Western Oregon has four from Washington among its 16 players. SPU has three players who are Oregon natives.
-- Since last year's match was an exhibition, this will be Falcon head coach Chris Johnson's first official match against Concordia.
-- However, in the past 10 years, Johnson has seen plenty of WOU, owning a 14-6 record against the Wolves. He is 10-4 against Western Oregon coach Brad Saindon, with four of those victories coming down to a fifth game.
 
SCOUTING THE CONCORDIA CAVALIERS: 9-1, 1-1 GNAC (tie 5^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 6-1. Current series streak: SPU won 5. Last time: SPU 3, Concordia 2 (22-25, 27-25, 16-25, 25-21, 16-14 (exhibition), Aug. 29, 2014. Cavaliers on the Web.
Cavaliers in a nutshell: After going 19-10 last year and advancing to the NAIA national championships, Concordia wasted no time adjusting to the NCAA Division II level. The Cavaliers opened the season with nine straight victories, starting with a four-game win against host and then-No. 7 Grand Valley State of Michigan in the Laker Riverfront Classic. They also handed Chico State (currently 11-3) a five-game loss in the Western Oregon Tournament, then swept Alaska Fairbanks last week before falling in three at then-No. 12 Alaska Anchorage. Lindsey Dorsey, a 5-foot-9 sophomore opposite, can do some of everything for Concordia. She leads the team in kills (92 / 2.71 per game), hitting percentage (.288) and service aces (13). Colby Barnette, a 6-foot sophomore middle blocker, has a team-high 41 total blocks, with three solos. The Cavaliers are the toughest team in the GNAC to hit against, allowing opponents just a .105 percentage through 10 total matches.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES
All-time series: SPU leads, 25-16. Current series streak: WOU won 1. Last time: WOU 3, SPU 0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-21; Nov. 13, 2014 at Monmouth, Ore.). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: Western Oregon lost all four of its matches at the season-opening Oredigger Classic in Golden Colo., two of those to nationally ranked Cal State San Bernardino and Colorado School of Mines. But the Wolves have steadied the ship since then, winning four of their past seven, including a split last week in Alaska. They swept past Fairbanks, then got a game off of then-No. 12 Anchorage. WOU has two players already in triple-digit kills. Redshirt sophomore Alisha Bettinson, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter, has 115 (2.80 per game), and redshirt freshman Amanda Short, a 5-8 outside, has 106 (2.59). Short also is Western Oregon's top server with 17 aces. Getting the job done in the middle is 6-foot redshirt sophomore Sydney Blankinship, with 48 kills on a .359 hitting percentage and 17 blocks (three solos). Paige Kelsey, a 5-9 junior, can block (a team-high 25), set (107 assists) and put the ball on the floor, as well (41 kills).
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Career-high kill totals for Lexi Biondi (25) and Hannah Lautenbach (19) weren't enough as Simon Fraser came from behind to knock off the Falcons last Thursday in Canada, 19-25, 22-25,25-21, 25-20, 25-14.
-- SPU pushed Western Washington hard all three games, but the Vikings, ranked No. 16, swept in Bellingham last Saturday, 25-17, 25-21, 25-23.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Going into last week, freshman setter Symone Tran and sophomore hitter / blocker Hannah Lautenbach were the only Falcons with double-doubles. They still are, but each of them now has one more after their performances in the five-gamer at Simon Fraser last Thursday.
 
2015 double-doubles:
Hannah Lautenbach (2 season / 3 career): 11K-15D vs. Acad.of Art, Sept. 11; 19K-20D at Simon Fraser, Sept. 17.
Symone Tran (3 season / 3 career): 20AST-11D vs. Azusa Pacific, Sept. 10; 25AST-11D vs. Hawaii Pacific, Sept. 12; 51AST-15D at Simon Fraser, Sept. 17.
 
THE BIG NINE-OH-OH IS HERE, TOO
Hitting 30 (as in number of seasons played) isn't the only milestone SPU will be noting this week. On Thursday when Concordia comes to town, the Falcons will play the 900th match in school history.
 
Through the now-almost three decades, the Falcons have built an overall record of 519-380 (.577 winning percentage). Coach Chris Johnson has been in charge for No. 700 (a 3-1 loss at Sonoma State on Aug. 30, 2008), and No. 800 (and 3-1 victory in Brougham against Central Washington on Oct. 15, 2011).
 
AND SPEAKING OF OH-OHs …
Another century mark also is within reach for the Falcons. That would be home court victory No. 200, and a 'W' against either Concordia or Western Oregon will get them there.
 
SPU put No. 199 into the books on Sept. 11 when it came back from a first-game loss to beat Academy of Art in four at the GNAC-Pacific West Crossover Tournament.
 
The Falcons have an all-time record of 199-89 (.691).
 
FIRST KILL IS COOL FOR KUEHL
Now that her redshirt year is behind her and she's getting some regular playing time, sophomore libero / defensive and serving specialist Sophie Kuehl (Vancouver, Wash. / Columbia River HS) is starting to tote up some stats.

 

Already this season, she has recorded a career high for service aces (three vs. Academy of Art). She also had double-digit digs (10) against Art, just two short of her career-high 12 set while a freshman at the University of San Francisco in 2013).
 
Last Thursday at Simon Fraser, Kuehl was credited with her first collegiate kill, and helped SPU win Game 2. Then two nights later at Western Washington, she got a ball over the net early in the first game that dropped in, thereby going onto the stat sheet as her second career kill.
 
TWO CENTURY MARKS ON ONE NIGHT FOR LAUTENBACH
Over the course of a season, some players will hit multiple milestones. But sophomore Hannah Lautenbach managed to hit two in one night.

 

Coming into last Thursday's match at Simon Fraser, Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.), who can play anywhere along the net, had 185 career kills and 190 digs. By the end of that five-gamer, she had passed 200 in both categories, logging a career-high 19 kills (giving her 204) and tying a career-best with 20 digs (giving her 210).
 
With her nine kills and eight digs from last Saturday at Western Washington factored in, Lautenbach starts this week with 213 kills and 218 digs.
 
A BAKER'S DOZEN CAREER HIGHS
Play a long five-gamer, and it's always possible a player or two might wind up with a career high or two.
 
Or, six players might wind up with a combined total of 13 career highs. That's how many the Falcons produced last Thursday at Simon Fraser.

 

Leading the way was freshman setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.) with four: 51 assists, 15 digs, four block assists, four total blocks. Freshman outside hitter Dani Johnson (Bellingham, Wash. / Sehome HS) set three with 34 attacks, two block assists, and two total blocks.
 
Sophomores Lexi Biondi (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Hannah Lautenbach each set new highs for kills (25 for Biondi, 19 for Lautenbach) and attacks (72 and 50, respectively). Senior libero Breanne Wiekamp had two with 19 kills and 50 attacks. Senior libero Breanne Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) had 35 digs erasing her old mark of 29 that had stood since her freshman year.  And, as noted above, Sophie Kuehl's first kill – even though it was just one – also officially went as a career high.
 
UP NEXT
As if the first week of school isn't already busy enough, the Falcons take their annual trip to Alaska next week. Up first is current No. 11-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Oct. 1, followed by a visit to Fairbanks on Saturday the 3rd. First serve for both matches is at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.