Box Score

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CARSON, Calif. – By day's end, the Seattle Pacific Falcons didn't have nearly as many kills as the team on the other side.
 
But in fighting off four match points, they had the kills that counted the most.
 
In an improbable comeback, SPU rallied from deficits of 14-11 and 15-14 in Game 5 to beat Azusa Pacific in the D2 West Region Showcase volleyball tournament.
 
Scores in the Torodome at Cal State Dominguez Hills were 24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 12-25, 17-15.
 
"It was pretty unbelievable and very exciting. I'm just stoked that we were able to pull that out," coach Chris Johnson said. "I'm very proud of the resilience of my team and just the way we stuck together. We had some key players come off the bench and make some contributions."
 
The Falcons (4-4 overall), who swept Azusa Pacific in last weekend's Concordia Irvine Labor Day Classic, trailed by as many as six points in Saturday's deciding fifth game at 11-5. A 6-1 run brought them within 12-11 before APU (2-5) put the next two on the board to set up a triple-match point opportunity.

 

A kill by freshman outside hitter Gabby Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) cut it to 14-12, and gave the serve to fellow freshman Katie Mansfield (Lynnwood, Wash. / Lynnwood HS). Mansfield, who made her college debut earlier in Saturday's match, immediately delivered an ace to make it 14-13, and a subsequent Cougars attack error tied it at 14-14.
 
Following an Azusa timeout, Ally Gonzalez put down a kill to give her team a 15-14 lead and a chance to serve for the match. But Oddo slammed another kill, finding a hole in the Azusa block and driving the ball to the back corner, tying it at 15. Sophomore setter Symone Tran took over the serve, and another Cougars attack error gave Seattle Pacific a match point – its first of the day – at 16-15.
 
Junior opposite Hannah Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) made good on it with a kill to cap the comeback.

 

"I just tried to get them to believe in themselves and recognize that this can still happen, and we still have these opportunities," Johnson said of his conversation during a timeout when Azusa had that 11-5 advantage. "We just wanted to get them to play with a little more aggression and a bolder mindset, and they took some of that to heart."
 
Having gone 3-1 in this weekend's tournament to wind up with an even split of their eight preseason matches, the Falcons begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in Alaska. They visit Fairbanks on Thursday and Anchorage next Saturday. Both matches start at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
It was SPU's second five-gamer in less than 24 hours. On Friday night, the Falcons bounced back from two games down against Hawaii Pacific to force a fifth before falling three points short.

 

Oddo's 19 kills came on 72 attacks, and she had just four errors for a .208 hitting percentage. She also had 13 digs for her fifth double-double in eight matches.
 
Lautenbach finished with eight kills, 13 digs, two service aces, and five total blocks.

 

Sophomore libero Amanda Ganete (Hillsboro, Ore.) came up with a career-high 28 digs. It beat her previous best of 22 from last Saturday's match against UC San Diego, and was the third time this season she has set a career high in that category.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Shaun Crespi had six kills and another seven blocks (one solo). She wound up with 28 blocks for the tournament (five solo). Tran recorded her second straight double-double, this time with a career-high 24 digs to go along with 36 assists.
 
Seattle Pacific prevailed even though Azusa Pacific hammered 27 more kills for the match (74-47). The Falcons had 13 total blocks, their second straight match in double-digits (they had 19 on Friday against Hilo), and totaled 47 for the tournament. SPU also had a season-high 91 digs, with Ganete, Tran, Oddo and Lautenbach all in double figures.
 
"We do have some good things happening, and we're doing some things well," Johnson said. "Our defense is playing well, but we have some stuff to work on with offense."
 
The five-game win was the first for the Falcons since Oct. 18, 2014 against Alaska Fairbanks.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase
Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016
The Torodome / Carson, Calif.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Azusa Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 24-26, 25-22 25-23, 12-25, 17-15.
 
Service aces – SPU 5 (Hannah Lautenbach 2), APU 7 (Shaylah Kagehiro 3).
Kills – SPU 47 (Gabby Oddo 19), APU 74 (Ally Gonzalez 18).
Assists – SPU 44 (Symone Tran 36), APU 69 (Danika Young 36).
Digs – SPU 91 (Amanda Ganete 28, Tran 24), APU 116 (Bailey Henington 37).
Block assists / solo – SPU 24 / 1 solo (Shaun Cresi 6 / 1 solo), APU 6 / 2 solo (Julianne Miller 3 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 47-26-209 – .100 (Oddo 19-4-72 – .208), APU 74-36-232 – .164 (Ashley Midland 11-2-23 – .391).
Attendance – 182.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-4, Azusa Pacific 2-5.
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks
Thursday, Sept. 15 / 8:00 p.m. PDT
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska