THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 13              Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Oct. 15               No. 20 W. Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons have a little wind beneath their volleyball wings.
 
As they head into two of their biggest home matches of the season, that could come in handy.
 
Fresh off of victories against Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings, SPU will welcome Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents Simon Fraser and 20th-ranked Western Washington to Brougham Pavilion this week. The Clan are in town on Thursday, and the arch-rival Vikings visit on Saturday, both at 7:00 p.m.
 
Those two contests will wind up a four-match homestand and the first half of the GNAC schedule.
 
In spending most of September on the road, the Falcons logged five wins and came close to a few more before falling short, including three straight five-gamers. But they put all of that behind them last week by sweeping past Saint Martin's and downing Montana State Billings in four.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Fans can keep up with this week's matches and with every match throughout the GNAC season with live stats and free live Webcasts. The Webcasts are through Stretch Internet, the conference's official internet provider. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
TICKET TALK
The ticket windows at Brougham Pavilion will open one hour prior to every match. All seats are general admission. Prices are $6 for adults, and $3 for youths, students, and senior citizens. SPU students with current ID are admitted free.
 
FALCON THURSDAYS
Fans are encouraged to wear SPU gear to all games, but especially on Falcon Thursdays. Every Thursday throughout the academic year, students, faculty and staff on campus will be showing their maroon colors and wearing SPU apparel to celebrate Falcon Thursdays.
 
ODDO MOVING UP FRESHMAN KILLS LIST
Midway through the first game of last Thursday's match against Montana State Billings, freshman outside hitter Gabby Oddo put her second kill of the night – and the 200th of her career – on the floor. Before the night was over, she had added 14 more.

 

That total of 214 coming into the week has Oddo at No. 4 on SPU's all-time list for kills by a freshman, with 12 regular-season matches to go. The top rung currently belongs to Leilani Kamahoahoa, who had 352 kills as a frosh in 1998. Cathleen Price is No. 2 with her 321 kills in 2001, and Nikki Lowell had 285 in 2010.
 
Last week alone, Oddo moved up five places. She started at No. 9 with 189 kills heading into Tuesday's match against Saint Martin's. She had nine more that night to reach 198, passing No. 8 Ali Lindberg (191 in 1991), No. 7 Stephanie Huffman (194 in 1997), and co-No. 5s Heidi Gribble (197 in 1992) and Erin Failor (197 in 1996). By the end of Thursday's match against Billings, when she had 16 kills to reach 214, Oddo had passed No. 4 Nohe Ka (202 in 1997).
 
SPU's all-time kills leader is Alyssa Given with 1,454 from 2004-07. She had 187 as a freshman.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- With seven tallies in the win column after last Thursday's victory against Montana State Billings, the Falcons already have matched their 2015 total.
-- Of those seven wins, five have been in sweeps. One was a four-gamer, and the other one was in five.
-- SPU will be trying for its first three-match winning streak of the season. Along with the current two-match winning streak, it also won two in a row in early September at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase.
-- Thursday's match against Simon Fraser will put two of the GNAC's better defensive teams on opposite sides of the net. Opponents hit just .161 against the Falcons (fourth-best in the conference) and just .149 against the Clan (second-best).
-- Part of that is Simon Fraser leads the GNAC in digs per game (19.07) and is tied for fourth in blocks (2.11). SPU is third in blocks (2.50) and seventh in digs (17.02).
-- The .161 that opposing teams hit against SPU is 37 points lower than the .198 opponents were hitting through 16 matches last season.
-- Saturday's match against Western Washington will be Seattle Pacific's second vs. a ranked team this season. The first one was at then-No. 12 Alaska Anchorage on Sept. 17. The Seawolves won in three.
-- SPU's last win against a ranked team was at then-No. 8 Western Washington in four games on Oct. 24, 2013.
-- The Falcons have had back-to-back matches of better than .200 hitting.
-- Coach Chris Johnson's teams are 9-14 against Western Washington and head coach Diane Flick-Williams.
-- Against Simon Fraser, Johnson has an 8-4 record, 4-4 vs. head coach Gina Schmidt.
 




SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER CLAN: 13-3, 6-2 GNAC (tie 2nd)
All-time series: SPU leads, 26-13. Current series streak: Simon won 4. Last time: Simon 3, SPU 1 (25-23, 25-9, 21-25, 25-19; Nov. 21, 2015 at Seattle). Clan on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: Now in her fourth year at the coaching helm, Gina Schmidt has taken this team from bottom of the heap to contending for an NCAA berth. Simon Fraser already has a five-game victory against Western Washington this season, although it heads to Seattle this week coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of Central Washington. The Clan have two of the conference's best hitters, both at middle blocker: 6-foot-3 sophomore Tessa May (No. 6 in the GNAC at .283) and 6-2 redshirt freshman Nicole Chevrier (No. 9 at .277). May also ranks No. 6 in blocking with 68 total (11 solos), an average of 1.19. For opposing teams, putting a kill onto the floor means keeping the ball away from senior libero / defensive specialist Alison McKay, who leads the GNAC with an average of 6.58 digs per game. Simon has four main offensive threats: senior outside hitter Emma Jennings (168 kills /3.00 average), senior outside Devon May (163 / 2.91), Tessa May (147 /2.58) and junior outside Christine Howlett (124 / 2.3).
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 10-6, 6-2 GNAC (tie 2^nd)
All-time series: WWU leads, 42-26. Current series streak: WWU won 4. Last time: WWU 3, SPU 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18; Nov. 19, 2015 at Seattle). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Western has been playing top-caliber competition for most of the season, with six matches (and two wins) against nationally ranked teams. Of the losses, two were to then-No. 1 (and current No. 2) Concordia-St. Paul. The Vikings come into the week on a five-match winning streak, their longest of the year. That includes last week's impressive home victories against Central Washington (a sweep, and keeping the Wildcats below 20 points in all three games) and Northwest Nazarene (a four-gamer). Western has two of the top 10 hitters in the GNAC with sophomore 6-3 middle Kayleigh Harper (No. 2 at .343) and sophomore 6-1 middle Michaela Hall (No. 7 at .281). Abby Phelps, a 5-10 sophomore outside hitter, leads the Vikings in kills with 178, a 3.30 average that ranks No. 7 in the conference. Close behind her with 170 (a 2.93 average) is 5-10 junior outside , who also has served up 27 aces.Arielle Turner
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
 

Coach Chris Johnson on the team's defense after the win against Montana State Billings last Thursday
"Our defense, I can't say enough about tonight, especially our back row. A lot of times, our front row is averaging a lot of blocks per game, which is great. But a career high (in digs) for Amanda Ganete; Sophie had some amazing digs tonight; Hannah and Symone have been really consistent playing defense back there, Gabby had another double-double with digs … We're just really doing a good job of keeping the ball off the floor in the back row."
 
Junior Sophie Kuehl on what helped put two wins in the book last week
"More than anything, it was probably our mentality. Obviously, we have all the talent. We did different drills, but our coaches and one another, we've been pushing each other in practice, like, 'OK, we need to be competitors, we need to be more aggressive and have this killer mentality.' I think that's really what it was."
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
The Falcons added four more double-doubles in last week's victories against Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings, bringing their season total to 26. Sophomore setter Symone Tran is on a streak of five in a row, hers all being assist-dig. Freshman Gabby Oddo has 11 to lead the team.
 
Colleen Hannigan (1 season / 1 career)
16K-15D vs. Hawaii Hilo, Sept. 9.
 
Hannah Lautenbach (5 season / 9 career)
14K-19D vs. Hawaii Hilo, Sept. 9;
10K-10D vs. Western Oregon, Sept. 22;
13K-14D vs. Concordia-Oregon, Sept. 24;
20K-21D at Northwest Nazarene, Sept. 29;
10K-13D vs. Montana State Billings, Oct. 6.
 
Gabby Oddo (11 season / 11 career)
14K-11D at Concordia Irvine, Sept. 2;
10K-10D vs. Colo. Christian, Sept. 3;
16K-21D vs. UC San Diego, Sept. 3;
14K-13D vs. Humboldt State, Sept. 8;
19K-13D vs. Azusa Pacific, Sept. 10;
19K-10D at Alaska Fairbanks, Sept. 15;
10K-12D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 17;
12K-18D vs. Concordia-Oregon, Sept. 24;
16K-12D at Northwest Nazarene, Sept. 29;
16K-10D at Central Washington, Oct. 1;
16K-10D vs. Montana State Billings, Oct. 6.
 
Symone Tran (9 season / 22 career)
32 AST-21D at Concordia Irvine, Sept. 2;
43 AST-13D vs. UC San Diego, Sept. 3;
48 AST-16D vs. Hawaii Hilo, Sept. 9.
36 AST-24D vs. Azusa Pacific, Sept. 10;
42 AST-13D vs. Concordia-Oregon, Sept. 24;
55 AST-13D at Northwest Nazarene, Sept. 29;
55 AST-18D at Central Washington, Oct. 1;
39 AST-15D vs. Saint Martin's, Oct.4;
48 AST-13D vs. Montana State Billings, Oct. 6.
 
THERE'S THAT 500 THING AGAIN
In last Tuesday's sweep of Saint Martin's, the seventh and final kill of the night by junior opposite Hannah Lautenbach set up match point, which SPU promptly converted.

 

But that kill also was the 500th of Lautenbach's career, the third such milestone she has had with that number this sesaon: points, digs, and now kills.
 
In the next week or two or three, a few other Falcons are poised to get in on the act. Depending on how things go, a couple of those could happen as soon as Thursday.
 
Senior outside hitter Lexi Biondi comes in with 491 points. Between kills and blocks, she very easily could pick up those nine and more against Simon Fraser. Also, sophomore libero Amanda Ganete is at 484 digs. She has had more than 20 digs in five of the last seven matches.
 
Also coming into view of a 500th – not this week, but soon – is sophomore setter Symone Tran in the digs department. She currently has 425.
 
GIVE ABBEY AN 'A' FOR CONSISTENCY
It took until the 10^th match of the season for freshman middle blocker Abbey Lautenbach to see her first action as a Falcon. She got on for just the last game of a 3-0 loss at nationally ranked Alaska Anchorage, but made a bit of a mark with back-to-back service aces and a couple of block assists.

 

A couple weeks later, through her performance in practice, the cousin of SPU opposite Hannah Lautenbach had worked her way into the starting lineup – and has been on the court for each of the 17 games in the four matches since then.
 
Lautenbach has had eight kills in three of those matches and seven in the other. She has had three solid hitting matches (.273, .353, .333). Her blocking totals have been four, one, three, and three. Lautenbach also has five aces and 10 digs during that stretch.
 
The combination of Lautenbach and sophomore Shaun Crespi in the middle has produced 62 kills, .229 hitting, 23 digs, and 38 total blocks for those four matches.
 
CENTURY MARK, HERE COMES CRESPI
 

Shaun Crespi is in excellent position to reach the 100-block mark for the season this week. Crespi comes in with 94 and has had at least five in each of the last half-dozen matches.
 
When she inevitably does top 100, Crespi will be the first Falcon in triple digits since Nikki Lowell recorded 134 total blocks as a senior in 2013.
 
With 12 matches remaining, Crespi easily can wind up with one of the best all-time blocking seasons in SPU history. Furthermore, she would be halfway to doing what only Lowell has done: lead the Falcons in blocks for all four years of her career.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Alaska Anchorage just keeps on winning and taking further control of the GNAC. The Seawolves extended their streak to 17 straight by sweeping Western Oregon and Concordia in Alaska last week. UAA is now 18-1 overall, 8-0 in the conference, two matches ahead of Simon Fraser, Central Washington, and Western Washington, all tied for second at 6-2.
 
Everyone in the California Collegiate Athletic Association now has lost at least one conference match after UC San Diego came up short at home against Sonoma State last Saturday. The Tritons still lead the South Division at 6-1, the same record as Chico State atop the North. The Wildcats also have best overall record in the CCAA at 12-4.
 
Dixie State is the last team with a perfect Pacific West Conference record, now at 7-0 and 11-4 overall. Cal Baptist had been unbeaten in conference play before Notre Dame de Namur – which was just 1-5, 3-11 overall at the time – pulled off a five-game road upset of the Lancers last Wednesday. Cal Baptist is still 12-4, 7-1 in the Pac West.
 
UP NEXT
For the Falcons, the second half of the GNAC schedule begins similarly to the first half: on the road. SPU will play a pair in Oregon next week, visiting Concordia in Portland on Thursday, Oct. 20, and Western Oregon in Monmouth on Saturday the 22nd. Both matches start at 7:00 p.m. When those two teams came to Seattle in September, the result was a split: a 3-0 sweep of WOU, but a five-game loss to Concordia.
 
Those are the only two road matches in October. The month winds up in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Oct. 27, against Central Washington and Saturday the 29th vs. Northwest Nazarene, both at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                           Conference               Overall
Alaska Anchorage               8-0                          18-1
Simon Fraser                        6-2                          13-3
Central Washington             6-2                          10-6
Western Washington           6-2                          10-6
Northwest Nazarene           4-4                          11-4
Concordia                             4-4                            8-8
Seattle Pacific                      3-5                            7-9
Western Oregon                   3-5                            6-9
Saint Martin's                        2-6                            6-6
Alaska Fairbanks                 1-7                            2-13
Montana State Billings        1-7                            2-15