Box Score

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NAMPA, Idaho – Against one of the upper-echelon teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Seattle Pacific Falcons put together two solid sets.
 
No matter what the echelon, though …
 
… it still takes three.
 
Hannah Lautenbach's double-double in the 20s sparked an SPU comeback, but the Falcons ultimately finished short on Thursday night at Northwest Nazarene.
 
Scores in the Johnson Sports Center were 25-18, 27-25, 21-25, 21-25, 15-6.

 

Junior opposite Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) pounded a career-high 20 kills and came up with a career-high 21 digs. The last time an SPU player went for 20 or more in both categories on the same night was Sarah Risser, with 22 kills and 27 digs in a five-gamer against none other than Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 10, 2009, in Seattle.
 
Lautenbach came close to that accomplishment last year at Simon Fraser when she had 19 kills and 20 digs in five games. Those had been her previous highs for both.
 
Once again, Lautenbach had a solid overall stat line. She hit a season-high .327 (just four errors on 49 attacks), had three block assists, and two service aces. The double-double was her third in a row, fourth of the season, and eighth of her career.
 
"I can't say enough about the way Hannah played tonight – and it's not just the 20 kills," Johnson said. "She hit .327, and she was the best player on the court for either side."

 

Freshman outside Gabby Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) also had a double-double (16 kills and 12 digs), her team-leading ninth. Sophomore setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.) double-doubled, as well, with a career-high 55 assists (beating her old mark of 53) and 13 digs. It was her sixth of the season and 19th of her career.
 
But all of that, plus a handful of other strong individual performances, weren't enough to get the Falcons (5-8, 1-4 GNAC) over the Game 5 hump. They've taken teams to the max five times this season. Only one of those (Sept. 10 against Azusa Pacific) has gone SPU's way.
 
"I'm disappointed with the results, but I'm encouraged by the way we're playing," Johnson said.
 
SPU returns to action on Saturday at Central Washington. The first serve in Nicholson Pavilion is at 7:00 p.m.
 
CLIMBING BACK INTO IT
The Falcons had dropped Thursday's opener and were down 22-16 in Game 2 when they came to life with six straight points, Tran serving on the last five of those, to tie it at 22-22. Northwest Nazarene (10-2, 3-2 GNAC) got game-point opportunities at 24-23 and 25-24, only to see SPU fend off both. The Crusaders finally put the last two on the board for a two-game lead.
 
"We've got a lot of fight in us," Johnson said. "We waited too long to start fighting. But once we decided we were going to be aggressive and we were going to go for it, we got a lot better."
 
Seattle Pacific used a 4-1 run in the third game to turn a 19-18 deficit into a 22-20 lead. NNU got one point back, then kills by Oddo and Shaun Crespi, sandwiched around a Crusaders attack error, closed out the game and kept the Falcons alive.
 
SPU bolted to a 12-4 lead in the fourth game. It grew to 19-10 before Northwest Nazarene started clawing back, and got as close as 24-21. Then Lautenbach – with her 20th kill – sealed the deal to bring on Game 5.
 
Down by two early on, the Falcons tied it at 4-4. The Crusaders then rang up seven straight points, effectively putting it away. They hit .400 in that one, getting kills on 12 of their 15 points.
 
"We were two points away in Set 2. If that goes our way, maybe we win in four," Johnson said. "We played very well in Sets 3 and 4. Our passing let us down a little in the fifth set, and made it tougher to get quality swings."
 
Junior Sophie Kuehl (Vancouver, Wash. / Columbia River HS) tied her career high with 16 digs, and sophomore libero Amanda Ganete (Hillsboro, Ore.) came within one of her career high with 27. Freshman Abbey Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) got her first career start, and responded with eight kills, four blocks, and .273 hitting.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Northwest Nazarene 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 25-18, 27-25, 21-25, 21-25, 15-6.
 
Service aces – SPU 6 (Gabby Oddo 3), NNU 4 (4 players with 1).
Kills – SPU 61 (Hannah Lautenbach 20, Oddo 16), NNU 69 (Mari Thomas 19, Maddi Farrell 17).
Assists – SPU 65 (Symone Tran 55), NNU 69 (Hailey Cook 62).
Digs – SPU 97 (Amanda Ganete 27, H. Lautenbach 21, Sophie Kuehl 16), NNU 116 (Thomas 25).
Block assists / solo – SPU 17 / 2 solo (Shaun Crespi 5 / 1 solo), NNU 21 / 1 solo (Farrell 7 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 61-28-215—153 (H. Lautenbach 20-4-49—327), NNU 69-23-205—224 (Farrell 17-4-35—371).
Attendance – 319.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 5-8, 1-4 GNAC. Northwest Nazarene 10-2, 3-2 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.