THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Oct. 4 Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
Live Webcast Live stats
Thursday, Oct. 6 Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
Live Webcast Live stats
Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
SEATTLE – No plane rides. No van rides. For the next two weeks, the Seattle Pacific Falcons don't have to do anything more than walk across campus to Brougham Pavilion to play some volleyball.
The Falcons get to spend most of October in town, starting this week when
Saint Martin's and
Montana State Billings come calling for Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches. The Saints are here on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., and the Yellowjackets follow on Thursday, also at 7.
A travel-filled September is now in the past, as SPU spent the first half of its 28-match schedule playing 12 of 14 on the road.
That included last week when the Falcons bounced back time and time again to stay even with Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington before coming up just short in five-gamers both nights.
Of their final 14 matches, Seattle Pacific will be home for eight of them.
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.
THAT DOUBLE-DOUBLE WAS 20-20 VISION
Hannah Lautenbach was in that place they call "the zone" during last Thursday's match at Northwest Nazarene.
The Falcons junior, who starts at opposite, put the hammer down on 20 kills, and came up with 21 digs in the five-gamer against the Crusaders. Both were career highs. Her previous bests were 19 kills last Sept. 17 in five games at Simon Fraser, and 20 digs, a total she achieved twice, most recently in that same Simon Fraser match.
Her performance was the first time in seven seasons that a Falcon had 20 or more kills and digs in the same match. The last one to do it was
Sarah Risser, with 22 kills and 27 digs in five games against NNU on Oct. 10, 2009, in Seattle.
It also capped a string of three straight double-doubles for Lautenbach.
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The Falcons will try to
snap a three-match losing streak.
-- Seattle Pacific, Saint Martin's, and Billings begin the week as part of a four-way tie for eighth place in the GNAC at 1-5. The other team in that mix is Alaska Fairbanks.
-- This is the
second year of Tuesday matches against one's travel partner. The Falcons won both of their Tuesdays against Saint Martin's last season.
-- In fact, SPU has
defeated the Saints 28 straight times, its longest intact winning streak against any opponent.
-- That includes
sweeps in 12 of the last 13.
-- Of
Seattle Pacific's five victories this season,
four have been in sweeps, one of which was the home opener against Western Oregon on Sept. 22.
-- The
Billings series has been much closer over the years. The Falcons have a 26-10 lead in that one.
-- The last two years have
ended in splits between SPU and the Yellowjackets. Last season, each team swept at home. In 2014, the road team prevailed both times.
-- Senior outside hitter
Lexi Biondi has recorded
two of her career highs against Billings: 27 kills last October 10 in Seattle, and two service aces on Nov. 2, 2013 in Montana.
-- Sophomore middle blocker
Shaun Crespi had a
career-high three solo blocks against Saint Martin's last Nov. 3 in Seattle.
-- Coach
Chris Johnson is 22-0 against Saint Martin's and 11-8 against Montana State Billings.
-- Johnson and the Falcons will be facing new opposing coaches in both matches.
Jon Killingbeck is in his first year at Saint Martin's, as is
Casey Williams at Billings.
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 5-5, 1-5 GNAC (tie 8th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 50-5.
Current series streak: SPU won 28.
Last time: SPU 3, StM 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-11; Nov. 3, 2015 at Seattle).
Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's got off to one of its best starts ever, winning all four matches at its venue in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase. That was the only preseason tournament for the Saints, who then dove right into their GNAC schedule and split their opening matches in Alaska, falling in a sweep at Anchorage, but then pulling out a five-gamer at Fairbanks. Saint Martin's comes to Seattle looking to snap a four-match losing streak. Junior 5-foot-9 outside hitter
Rebecca Mitchell leads the Saints offensively with 104 kills, with 17 of them coming in a sweep at Fairbanks on Sept. 17. But very close behind Mitchell is 5-10 sophomore outside
Rachel Gondrezick with 95, and Gondrezick hits .220.
Megan Vernoy, a 5-11 sophomore who can play either outside or right side, sets the hitting pace at .237, racking up 81 kills.
Vegas Casey, a 6-1 sophomore middle, has a team-high 26 blocks, an average of 0.79 per game.
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 2-13, 1-5 GNAC (tie 8th).
All-time series: SPU leads, 26-10.
Current series streak: MSUB won 1.
Last time: MSUB 3, SPU 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20; Nov. 5, 2015 at Billings).
Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: September was a rough month for Billings, which won its season opener, then lost 12 in a row before halting that skid last Thursday with a sweep of Alaska Fairbanks. Of those 12 losses, three of them went to the five-game limit. The Yellowjackets average 12 kills per game, thanks in large part to 5-8 senior outside hitter
Stormy Siemion, who already is at 200 kills (205, for 3.60 per game), and 6-1 senior outside
Ashlynn Ward, who is almost at 200 (198, for 3.47) coming into the week. Their averages rank Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, within the GNAC. Ward also is the team's best hitter at a solid .247. Both contribute defensively, as well. Siemion ranks No. 2 on the team in digs with 175, trailing only the 199 of senior defensive specialist
Kylee Cornelio. Ward has 27 total blocks, just one behind 6-1 sophomore middle
Miranda McConnell's 28.
HALFTIME REPORT
Last Saturday's match at Central Washington brought the Falcons to the midpoint of their 28-match regular season. Here's how things compare this year and last year through 14 contests:
2016 2015
Record 5-9 4-10
Hitting percentage .138 .122
Opponents' hitting .169 .205
Total kills 626 520
Kills per game 11.18 11.06
Assists per game 10.57 10.06
Service aces 87 65
Digs per game 16.59 15.51
Blocks per game 2.47 1.70
Kills leader Gabby Oddo Hannah Lautenbach
189 (3.38/g) 132 (2.81/g)
Hitting percentage Gabby Oddo Shaun Crespi
.171 .221
Assists leader Symone Tran Symone Tran
537 (9.59/g) 416 (8.85/g)
Service aces leader Sophie Kuehl 17
Breanne Wiekamp 14
Hannah Lautenabach 17
Digs leader Amanda Ganete Breanne Wiekamp
262 (4.68) 246 (5.23/g)
Blocks leader Shaun Crespi Shaun Crespi
81 (1.45/g) 25 (0.64/g)
SO IF THEY STAY ON THAT PACE …
The Falcons have had some long matches so far this fall, and of course, that makes for bigger stat totals. Even so, some individuals have at least a chance to hit some lofty marks.
The last time an SPU player had in a single season …
400 kills: Alyssa Given (461 in 2007)
300 kills: Madi Cavell (366 in 2014)
1,000 assists: Shelby Swanson (1,105 in 2012)
30 aces: Shelby Swanson (31 in 2011)
500 digs: Breanne Wiekamp (531 in 2015)
100 blocks: Nikki Lowell (134 in 2013)
Shaun Crespi, with 81 total blocks in 56 sets, already has exceed the 80 she had in 88 sets last season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
SPU players combined for five more double-doubles last week, pushing the total to 22 for the season.
Gabby Oddo and
Symone Tran recorded them in both matches, and
Hannah Lautenbach polished off a string of three in a row with her 20 kill-21 dig performance at Northwest Nazarene.
Colleen Hannigan (1 season / 1 career)
16K-15D vs. Hawaii Hilo, Sept. 9.
Hannah Lautenbach (4 season / 8 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.
Gabby Oddo (10 season / 10 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
Symone Tran (7 season / 20 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.
KEEPING IT IN PLAY
Sometimes, it's hard not to ask, 'How'd she dig that up?' when a player somehow keeps the ball off the floor and creates another opportunity for an attack.
The Falcons have been doing plenty of that the last three matches. In each of the three – at home against Concordia, then last week at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington, all of which went to five games – SPU had five players in double-digit digs by the end of the night.
It was the same five, but what a job they did. Between them,
Gabby Oddo,
Hannah Lautenbach,
Symone Tran,
Amanda Ganete, and
Sophie Kuehl – combined for 78 of the team's 87 total digs vs. Concordia, 89 of 97 at NNU and 79 of 86 at Central.
TWO 500s DOWN, ONE MORE IN SIGHT
No one would argue that 500 is a nice round figure in terms of milestone.
Hannah Lautenbach already has hit two of them this season, and has a chance to add another one this week.
On Sept. 9, Lautenbach put her 500th career point into the book in SPU's sweep of Cal State Dominguez Hills at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase in Carson, Calif. She now has passed 600, starting the week with 623.5.
Last Saturday at Central Washington, Lautenbach had her 500th dig, and begins this week with 505.
Now, she is on the verge of her 500th kill, coming into Tuesday's match at Saint Martin's just seven away from that magic number.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Here are some of this week's NCAA Division II national rankings for the Falcons:
TEAM
5th
blocks per game (2.47).
Tie 12th
total blocks (138.5).
21st
attacks per game (38.55).
INDIVIDUAL
Shaun Crespi 5th
total blocks (81.0).
Shaun Crespi 4th
blocks per game (1.45).
Gabby Oddo 26th
total attacks (638).
Gabby Oddo 30th
attacks per game (11.39).
Click on
this link to see how Seattle Pacific stacks up nationally. Click on
this link to see where GNAC teams and players rank in Division II.
AROUND THE WEST
Alaska Anchorage remains the only unbeaten team in the
Great Northwest Athletic Conference, winning in sweeps at Alaska Fairbanks and at Montana State Billings last week. The Seawolves are 6-0 in GNAC, 16-1 overall and on a 15-match winning streak.
Simon Fraser (12-2 overall) and
Central Washington (9-5) are deadlocked for second at 5-1.
UC San Diego is still the only team with a perfect conference record in the
California Collegiate Athletic Association, at 5-0 atop the South Division. The Tritons are 8-5 overall. The best overall records belong to
Chico State (10-4),
Cal State San Bernardino (9-4), and
Humboldt State (8-4).
Cal Baptist (11-3 overall) and
Dixie State (9-4) are still unbeaten in
Pacific West Conference play at 6-0 and 5-0, respectively.
Concordia Irvine is 15-1 overall, 6-1 in conference play, and hosts Cal Baptist on Saturday.
UP NEXT
SPU's October homestand continues next week when
Simon Fraser and
Western Washington visit Brougham Pavilion to wrap up the first half of the GNAC schedule. Both matches begin at 7:00 p.m.
GNAC STANDINGS
Conference Overall
Alaska Anchorage 6-0 16-1
Simon Fraser 5-1 12-2
Central Washington 5-1 9-5
Northwest Nazarene 4-2 11-2
Western Washington 4-2 8-6
Concordia 3-3 7-7
Western Oregon 2-4 5-8
Saint Martin's 1-5 5-5
Seattle Pacific 1-5 5-9
Alaska Fairbanks 1-5 2-11
Montana State Billings 1-5 2-13
