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SEATTLE – Third set was the charm. Or, if not that, it was at least some very fine volleyball for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
Lexi Biondi slammed 16 kills on Tuesday night, Symone Tran had her fourth straight double-double, and Hannah Lautenbach put her 500th career kill on the floor – setting up match point when she did – as SPU got back into the win column by sweeping Saint Martin's.
 
Scores of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference match in Brougham Pavilion were 25-22, 25-21, 25-15.
 
The Falcons (6-9, 2-5 GNAC) snapped a three-match losing streak. But as much as what they did, it was how they did it – especially in Set 3, with 19 kills and 306 hitting – that delighted coach Chris Johnson.


 

"We told them (during the 10-minute break after Set 2) that we wanted to be more aggressive. We did a really good job of that in the third set, and we got rewarded for it," Johnson said. "It was nothing more than a mindset change.
 
"We're still a young team and still have a lot to learn in terms of mentality," Johnson added. "But I think it's getting better, and you saw it more in that third set tonight."

Senior outside hitter Biondi (Albuquerque, N.M.) had five of her kills during the clinching third. She hit .263 for the night (16 kills-6 errors-38 attacks), adding four block assists to her stat line.

 

Junior opposite Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) came into the match needing seven kills to reach 500. The one that got her to that milestone was a hard shot that went off of a Saints blocker. That made the score 24-15, and gave the serve to sophomore teammate Amanda Ganete. SPU immediately converted the match point on Biondi's 16th and final kill.
 
"Lexi made a lot of really good decisions, and I'm really proud of her for that," Johnson said. "She even elevated it that much more in the third set – just one error and five kills. To have 16 kills in three sets is phenomenal. That's a hitter dominating a match."
 
Sophomore setter Tran (Portland, Ore.) recorded 39 assists and 15 digs. She has eight double-doubles for the season and 21 for her career.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Shaun Crespi (Camarillo, Calif.) had a flawless night on offense, putting down seven kills with no errors on 14 attacks for.500 hitting. She also came up with seven total blocks, (one solo), pushing her closer to 100 for the season. She has 88 heading into Thursday's match against Montana State Billings at 7:00 p.m. in Brougham.



 

"Shaun with seven kills and seven blocks – I don't know how much more you can ask from a middle in three sets," Johnson said. "She has learned to work hard in transition, and she's getting rewarded for it."
 
Lautenbach, since the season started, has put her 500th point (and since then has passed 600), 500th dig, and now her 500th kill into the book.

Led by Tran's 15, SPU had four players in double-digit digs. Lautenbach (12), Gabby Oddo (11) and Ganete (10) were the others.
 
The Falcons led for most of the match on the way to their fifth sweep of the season. Saint Martin's (5-6, 1-6 GNAC) made a late rally in Set 1 to cut a 24-18 lead to 24-22 before Biondi and Abbey Lautenbach closed it out with a block. In Set 2, SPU was up 24-19, saw the Saints score two straight, then finished it on a Biondi kill.
 
Seattle Pacific had a 14-12 edge in the third, then ran off seven points in a row, effectively putting it away.
 
Thanks in part to .364 hitting in the third set when they slammed those 19 kills on 49 swings, the Falcons topped .200 for the match, finishing at .204 (47 kills-18 errors-142 attacks).
 
Saint Martin's (5-6, 1-6 GNAC) finished at .100 hitting (31-19-120).
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 0
 
Game scores – 25-22, 25-21, 25-15.
 
Service aces – StM 1, SPU 4 (Abbey Lautenbach 3).
Kills – StM 31 (Rebecca Mitchell 10), SPU 47 (Lexi Biondi 16).
Assists – StM 31 (Nicolette Nesbitt 17), SPU 47 (Symone Tran 39).
Digs – StM 68 (Cassidy Apo 24), SPU 64 (Tran 15, Hannah Lautenbach 12, Gabby Oddo 11, Amanda Ganete 10).
Block assists / solo – StM 10 / 1 solo (Vegas Casey 4 / 1 solo), SPU 16 / 2 solo (Shaun Crespi 6 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – StM 31-19-120—.100 (Casey 4-1-12—.250), SPU 47-18-142—.204 (Crespi 7-0-14—.500).
Attendance – 72.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 6-9, 2-5 GNAC. Saint Martin's 5-6, 1-6 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion