Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
        SPU-Lewis University box score, play-by-play
        SPU-Cal State Los Angeles box score, play-by-play

LOS ANGELES – The final result wasn't what he had in mind. However, his team's level of play on Saturday night was much more to the liking of Seattle Pacific volleyball coach Chris Johnson.
 
Lexi Biondi tied her career high with 13 kills, and the Falcons improved their hitting after struggling for two straight matches, but still fell short of the host Golden Eagles in the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational volleyball tournament.
 
Scores in the Eagles Nest were 25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17.
 
Earlier on Saturday, the Falcons went down in three straight games against Lewis University of Illinois, 25-17, 25-22, 25-17, and finished the season-opening weekend at 1-3.
 
SPU opens the home schedule this coming week with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference – Pacific West Conference Crossover Tournament. Each conference will have four teams in Brougham Pavilion, with five matches scheduled on Thursday, Sept. 10, six on Friday the 11th, and five on Saturday the 12th. The Falcons start Azusa Pacific on Thursday at 3:00 p.m.

The 13 kills by sophomore outside hitter Biondi (Albuquerque, N.M.) matched her previous best, set on Oct. 24, 2013 at Western Washington. Biondi hit a solid .435 for the night, with just three errors on 23 attacks.

 

Sophomore Hannah Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) and freshman middle blocker Shaun Crespi (Westlake Village, Calif.) added eight kills apiece, and both also hit well: 333 for Lautenbach (8 kills-2 errors-18 attacks) and .316 for Crespi (8-2-19).
 
After being kept below.100 hitting in Friday night's three-game loss to Dixie State (.040) and Saturday's earlier defeat to Lewis (.075), the Falcons climbed back up to .178 (38-17-118). That included a .303 performance in Game 2 when they came back from an early 6-3 deficit to level the match at one game apiece.
 
"I'd say that was our best match so far," Johnson said. "I thought we played well. We lost a few points, but overall, we did what we wanted to do. It was much better, just a better feel on the court, and better intensity.
 
"This morning's match (against Lewis) just didn't feel good at all. This one was way better," Johnson added. "So we're trending upward."
                                                                                                                                           
Cal State Los Angeles (4-0) built a five-point lead midway through the third game at 15-10. Seattle Pacific got within one at 19-18 before the Golden Eagles finished on a 6-1 surge.
 
The Falcons were within 15-14 in Game 4. But CSULA scored 10 of the final 13 points to secure the match.

 

SPU freshman setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.) had 30 assists, just one short of the career-high 31 she set in Friday's opener against Molloy College. Senior libero Breanne Wiekamp (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) had a season-high 18 digs.
 
"Lexi had a good match tonight, which was great to see," Johnson said. "Hannah did really well, and we had her in the middle (instead of at opposite). Shaun Crespi was fantastic. They had their blockers just committed to her, and she was hitting right through them or over them."
 
Lewis University 3, SPU 0
The Falcons had more attack opportunities, but Lewis came up with 15 more kills on the way to a sweep.
 
Seattle Pacific had just 30 kills on 106  swings at the ball against the Flyers (2-1), who went to the NCAA Division II Tournament last fall. Lewis put down 45 kills on 99 attacks for a solid .323 hitting percentage.
                            
Hannah Lautenbach led SPU with eight kills, and hit .278. Shaun Crespi added six to go along with a .333 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Dani Johnson (Bellingham, Wash. / Sehome HS) also had six kills.
 
Breanne Wiekamp had 12 digs and two of Seattle Pacific's three service aces. Symone Tran racked up 22 assists.
 
SPU's only lead of the match came in Game 1 when an early four-point run produced a 6-4 lead. The Flyers answered with three straight, and except for a 7-7 tie, never trailed again.
 
Lewis led all the way in the second game after a 1-1 tie, and in the third with the exception of 2-2.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Cal State Los Angeles Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015
Eagles Nest / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
Lewis University 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-17, 25-22, 25-17.
 
Service aces – Lewis 4 (Nicole Yuede 2), SPU 3 (Breanne Wiekamp 2).
Kills – Lewis 45 (Cassidy Parson 9, Alexis Davito 9), SPU 8 (Hannah Lautenbach 8).
Assists – Lewis 39 (McKenna Pierson 20), SPU 26 (Symone Tran 22).
Digs – Lewis 43 (Yuede 16), SPU 30 (Wiekamp 12).
Total blocks / solo – Lewis 20 / 4 solo (Aly Schneider 8 / 4 solo), SPU 2 / 2 solo (Ellie Britt 1 / 1 solo, Shaun Crespi 1 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – Lewis 45-13-99--.323 (Joyce Balash 7-0-8 -- .875), SPU 30-22-106 -- .075 (Crespi 6-2-12 -- .333, Tran 1-0-3 -- .333).
Attendance – 70.
 
 
Cal State Los Angeles 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17.
 
Service aces – SPU 4 (Dani Johnson 2), CSULA 7 (Lauren Gomez 2, Taylor Kushner 2).
Kills – SPU 38 (Lexi Biondi 13), CSULA 55 (Iona Lofrano 13).
Assists – SPU 34 (Symone Tran 30), CSULA 50 (Kelsey Molnar 32).
Digs – SPU 45 (Breanne Wiekamp 18), CSULA 53 (Chloe Clancy 18).
Total blocks / solo – SPU 8 / 2 solo (Biondi 3 / 1 solo), CSULA 12 / 0 solo (JamieAnn Bero 5 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 38-17-118--.178 (Biondi 13-3-23--.435), CSULA 55-20-128--.273 (Angela Thurmond 7-0-8--.875).
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 1-3, Cal State Los Angeles 4-0.
 
Next match – Azusa Pacific at Seattle Pacific, Thursday, Sept. 10, 3:00 p.m.