Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
BILLINGS, Mont. – Sometimes, says Gabby Oddo, there are just certain things that work on the volleyball court – whether it's for an individual player or an entire team.
 
For the Seattle Pacific Falcons, getting into a deciding fifth game is working very well.
 
Oddo slammed a career-high 23 kills on Thursday night, and SPU pulled out yet another come-from-behind victory, beating Montana State Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
 
Scores in Alterowitz Gymnasium were 18-25, 25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 15-5.
 
Just as they did on Tuesday in Brougham Pavilion against Saint Martin's, the Falcons (9-5, 4-2 GNAC) were down 2 games to 1, won Game 4 decisively, then blew out to a commanding lead in Game 5.
 
SPU is 6-1 in five-game matches this season, and now has won the last five that have gone to the limit. Last year, the Falcons were just 2-6 in five-gamers.

 

"I think it's just that we're so confident in ourselves," Oddo said. "We know we can do it. We just have that mindset that Abbie (head coach Wright) and Korrin (assistant coach Wild) have instilled in us."
 
Sophomore outside hitter Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) eclipsed her previous career high of 22 kills, set just eight nights ago in a five-game victory at Alaska Fairbanks. On Thursday, Nos. 22 and 23 came on the first two points of Game 5.
 
It was Oddo's third match in the last four that she has had 20 or more kills: 22 at Fairbanks, 20 on Tuesday vs. Saint Martin's, and then Thursday's 23.
 
"I was able to swing hard a couple times down an angle, I was able to drop I a tip … Sometimes, I can't get a tip at all during a game," Oddo said. "Today was a day I was able to use all of my tools."
 
The Falcons never trailed in the deciding game, and were tied just once, that at 3-3. From there, they put three straight on the board, saw Billings (5-9, 1-4 GNAC) get one back to make it 6-4, then proceeded to run off seven in a row. The last six of those were with senior defensive specialist Sophie Kuehl (Vancouver, Wash. / Columbia River HS) on the serve.
 
That made it 13-4. The Yellowjackets got one more point, then SPU closed it out on kills by senior Colleen Hannigan (Brentwood, Calif.) and sophomore Nicole Tchabanov (Alta Loma, Calif.).
 
Seattle Pacific hit .400 in the fifth game, with nine kills and just one error on 20 attacks.

 

"We played more error-free – and I think it was that we weren't afraid to err," Wright said "We were just letting it rip and going after it. We weren't afraid of the outcome, and that kind of put pressure on (the Yellowjackets)."
 
Having to win Game 4 just to stay alive, Seattle Pacific put together a six-point scoring run, the last five with junior libero Amanda Ganete serving. What's more, the Falcons won all six of those points themselves: three kills by Tchabanov, one by Tran, and two aces by Ganete. That extended a 12-8 lead all the way to double-digits at 18-8, and Billings never got closer than six.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Senior middle blocker Hannah Lautenbach (12 kills-17 digs) and junior setter Symone Tran (55 assists-16 digs) both double-doubled. Tran has six in a row; Lautenbach has four straight.
-- Oddo not only found the floor frequently, she hit for accuracy, finishing with a .293 percentage (23 kills-6 errors-58 attacks).
-- Oddo was one of five Falcon front-row players to hit better than .200. The team finished at .222.
-- Hannigan finished with a season-high eight kills, including three in Game 4 and two in Game 5.
-- Shaun Crespi followed up Tuesday's kill-block double-double with 10 kills and four total blocks.
-- Tchabanov tied her career high with seven total blocks.
-- Ganete had a team-leading 24 digs, one of five Falcons in double figures.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays host to No. 12-ranked Northwest Nazarene next Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Last night on their home court in a battle of the last two GNAC unbeatens, the Crusaders downed No. 21 Alaska Anchorage, 25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 25-11.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Montana State Billings 2
 
Game scores – 18-25, 25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 15-5.
 
Service aces – SPU 6 (Symone Tran 2, Amanda Ganete 2), MSUB 4 (4 players with 1).
Kills – SPU 64 (Gabby Oddo 23, Hannah Lautenbach 12, Shaun Crespi 10), MSUB 56 (Maddi Vigil 21).
Assists – SPU 61 (Tran 55), MSUB 51 (Alexa Smythe 48).
Digs – SPU 95 (Ganete 24, Lautenbach 17, Tran 16, Mallie Donohoe 16, Sophie Kuehl 11), MSUB 91 (Izela Alvarez 29).
Block assists / solo – SPU 18 / 3 solo (Nicole Tchabanov 6 / 1 solo), MSUB 6 / 1 solo (Miranda McConnell 2 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 64-22-189--.222 (Oddo 23-6-58--.293), MSUB 56-28-96--.143 (Hali Ehresmann 7-1-20--.300).
Attendance – NA.
 
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 9-5, 4-2 GNAC.   Montana State Billings 5-9, 1-4 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 5    7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.