Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – With their penchant for long volleyball matches this season, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are used to staying late.
 
On Saturday night, they got to go home a little early – and for the right reason, too.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Oddo played error-free volleyball with 10 kills, and Symone Tran logged her 30th career double-double, helping SPU sweep past Western Oregon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-17, 25-20, 26-24.
 
It was just the fourth time that the Falcons (6-4, 1-1 GNAC) have been done in the minimum three games. Of those, two have gone into their win column. (The other one was at Hawaii Pacific on Sept. 1.).
 




Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.), who attacked 26 times, finished with a career-high .385 hitting percentage. That topped her previous best of .348 (20 kills-4 errors-46 attacks) last Sept. 15 at Alaska Fairbanks.

 "I feel like they were very resilient, and they're learning how to play with confidence," head coach Abbie Wright said. "Tonight was really good for us. We don't just have hope that we play well. If we do the little things right, we will play well."
 
That resilience came in handy during Game 3. Western Oregon (5-4, 1-1 GNAC) edged in front, 10-9, and slowly stretched it out, eventually going up five at 21-16.
 
But the Falcons started climbing back. A bad set by the Wolves and consecutive blocks – the first by Olivia Turner and Nicole Tchabanov, the second by Tchabanov and Hannah Lautenbach – made it 21-19. Down 22-20, SPU put up three in a row to go ahead, and then got a match point at 24-23.
 
Western Oregon saved that one on a kill by Mariella Vandenkooy. An Oddo tip gave the Falcons a second try at match point, 25-24. That try was delayed about six minutes while officials reviewed a play. No changes were made, and Oddo converted this one with another tip.
 
Seattle Pacific has won four of its last five, the only loss being Thursday's four-gamer to Concordia-Portland.

 

"We pinpointed some things to work on tonight, and they're working on anticipating a little bit better," Wright said. "Our kids really grew from being down. It's hard to bounce back (after a loss), so I give a lot of credit to them."
 
For just the third time this season, the Falcons put a Game 1 into the win column. They ran off five straight points to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 6-2 lead. It eventually grew to eight at 17-9, and the Wolves (5-4, 1-1 GNAC) never got closer than five.
 
SPU scored the first three points of Game 2, never trailed, and was never tied. The Wolves got as close as one on three occasions late, the last time at 19-18.
 
While the Falcons hit a season-high .242 as a team (41 kills and just 10 errors on 128 swings), it was their defense that kept them in a lot of points on Saturday, with 56 digs and eight total blocks.
 
"We definitely stepped up and played really good defense. That's part of anticipating the game," Wright said. "Credit to Western Oregon – had they won that third game, which was tight, then you're in for a battle."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Tran's 30th double-double came on 31 assists and 14 digs. It was her second straight to start GNAC play and fourth of the season.
-- Oddo had her first double-double of the year, coming up with 10 digs to go along with her 10 kills.
--Freshman middle blocker Gabi Stegemoller tied her career high with eight kills and set a career high with three block assists. She hit .300 (8-2-20),
--The Falcons limited Western Oregon to .084 hitting (38-26-134), the first time this year it has kept an opponent below .100 for the match.
 
UP NEXT
SPU takes its Alaska road trip this coming week, visiting Fairbanks on Thursday, and current No. 18-ranked Anchorage on Saturday. Both start at 8:00 p.m. PDT.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Western Oregon 0
 
Game scores – 25-17, 25-20, 26-24.
 
Service aces – WOU 4 (4 players with 1), SPU 2 (2 players with 1).
Kills – WOU 38 (Mariella Vandenkooy 12), SPU 41 (Gabby Oddo 10).
Assists – WOU 35 (Maddie Mehciz 19), SPU 39 (Symone Tran 31).
Digs – WOU 66 (Mackenzie Bowen 21), SPU 56 (Tran 14).
Block assists / solo – WOU 2 / 2 solo (4 players with 1), SPU 16 / 0 solo (Nicole Tchabanov 5 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – WOU 38-26-134 -- .090 (Vandenkooy 12-3-32--.281), SPU 41-10-128--.242 (Oddo 10-0-26--.385).
Attendance – 165.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 6-4, 1-1 GNAC. Western Oregon 5-4, 1-1 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks
Thursday, Sept. 19
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska