Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Hannah Lautenbach and Symone Tran both double-doubled, and Colleen Hannigan came up with her best match of the season, but Central Washington rallied from a late deficit in Game 1 and went onto sweep Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match on Thursday night.
 
Scores in Nicholson Pavilion were 28-26, 25-19, 25-22.
 
Senior middle blocker Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) had 15 kills and 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the season and 23rd of her career. Junior setter Tran (Portland, Ore.) had 43 assists and 12 digs. That was her fourth double-double in a row, 14th for the year and 43rd for her career. Tran's three kills on Thursday put her at an even 100 for her career.

 

Senior Hannigan, normally an outside hitter, switched to the right side, and delivered 13 kills with a season-high .417 hitting percentage. She also had three block assists.
 
The Falcons (12-11, 7-8 GNAC) were down 20-17 in Game 1 when they went on a 4-0 run to take a 21-20 lead. Central (17-6, 12-3 GNAC) went back in front, 23-21, and had a game point at 24-23. But SPU fought that off with back-to-back kills from Lautenbach to go up 25-24.
 
CWU answered with two in a row for a 26-25 edge. A Hannigan kill saved that game point, but the Wildcats got the next two.
 
Central snapped a 14-14 tie with three straight points in Game 2, and never trailed again. Seattle Pacific battled back from a 15-10 deficit in Game 3, eventually going up, 21-20. But the Falcons managed just one more point the rest of the way.
 
"We dug a lot of balls, we played physical, and we played tough – they're just a tough team to get out of system," SPU head coach Abbie Wright said. "When we did that, we were able to locate some things and work our way back into the match."
 
The Falcons had five more kills (51-46) and 11 more digs (63-52) than Central. But the Wildcats made 14 fewer hitting errors and hit .256 for the match (46 kills-13 errors-129 attacks). SPU hit .167 (51-27-144).
 
"A couple more points swing our way, and it looks like a completely different match," Wright said. "Even though we lost in three, I don't think the score tells the level of volleyball that was played. The first game was a high level, with both teams in the .200s (.226 for SPU, .269 for Central), and a high level of digs (28-20 in the Falcons' favor). There's not much more you can do."
 
Wright was especially pleased with Hannigan's work in her new position.
 
"She stepped up big in that new role on the right side," Wright said. "She was making smart shots and working her way through the match. She does all the little things well, and she was being rewarded with some big-time kills."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Although Central Washington is the top blocking team in NCAA Division II, and has the nation's leading individual blocker in 6-foot-3 senior middle Sabrina Wheelhouse, Seattle Pacific actually had more blocks for the match. The Falcons had 14 block assists, the Wildcats had 12, and neither team had a solo. Junior middle Shaun Crespi had five for SPU, and Symone Tran got her hands on four. Wheelhouse finished with four.
-- Tran's 43 assists give her 928 for the season. She needs just 72 in the final five matches to reach 1,000 for the second straight year. She is 155 away from 3,000 for her career.
-- Junior libero Amanda Ganete led the Falcons with 21 digs.
 
UP NEXT
SPU heads to Idaho for a match against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday in Nampa. The first serve is at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time. On Oct. 5 in Brougham Pavilion, NNU – now called the Nighthawks instead of the Crusaders – came from 2 games to 1 down and won in five.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017
Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Central Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 28-26, 25-19, 25-22.
 
Service aces – SPU 0, CWU 0.
Kills – SPU 51 (Hannah Lautenbach 15, Colleen Hannigan 13, Gabby Oddo 11), CWU 46 (Shelby Mauritson 14).
Assists – SPU 49 (Symone Tran 43), CWU 44 (Gabirelle Aihara 21).
Digs – SPU 63 (Amanda Ganete 21, Lautenbach 15, Tran 12), CWU 52 (Kyla Morgan 15).
Block assists / solo – SPU 14 / 0 solo (Shaun Crespi 5 / 0 solo), CWU 12 / 0 solo (Sabrina Wheelhouse and Bridgette Webb both 4 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 51-27-144--.167 (Tran 3-0-5--.600, Hannigan 13-3-24--.417), CWU 46-13-129--.256 (Sara Joffs 5-1-10--.400).
Attendance – 432.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 12-11, 7-8 GNAC.   Central Washington 17-6, 12-3 GNAC.
 
 
Next match.
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Saturday, 6:00 p.m. PDT
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho