Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – Once again, the Seattle Pacific Falcons made it seem as if a volleyball comeback was in the cards.
 
This time, however, the comeback came up short.
 
Gabby Oddo had 13 kills, one of three SPU players in double figures, and Symone Tran logged a double-double, but Concordia-Portland had solid hitting percentages in three of the four games to beat the Falcons in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball opener on Thursday night.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22. That ended a three-match Seattle Pacific winning streak.

 

"All credit to Concordia – they're a very good team," Falcons coach Abbie Wright said after her team's home debut. "We really struggled getting them out of system. When we did, it's just about staying consistent and disciplined, and making adjustments faster than they are. It took us longer to catch up."
 
Sophomore outside hitter Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) was in double-digit kills for the sixth time in nine matches. Senior middle blocker Hannah Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) added 12 kills, and freshman outside Olivia Turner (Phoenix) chipped in 10 kills.
 
Junior setter Tran (Portland, Ore.) recorded 43 assists and 12 digs. That was her third double-double of the season and the 29^th of her career.
 
The Falcons (5-4, 0-1 GNAC) fell behind early, but stormed back with a 9-3 run to take a 19-16 lead in the opening game. Concordia (6-2, 1-0 GNAC) responded with four in a row for a 20-19 edge. SPU went back in front one more time at 21-20 before the Cavaliers rang up three straight to go back on top for good
 
Concordia used a pair of four-point spurts to build a seven-point advantage in Game 2, and was never threatened after that.
 
Seattle Pacific had a big finish to Game 3, snapping a 20-20 tie with five of the final six points to pull it out and stay alive. The Cavaliers came back and the same thing in Game 4, getting five of the last six after being down 21-20 to clinch the match.
 
Except for the second game, the Falcons were in contention throughout, which stood out to Wright
 
"We're getting better, we're working through things, and we're learning," she said. "Our hustle and grit was there. We're growing our minds right now, and we're going to learn from it."
 
Concordia had three games above .200 hitting on Thursday (.237, .333 and .270), finishing at .237 with 57 kills.
 
SPU checked in at .158 with 50 kills. It started slowly at .058, then built up to .147 and .214 before slipping to .189 in the final game.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Sophomore middle blocker Nicole Tchabanov finished with a .263 hitting mark at 8-3-19. She also had four total blocks, including a solo, and leads the Falcons with 29.
-- Lautenbach finished at .206 hitting (12-5-34), the sixth time in nine matches she has topped .200. -- Junior libero Amanda Ganete (Hillsboro, Ore.) came up with a season-high 28 digs, six more than her previous best off in last Friday's five-game win against Cal State East Bay.
-- Turner's 10 kills pushed her past 100 for her career. She now has 103.
-- SPU is 8-9 all-time in GNAC openers.
 
UP NEXT
Western Oregon comes to Brougham Pavilion on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The Wolves scored a three-game sweep at Saint Martin's on Thursday, 25-15, 25-14, 25-19, hitting .270 in the process. Said Wright, "Western Oregon is a physical team. We're going to have to be ready to be physical and tough." 
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Concordia-Portland 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22.
 
Service aces – CU 6 (Lindsey Dorsey 2, Michele Brown 2), SPU 5 (Gabby Oddo 2, Mallie Donohoe 2).
Kills – CU 57 (Lindsey Dorsey 14), SPU 50 (Oddo 13, Hannah Lautenbach 12, Olivia Turner 10).
Assists – CU s54 (Brown 49), SPU 48 (Symone Tran 43).
Digs – CU 61 (Anna Dols 13), SPU 63 (Amanda Ganete 28).
Block assists / solo – CU 16 / 2 solo (Barnette 5 / 2 solo), SPU 14 / 1 solo (Nicole Tchabanov 3 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – CU 57-21-152 – .237 (Barnette 13-1-26 – .462), SPU 50-27-146 -- .158 (Tran 2-0-5 -- .400, Tcabanov 8-3-19 -- .263).
Attendance – 100.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 5-4, 0-1 GNAC.  Concordia-Portland 6-2, 1-0 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion