Box Score
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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – This time, it went the other way.
 
The Seattle Pacific Falcons came up with their best team hitting performance since last October, including a solid .381 in the decisive fifth game, but Alaska Fairbanks fought off a match point in that Game 5 on Thursday night to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball opener for both schools.
                                      
Scores in the Patty Center were 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 16-14.
 
The Falcons (4-5, 0-1 GNAC), who survived four match points against them in a Game 5 to beat Azusa Pacific in last weekend's D2 West Region Showcase in California, were down 10-7 in Thursday's fifth. But they stormed back with four points in a row to go up 11-10.
 
The Nanooks (2-6, 1-0 GNAC) then went up 12-11 before SPU regained the lead at 13-12, and again at 14-13. A pair of kills by Amberly Jeane gave UAF a 15-14 edge, and a block on the next point clinched it.
 
"I was proud of the way we battled back from 2-1 down (to win) Game 4," SPU coach Chris Johnson said. "We've been doing a good job in those situations and playing well. We had a swing at it (on match point) in Game 5, but couldn't get the kill. We got a good serve, got them out of system, set it … we've got to kill that ball."

 

Freshman outside hitter Gabby Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) tied her career high with 19 kills, and hit a career-best .364 (just three errors on 44 attacks). She also had 10 digs for her sixth double-double.
 
Freshman middle blockerNicole Tchabanov (San Ramon, Calif.) had a career-best nine kills,  hit .400 for the second time in her career, and totaled six blocks. Of those, two were solos, a single-match best.

.Seattle Pacific returns to action on Saturday at No. 12-ranked Alaska Anchorage, with the first serve at 8;00 p.m. PDT.
 
Of SPU's 50 kills for the night, nine of them came in Game 5, with just one error on 21 attacks. It wound up with a .211 percentage, its first match of better than .200 since beating Montana State Billings in Seattle on Oct. 10, 2015.
 
But Fairbanks wound up even better, finishing at .250 with 72 kills. The Nanooks had double-digit kills in every game, including the fifth when they hit .435 (12-2-23). Maddie Davis and Jeane had 20 kills apiece
 
"The fourth game was the only game we played great defense," Johnson said. "The rest of the night, they were teeing off on us, and we had no answers."
 
 

Junior outside hitter Colleen Hannigan (Brentwood, Calif.) led the Falcons with 14 digs. Junior libero Sophie Kuehl (Vancouver, Wash. / Columbia River HS) served a career-high five aces. Sophomore setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.) totaled 46 assists, and junior opposite Hannah Lautenach (Portland, Ore.) added nine kills, eight digs, and four total blocks.
 
SPU had a 16-13 lead in the opening game, only to see Fairbanks forge ahead, and then hang on. The Falcons quickly took charge of Game 2, building a 15-6 advantage. But the Nanooks stormed back, coming within one point on three occasions before a kill by Oddo finished it.
 
The third game was tied nine times, the last at 11-11. Fairbanks scored five of the next six points, and Seattle Pacific never got closer than two.

The Falcons then used a 6-0 run, including two aces by Kuehl, to snap a 15-15 tie in Game 4 and ultimately get into a fifth game for the third match in a row.
 
Seattle Pacific is 8-8 all-time in GNAC openers, 5-6 on the road.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
 
Alaska Fairbanks 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 16-14.
 
Service aces – SPU 10 (Sophie Kuehl 5), UAF 5 (Riley Podowicz 2, Jenna Hickel 2).
Kills – SPU 50 (Gabby Oddo 19), UAF 72 (Amberly Jeane 20, Maddie Davis 20).
Assists – SPU 50 (Symone Tran 46), UAF 71 (Rachel Nichols 64).
Digs – SPU 56 (Colleen Hannigan 14, Amanda Ganete 12, Oddo 10), UAF 57 (Meagan Olsen 24).
Block assists / solo – SPU 16 / 2 solo (Nicole Tchabanov 4 / 2 solo), UAF 12 / 3 solo (Podowicz 5 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-error-attacks) – SPU 50-20-142 – .211 (Tchabanov 9-3-15 – .400, Oddo 19-3-44 – .364), UAF 72-28-.176 – 250 (Nichols 5-1-10 – .400).
Attendance – 331.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-5, 0-1 GNAC. Alaska Fairbanks 2-6, 1-0 GNAC.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at No. 12 Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, 8:00 p.m PDT
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska