Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
BURNABY, B.C. – Yes, they did flinch a little.
 
But with the match on the line and Simon Fraser suddenly within striking distance, the Seattle Pacific Falcons didn't back down.
 
Didn't blink, either.

 

Gabby Oddo slammed 20 kills – her fourth time this season in the 20s – and Amanda Ganete collected her 1,000th career dig as SPU fought off a furious Clan comeback in Game 4 to pull out a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball victory on Thursday night.
 
Scores in West Gym were 25-21, 28-26, 17-25, 25-20.
 
SPU (10-7, 5-4 GNAC) snapped a two-match losing streak. The win in Burnaby was the first across the border since 2013, before any of the current players ever donned a Falcons uniform.

 

"This just goes to show how good our conference is," head coach Abbie Wright said. "You let up with a slight lead, and it will not turn out favorably for you, especially a match on the road. I applaud our girls for sticking with it. It's hard to recover and stay in it after a couple missed serves toward the end. But they stayed aggressive."
 
After winning the first two games, but then falling behind early and never getting into contention in the third game, Seattle Pacific scored the first two points of Game 4 and never trailed. It was 6-6 when a kill by Oddo started a 7-0 run that produced a 13-6 advantage. Of those seven points, the Falcons were directly responsible for five of them: three kills by sophomore outside hitter Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) and two service aces by junior setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.).
 
The lead grew to 18-8 when Simon Fraser (7-10, 4-5 GNAC) started to climb back in. Jayme Bratsberg's two straight service aces sparked an 8-0 Clan run, cutting SPU's lead to just three at 18-15.
 
Simon twice got as close as one, the last time at 20-19. The Falcons answered with three straight: a kill by Oddo that deflected off two Clan blockers, another Oddo kill, and an ace by sophomore serving / defensive specialist Mallie Donohoe, making it 23-19.
 
The Clan got one more point before SPU finished it with another Oddo kill, and then a combined block by sophomore middle Nicole Tchabanov and senior middle / opposite Hannah Lautenbach.
 
Oddo, in addition to her 20 kills, hit a team-leading .349, with just five errors on 43 attacks.

 

Junior libero Ganete (Hillsboro, Ore.) entered the match needing 13 digs to reach 1,000. She came up with 18, putting her at 1,005.
 
"Both of those kids have made improvements in many areas of their game – not just hitting and digging," Wright said. "We've been tough on them and asked them both to take risks and be uncomfortable. They have risen to the challenge, and I'm proud they are getting rewarded with some numbers to match."
 
SPU enjoyed big scoring runs in the three games it won: 8-0 in Game 1 (going from 12-10 down to 18-12 up), 7-0 in Game 2, (11-10 down to 17-11 up), and then 7-0 in Game 4, snapping that 6-6 tie.
 
"We've really been working on staying aggressive in all parts of our game, and our concentration on serving really paid off tonight," Wright said.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU hit .194 for the match (53 kills-23 errors-155 attacks), but had a monster opening game at .353 (15-3-34). Simon Fraser hit .146.
--The Falcons had 22 total blocks (all assisted), led by Tchabanov's seven.
--Tran was just one dig away from her ninth straight double-double. She had nine digs, along with 48 assists. But, she did record her fifth straight errorless match on the attack, getting two kills on five swings. She has 12 error-free matches this season.
-- With 10 points on Thursday (6 kills-1 ace-6 block assists), Lautenbach is now just 12.5 points away from the 1,000th of her career. She also is just three kills away from No. 800.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays at national No. 11-ranked Western Washington on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Simon Fraser 1
 
Game scores – 25-21, 28-26, 17-25, 25-20.
 
Service aces – SPU 7 (Symone Tran 3), Simon 7 (3 players with 2).
Kills – SPU 53 (Gabby Oddo 20), Simon 49 (Tessa May 12).
Assists – SPU 51 (Tran 48), Simon 48 (Julia Tays 40).
Digs – SPU 65 (Amanda Ganete 18, Hannah Lautenbach 13, Mallie Donohoe 11), Simon 71 (Jayme Bratsberg 23).
Block assists / solo – SPU 22 / 0 solo (Nicole Tchabanov 7 / 0 solo), Simon 8 / 2 solo (Betsie de Beer and Angelica Kilberg 2 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 53-23-155--.194 (Oddo 20-5-43--.349), Simon 49-27-151--.146 (Christine Howlett 10-3-21--.333).
Attendance – 203.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 10-7, 5-4 GNAC. Simon Fraser 7-10, 4-5 GNAC.
 

Next match
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.