Box Score

        Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – The Western Washington Vikings might have figured they could make a quick exit from Brougham Pavilion and head back home to Bellingham.
 
But the Seattle Pacific Falcons wanted the nation's 20th-ranked volleyball team to stick around for a while.
 
On the verge of being swept, SPU fought off two match points in Set 3 and took Western all the way to Set 5 on Saturday night before coming up short in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
 
Scores were 25-13, 31-29, 24-26, 22-25, 15-8.
 
Senior outside hitter Lexi Biondi led the Falcons (8-10, 4-6 GNAC) with 18 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Shaun Crespi had a career-high 17 kills, seven more than her previous best, along with nine blocks, and .500 hitting (17 kills-3 errors-28 attacks). Freshman outside hitter Gabby Oddo added 14 kills and a career-high 32 digs.

 

Sophomore setter Symone Tran set career highs for assists (58) and digs (35). Sophomore libero Amanda Ganete had 30 digs, also a career high.
 
SPU had 133 digs for the match – one short of the school record set in a five-gamer at home against Western Washington on Oct. 27, 2005. In addition to the 30-plus efforts by Oddo, Tran, and Ganete, Hannah Lautenbach had 20, and Sophie Kuehl came up with 14.

"We had spectacular defensive efforts from everybody," coach Chris Johnson said. "You could tell it was frustrating their hitters."
 
Seattle Pacific dropped the first two sets, and was down 24-22 in Set 3. But a ball-handling error by the Vikings, a solo block by Crespi, a Crespi kill, and another Western ball handling error helped the Falcons close the game on a 4-0 run to stay alive.
 
"We stayed poised, kept siding out, kept coming back," Johnson said. "That's gutsy. That's just clutch. We just need a few more of those moments."

 

SPU actually had several more of those moments in Set 4, coming up with 19 kills – seven by Crespi – and a solid .273 hitting performance. The Falcons scored four points in a row to snap a 13-13 tie, and stayed ahead the rest of the way.
 
Western twice got as close as one, the last time at 20-19. A kill by Biondi, a combined block by Crespi and junior opposite Lautenbach, and a dunk at the net by Crespi made it 23-19.
 
"In Sets 3 and 4, I was extremely proud of the way we played," Johnson said. "Great defense, we were getting a good amount of kills, making good adjustments, and just keeping our poise in tight situations."
 
Western Washington (12-6, 8-2 GNAC) led all the way in Set 5, gaining control with a 4-1 run that extended a 7-5 lead to 11-6.
 
Seattle Pacific heads back onto the road next week, visiting Concordia in Portland on Thursday and Western Oregon in Monmouth next Saturday, both at 7:00 p.m.
 
FALCONS SHAKE OFF SLOW START
The Vikings took control of Set 1 early, running off seven straight points to turn a 2-1 deficit into an 8-2 lead. They had another five-point burst in the middle to extend an 11-5 lead to 16-5.
 
Roles were reversed early in the second set as Seattle Pacific raced to an 11-4 advantage. It was still 16-12 when Western Washington strung together five points in a row to go up, 17-16. From there, it was tied 10 times, the lead changed hands four times, and the Vikings fought off six SPU tries at set point – 24-22, 24-23, 26-25, 27-26, 28-27, and 29-28.
 
The Falcons' improved play eventually carried over into the next two sets.
 
"Our passing got better as the match went on, our serving got better, and the offense, too," Johnson said. "We were making some really good adjustments, staying aggressive, and doing a lot of really good things.
 
"We've got to learn how to finish."
 
Kayleigh Harper led WWU with 22 kills and .512 hitting. The Vikings finished at .246, including .444 (9-1-18) in Set 5. The Falcons, with a season-high 73 kills, hit .182.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 20) Western Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 25-13, 31-29, 24-26, 22-25, 15-8.
 
Service aces – WWU 5 (Joellee Buckner 2), SPU 0.
Kills – WWU 79 (Kayleigh Harper 22), SPU 73 (Lexi Biondi18, Shaun Crespi 17, Gabby Oddo 14, Hannah Lautenbach 13).
Assists – WWU 74 (Brette Boesel 49), SPU 70 (Symone Tran 58)..
Digs – WWU 124 (Abby Phelps 31), SPU 133 (Tran 35, Oddo 32, Amanda Ganete 30, Lautenbach 20, Sophie Kuehl 14).
Block assists / solo – WWU 12 / 3 solo (Kayleigh Harper 4 / 1 solo), SPU 18 / 2 solo (Crespi 8 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – WWU 79-19-244—.246 (Harper 22-1-41—.512), SPU 73-29-242—.182 (Crespi 17-3-28—.500.)
Attendance – 171.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 8-10, 4-6 GNAC. Western Washington 12-6, 8-2 GNAC
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Concordia-Oregon
Thursday, Oct. 20     7:00 p.m.
Cavalier Court / Portland, Ore.