THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 2                 Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
Saturday, Nov. 4                  Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 6:00 p.m. PDT
                                                Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
         Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons proved they can go toe-to-toe with two of the best volleyball teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
They'll get a chance to do that again this week – and a chance to turn the results around in their favor.
 
As the 2017 season heads into its final month, SPU takes to the road, visiting Central Washington in Ellensburg on Thursday, then traveling to Idaho for Saturday's contest against Northwest Nazarene in Nampa. The first serve for that one is at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
Just as they open November against those two teams, the Falcons began October taking on the same squads in Brougham Pavilion. Preseason favorite NNU was undefeated at the time, but Seattle Pacific went all the way to the fifth game before falling short.
 
Just two nights later vs. Central, SPU had big leads in the first and third games, only to see the Wildcats come back to win in four.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and free live Webcasts will be available from all GNAC matches, home and away. Appropriate links for this week's contests are available at the top of this story.
 
THEY'RE THE NIGHTHAWKS NOW
When Seattle Pacific faced Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 5 in Brougham Pavilion, the team on the other side of the net was still known as the Crusaders.
 
But that all changed on Oct. 16, when the school announced its new mascot would be the Nighthawks. Discussions had been underway on that topic since 2016. The final decision was made earlier this fall.
 
The nighthawk is an animal common to the area, and is a mascot that is not currently being used by other schools surrounding NNU.
 
SENIOR TRIO WILL BE HONORED AT HOME FINALE
The Falcons will be back in Brougham Pavilion for their final two home matches of the season next week, and the finale will be a big one as the team honors graduating seniors Colleen Hannigan, Sophie Kuehl, and Hannah Lautenbach.
 
Those three will have their special day on Saturday, Nov. 11, when Simon Fraser comes to town. The first serve is set for 4:00 p.m., and the ceremony will take place just prior to that.
 
Hannigan and Lautenbach have been with the team all four years. Hannigan (photo right), an outside hitter, has contributed both as a starter and as a reserve. This year, she has logged her 200th career kill, and is on the brink of her 300th career point.
 
Lautenbach recently scored her 1,000th career point, just the 16th Falcon in the 32-year history of the program to reach four digits. She also has surpassed 800 career kills and 900 digs, and is on the cusp of single-season career bests for kills, digs, and points.
 
Kuehl transferred to SPU after her freshman season at the University of San Francisco. A steady and reliable presence as a defensive and serving specialist, she is closing in on single-season bests for service aces and digs with six matches left.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- With two straight tallies in the 'W' column, Seattle Pacific is on its fifth multi-match winning streak of the season.
-- Its longest such streak is three, coming in the D2 West Region Showcase.
-- With 12 overall victories, the Falcons have surpassed last year's total of 11 and equals the 12 recorded in 2014.
-- The 7 GNAC wins equals last year's total.
-- Including last Tuesday's victory at Saint Martin's, the Falcons are now 9-5 away from Seattle, including 5-3 in true road matches
-- Settle Pacific has logged at least one victory on each of its multi-match trips: two at the Hawaii Challenge, three at the D2 West Region Showcase, a split in Alaska, and a split of Simon Fraser-Western Washington (winning at Simon).
-- Northwest Nazarene was ranked No. 12 last time and is No. 13 this time, following a split of its two matches in Alaska last week.
-- SPU was ahead of both teams in Seattle, up 2 games to 1 on NNU, then 12-4 in Game 1 and 18-11 in Game 3 vs. Central Washington.
-- Falcons sophomore outside hitter Gabby Oddo went for double-digit kills both nights, with 12 against Northwest Nazarene and 15 against Central.
-- The match against the Nighthawks will be the Falcons' fifth against a top-25 team this season. Aside from the first one against NNU, the others have been against Nebraska Kearney (No. 3 at the time), Alaska Anchorage (No. 20) and Western Washington (No. 11). Kearney (No. 5) and Western (No. 8) are still ranked.
-- The series against Central Washington remains the closest of any conference opponent, with the Wildcats leading, 38 to 35. Of the 73 all-time contests, 18 have gone to a deciding game. Central has a 10-8 edge in those.
-- The total games won between them is just as close. Including CWU's 3-1 triumph in Seattle on Oct. 7, it's now 136 games for the Wilcats, 134 for the Falcons.
-- Although the Nighthawks have a nine-match winning streak against SPU, two of those have gone to five games – including the Oct. 5 contest in Seattle.
-- That was the 12th time in 36 matches that those teams have gone to the limit. Each team has won six.
-- After six straight matches below .200 hitting, the Falcons were above .200 both times last week: .213 at Saint Martin's, and .265 vs. Montana State Billings. They now have nine better than .200 for the year.
 
SCOUTING THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDCATS: 16-6, 11-3 GNAC (tie 3rd)
All-time series: CWU leads, 38-35. Current series streak: CWU won 1. Last time: CWU 3, SPU 1 (25-23,21-25, 25-23, 25-17; Oct. 7 at Seattle). Wildcats on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: As has been true all season, the Wildcats are one of the toughest defensive teams not only in the GNAC, but in all of NCAA Division II. They rank No. 2 nationally in blocks per game at 2.80, and No. 5 in total blocks with 249. Opponents hit just .151 against Central, the second-best mark in the GNAC, and the Falcons managed just .124 last time. Senior 6-foot-3 middle blocker Sabrina Wheelhouse is the country's top blocker with 141 total and a 1.58 per-game average. She also hits a solid .328 with 170 kills. Wheelhouse had 11 kills, nine blocks, and hit .476 last time vs. SPU. Shelby Mauritson, a 5-10 junior outside hitter, has the third-best kills total (325) and fourth-best per-game average (3.61) in the GNAC, and hammered 14 in the first match. Other Wildcats who can get it done are 6-2 sophomore outside Bridgette Webb (13 kills, 4 blocks in the first match) and senior 6-0 middle Sarah Joffs (8 kills, 6 blocks)..
 
SCOUTING THE NORTHWEST NAZARENE NIGHTHAWKS: 20-2, 12-2 GNAC (2nd)
All-time series: SPU leads, 20-15. Current series streak: NNU won 9. Last time: NNU 3, SPU 2 (25-17, 19-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-8; Oct. 5, 2017 at Seattle). Nighthawks on the Web.
Nighthawks in a nutshell: Even with a couple of five-game road losses after a 15-0 start, NNU is still one of the leading teams in the country. The Nighthawks hit at a .258 clip, tops in the GNAC and No. 15 in Division II. They average 13.93 kills per game, which is second-best in the conference and 25th nationally. NNU is stingy defensively, too, keeping opponents to a GNAC-low .148 hitting percentage, and limited Seattle Pacific to just .099 in the Oct. 5 match in Brougham. Madi Farrell and Kendra Bodine are twin terrors at the net. Farrell, a 6-2 senior middle blocker, is D2's top hitter with her .431 percentage, having 325 kills and just 57 errors on 622 attacks. She had 15 of those kills and hit .343 vs. SPU the first time. Bodine is a 5-10 senior outside hitter whose 4.34 kills per game (356 total) leads the conference and is No. 12 on the national list. She slammed 20 kills in the first match against the Falcons, getting four of those with no errors on seven attacks in Game 5.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Colleen Hannigan
(0 season / 4 career)
 
Hannah Lautenbach
(11 season / 22 career)
15K-14D vs. UC Colo. Springs, Aug. 31
12K-11D at Hawaii Pacific, Sept. 1
11K-10D at Chaminade, Sept. 2
11K-15D vs. Cal State East Bay, Sept. 8
17K-12D at Alaska Fairbanks, Sept. 21
10K-14D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 23
14K-11D vs. Saint Martin's, Sept. 26
12K-17D at Montana State Billings, Sept. 28
12K-23D vs. Northwest Nazarene, Oct. 5
20K-19D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 21
11K-11D vs. Montana State Billings, Oct. 28
 
Gabby Oddo
(5 season / 18 career)
10K-10D vs. Western Oregon, Sept. 16
18K-10D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 23
20K-10D vs. Saint Martin's, Sept. 26
21K-15D vs. Alaska Anchorage, Oct. 19
15K-16D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 21
 
Symone Tran
(13 season / 42 career)
47 AST-16D vs. UC Colo. Springs, Aug. 31
48 AST-14D vs. Cal State East Bay, Sept. 8
43 AST-12D vs. Concordia-Portland, Sept. 14
31 AST-14D vs. Western Oregon, Sept. 16
58 AST-10D at Alaska Fairbanks, Sept. 21
34 AST-17D at Alaska Anchorage, Sept. 23
54 AST-14D vs. Saint Martin's, Sept. 26
55 AST-16D at Montana State Billings, Sept. 28
36 AST-22D vs. Northwest Nazarene, Oct. 5
45 AST-17D vs. Central Washington, Oct. 7
51 AST-14D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 21
32 AST-10D at Saint Martin's, Oct. 24
30 AST-13D vs. Montana State Billings, Oct. 28
 
MAKING THE MOST OF COLLEGE DEBUT
As last Tuesday's contest at Saint Martin's neared its conclusion, Casey Kispert wasn't expecting to hear her name called by head coach Abbie Wright.

 

But in Game 3, with the Falcons sitting on match point at 24-21, Wright called it. Kispert, standing near the end of the bench with the other Falcon reserves, quickly walked over and checked in for veteran Symone Tran.
 
Hannah Neumann served for Saint Martin's. Mallie Donohoe dug it up, passing toward Kispert, who set it for Gabby Oddo on the outside. Oddo nailed it home, the Falcons had the win, and Kispert had her first college assist.


 
THAT'S NOT ALL ODDO NAILED
SPU spread its offense around that night, and that match-clinching kill by Oddo gave her eight for the evening and a final hitting percentage of .154.

 

But four night later at home against Montana State Billings, Oddo was swinging away with laser-like accuracy. She had 10 kills on 19 attacks, with just one error, for a career-high .474 percentage. That was her first time in the .400s at the college level, and she made it with plenty of room to spare.
 
In 22 matches, Oddo has hit .200 or better in 13 of them. Along with that .474, she has three in the .300s, and had a stretch of six straight at .200 or better. For the season, Oddo is hitting .219.
 
Last fall, Oddo played 18 matches before a season-ending injury and had 10 at .200 or better, with three in the .300s, finishing at .183. Her current mark is 36 percentage points better than that.
 
STEGEMOLLER A TWO-WAY THREAT
 

A couple weeks ago, freshman middle blocker Gabi Stegemoller was doing precisely what her position primarily requires: She was blocking – and how. Against Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 19, she had a career-high six block assists. A couple nights later vs. Alaska Fairbanks, she came up with eight.
 
Last Tuesday at Saint Martin's, the 6-foot-2 found herself with more opportunities on offense, and made good on them with nine kills on 16 attacks and an error-free .562 hitting percentage. Both were career highs.
 

MORE THAN JUST AN ACE UP THEIR SLEEVE
No question that the Falcons were delighted to come up with 19 service aces in their two matches last week. That included a season-high 11 at Saint Martin's, the first time they've had double-digits in a match since delivering 12 against Academy of Art on sept. 11, 2015.
 
 

But more than that, SPU enjoyed some stretches of consistent serving. The match at Saint Martin's had 12 runs of at least two points. That included a six-pointer and a three-pointer for Maddie Batiste, a four-pointer for Gabby Oddo, and a pair of three-pointers for Symone Tran.
 
Against Montana State Billings, the Falcons had 11 multiple-point runs. Amanda Ganete a three-pointer to finish off Game 1 (including back-to-back aces) and another trey early in Game 2. Mallie Donohoe and Hannah Lautenbach also had three-pointers.
 
NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS
SPU players have a handful of places among the top 10 in the GNAC:
 
Symone Tran is No. 2 in total assists with 885.
Gabby Oddo is No. 4 in total kills with 305.
Tran is No. 4 in assists per game at 9.73.
Nicole Tchabanov is No. 5 in blocks per game at 1.21.
Tchabanov is No. 9 in total blocks with 80.
Gabby Oddo is No. 8 in kills per game at 3.39.
Oddo is No. 9 in points per game at 3.76.
Amanda Ganete is No. 10 in digs per game at 4.28.
 
AND IN THE COUNTDOWN DEPARTMENT …
With six matches left:
--Gabby Oddo is 76 kills from the most ever by an SPU sophomore. She has 305; the record is 381 by Alyssa Given in 2005.
-- Hannah Lautenbach is 83 digs from 1,000 for her career.
-- Symone Tran is 115 assists away from her second straight season of 1,000.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Look who's back in first place in the GNAC: It's Western Washington. The perennial power Vikings, whose last conference crown was 2013, took over sole possession of the top spots by sweeping Western Oregon and Concordia-Portland, while season-long leader Northwest Nazarene just split in Alaska, beating Fairbanks, but losing a five-gamer at Anchorage. Western is now 13-1, NNU 12-2, Anchorage 11-3, and Central Washington 11-3.
 
Cal Baptist ran its season record to 21-0 and is way on top of the Pacific West with a 13-0 mark, although it had to fend off a challenge from Biola for a 3-2 win last Thursday. The Lancers are three matches ahead of second-place Azusa Pacific (17-4, 10-3 Pac West) with seven matches left. Those two teams meet on Saturday at Azusa; the Lancers swept the first meeting on Oct. 14 at home in Riverside.
 
Sonoma State remains atop the North Division in the California Collegiate Athletic Association at 6-1 (15-7 overall). But Cal State East Bay (6-2) and Chico State (6-3) are close behind. Cal State San Bernardino, riding a four-match win streak, has surged past UC San Diego to lead the South Division at 6-2 (15-7 overall). The Tritons, at 5-2 in the division, still have the CCAA's best overall record at 16-6.
 
UP NEXT
The final two home matches of the season are set for next week. Arch-rival Western Washington comes to Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7:00 p.m. Then on Senior Day Saturday, Nov. 11, Simon Fraser is in town, with that match starting at 4:00 p.m. The Falcons lost a three-gamer at Western in the first half of GNAC play, but scored a four-game victory at Simon.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                             Conference          Overall
Western Washington     13-1        19-3
Northwest Nazarene     12-2        20-2
Central Washington     11-3        16-6
Alaska Anchorage       11-3        16-7
Simon Fraser            8-6        12-10
Seattle Pacific         7-7        12-10
Concordia-Portland      4-10       9-12
Alaska Fairbanks        3-11       10-12
Saint Martin's          3-11        8-14
Montana State Billings  3-11        7-17
Western Oregon          2-12        6-15