Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

        SPU-Chaminade box score, play-by-play (HTML)
        SPU-Nebraska Kearney box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
HONOLULU – One got away from the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday. But they still head home from Hawaii with their record all even after the first weekend of the 2017 volleyball season.
 
Olivia Turner had a career-high 16 kills, and Hannah Lautenbach double-doubled for the third straight match, but Chaminade came back from being down 2 games to 1 and beat SPU in the Falcons' first Hawaii Challenge match of the day, 3-2.
 
Scores on the Silverswords homecourt in McCabe Gym were 25-23, 16-25, 15-25, 25-15, 15-11.
 
Just three hours later, Seattle Pacific went toe to toe with national No. 3-ranked Nebraska Kearney during different stretches of that match at St. Andrew's Priory. But the Lopers gradually pulled away in all three games of a 25-14, 25-19, 25-16 sweep.

 

"We were challenged a lot. We didn't have any easy matches, and I think something like that prepares us really well for conference play and for the crossover tournament teams that we're going to face," said head coach Abbie Wright, whose team finished the weekend 2-2. "A lot of people stepped up in different games (throughout the weekend)."
 
No. 3 Nebraska Kearney 3, Seattle Pacific 0
The Lopers put the first three points of the match on their side of the scoreboard on the way to an 8-1 lead, and never let the Falcons get closer than four in the opening game.
 
SPU stayed closer through the first half of Game 2, using a three-point surge to cut a 10-6 deficit to 10-9. But Kearney responded with a 7-1 run to push it back to a seven-point bulge at 17-10. A late rally it down to four at 22-18.
 
In the third game, the Falcons were still within range at 12-7 when UNK rang up five straight. That made it a 10-point margin at 17-7 and effectively put the match on ice.
 
"They have really dynamic hitters and setters. Their setter does a good job for them, and that challenged our blockers to read the game," Wright said. "Despite the score, there were some stretches in there where they forced us into some real good volleyball. That's the type of challenge we need right now."
 
BY THE NUMBERS VS. NEBRASKA KEARNEY
-- No one for either team got into double-digit kills. Senior opposite / middle blocker Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) led the Falcons with seven, and Turner added six. Kendall Schroer had nine kills for the Lopers.
-- Lautenbach also had a team-leading three block assists. She topped SPU in that department for both matches on Saturday.
-- SPU hit just .069 for the match (30 kills-24 errors-87 attacks). Nebraska Kearney had 32 kills on just 74 attacks, finishing at .284.
-- Junior libero Amada Ganete (Hillsboro, Ore.) led the way with 11 digs, giving her the team's top total in both Saturday matches.

 

Chaminade 3, Seattle Pacific 2
Freshman outside hitter Turner (Phoenix, Ariz.) beat her previous career high of 13 kills, which she set in her college debut in Thursday's five-game comeback against UC Colorado Springs, and matched in Friday's sweep of Hawaii Pacific. Against Chaminade, she had just four errors in 35 attacks for a career-high .343 hitting percentage.
 
Senior opposite / middle blocker Lautenbach had 11 kills and 10 digs for her 14th career double-double. In addition, Lautenbach had a team-leading seven total blocks.
 
SPU scored the first three points of Game 5, and were still up by three at 5-2 when Chaminade (1-1) went on a 4-0 run to take a 6-5 lead. At 7-7, the Swords put two straight points on the board for a 9-7 lead, and never trailed again.
 
In the opening game, the Falcons came from 12-7 down, climbing back into a 17-17 tie before Chaminade went ahead to stay with four straight points. The Falcons had an early 5-0 run to take charge of Game 2, and a 13-4 surge to provide a comfortable cushion in Game 3.
 
Needing Game 4 to stay alive, the Silverswords ran off the first five points, never letting SPU get closer than four.
 
"It was just kind of who got traction at the right time," Wright said. "Whoever started with a big run ended up winning the game. They started and ended pretty strong. They were just a different style than we had seen."

 

BY THE NUMBERS VS. CHAMINADE
-- Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) tied her season high with 13 kills.
-- Sophomore outside / libero Mallie Donohoe (Wildomar, Calif.) had two more aces on Saturday afternoon, matching the two she served on Friday against Hawaii Pacific. Prior to this weekend, she had never served an ace in college
-- Seattle Pacific had six fewer hitting errors, but Chaminade hammered 14 more kills (61-47).
-- The Falcons hit .170 for the match (41-21-153), and Chaminade finished at .210 (61-27-162).
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays its final preseason tournament next weekend in the D2 West Region Showcase at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Up first is a rematch against Chaminade on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Friday has two matches on the docket, with Cal State East Bay at 10:00 a.m., and Fresno Pacific at 5:00 p.m. The tourney concludes next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Cal State San Marcos.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Hawaii Challenge
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017
McCabe Gym / Honolulu, Hawaii
 
Chaminade 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 25-23, 16-25, 15-25, 25-15, 15-11.
 
Service aces – SPU 6 (Mallie Donohoe 2), Cham 4 (Isabella Tessitore 2).
Kills – SPU 47 (Olivia Turner 16, Gabby Oddo 13, Hannah Lautenbach 11), Cham 61 (Emma Tecklenburg 16).
Assists – SPU 44 (Symone Tran 39), Cham 58 (Danielle Wiley 19).
Digs – SPU 60 (Amanda Ganete 13, Lautenbach 10), Cham 75 (Claire Zanon 23).
Block assists / solo – SPU 18 / 3 solo (Lautenbach 6 / 1 solo), Cham 12 / 2 solo (Brooke Bell 5 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 47-21-153--.170 (Turner 16-4-35--.343), Cham 61-27-162--.210 (Rachel Reedy 8-1-15---.467).
Attendance – 75.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 2-1, Chaminade 1-1.
 
 
(No. 3) Nebraska Kearney 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-14, 25-19, 25-16
 
Service aces – SPU 3 (3 players with 1), UNK 9 (Morgan Stute 3, MK Wolfe 3).
Kills – SPU 30 (Hannah Lautenbach 7), UNK 32 (Kendall Schroer 9).
Assists – SPU 27 (Symone Tran 18), UNK 28 (Lindsey Smith 27).
Digs – SPU 26 (Amanda Ganete 11), UNK 31 (Ellie McDonnell 10).
Block assists / solo – SPU 6 / 1 solo (Lautenbach 3 / 0 solo), UNK 14 / 2 solo (Tara Ziegelbein 4 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 30-24-87--.069 (Gabi Stegemoller 4-1-6--.500), UNK 32-11-74--.284 (McKenzie Puckett 4-0-6--.667).
Attendance – 54.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 2-2, Nebraska Kearney 3-0.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific vs. Chaminade at D2 West Region Showcase
Thursday, Sept. 7     3:00 p.m.
New P.E. Building at Western Oregon / Monmouth, Ore.