THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Oct 16                  Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
  
Saturday, Oct. 20                Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings, 1:00 p.m. PDT
                                                Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – Not only did the Seattle Pacific Falcons get back on the volleyball winning track last week – they got back there on the road.
 
Now, they'll get to see if they can keep it going. And once again, those opportunities will come in road venues.
 
The Falcons continue their second go-round against Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents when they visit Saint Martin's on Tuesday night and Montana State Billings on Saturday afternoon. The first serve on the Saints' court in Marcus Pavilion will be at 7:00 p.m. The match in MSUB's Alterowitz Gymnasium has a 1:00 p.m. Pacific time start.
 
Last week's trip to Oregon began with SPU (9-10, 7-5 GNAC) on a four-match losing streak. The Falcons halted that with a four-game victory against Concordia-Portland on Thursday, then followed up with a three-game sweep at Western Oregon on Saturday.
 
Seattle Pacific had been part of a four-way tie for fourth place in the standings prior to those two matches. This week begins with a three-way deadlock between the Falcons, Simon Fraser, and Alaska Fairbanks.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All GNAC matches, home and away, will feature free live Webcasts and free live stats. The appropriate links for this week's home matches can be found at the top of this page.
 
GAINING GROUND ON A GRAND
Junior outside hitter Gabby Oddo is in position to log the 1,000^th point of her career this week. 

Oddo be

gins the week with 986 points. That includes 875 kills, 63 service aces, five solo blocks, and 86 block assists (each block assist is half a point, giving her 43 points in that category).
 
That 1,000^th point will make Oddo the 17^th player in 33-year history of the program to get there. The most recent Falcon to reach a grand was Hannah Lautenbach, who made it last year and finished her career with 1,155.5 points.
 
With eight matches left in the season, Oddo will have a chance to climb a few notches on the list between now and the finale on Nov. 10. Currently in No. 16 is Monica Abrahamson with 1,007.5. Climbing into the top 10 will take 1,135.0 points (Madi Cavell from 2011-14).
 
The record belongs to Tosca Lindberg (1,773.0 from 1989-92).
 
Also within reach for Oddo – maybe late this season, maybe early next season – is the 1,000 kill-1,000 point achievement. A total of six Falcons have done that, most recently Nikki Lowell with 1,037 kills and 1,385 points from 2010-13.
 
 SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU is 4-7 away from Brougham Pavilion, including 4-3 in true road matches (0-4 on neutral courts).
-- With two season series sweeps already in the book against Concordia-Portland and Western Oregon, the Falcons have a chance to go for two more this week.
-- The current two-match win streak is the second time this season SPU has strung together multiple victories. The first one was a five-gamer that included homecourt wins against this week's two opponents.
-- The 33-match winning streak against Saint Martin's began on Sept. 21, 2002 in Lacey with a four-game victory.
-- It was also in Lacey where the Saints last beat SPU, a five-gamer on Oct. 20, 2001.
-- The teams also battled through five games last season in Brougham Pavilion, with the Falcons winning after being behind 2 games to 1
-- Seattle Pacific's best hitting night of the season came on Sept. 18 against the Saints, with a mark of .271, led by Gabby Oddo's season-best .393 (12 kills-1 error-28 attacks).
-- Oddo had a double-double that night, adding 11 digs to her 12 kills. That was the beginning of what now has grown into a streak of eight straight double-doubles.
--The defense was clicking, as well, as the Falcons limited Saint Martin's to just .038 hitting.
-- That is one of three times this season SPU has kept an opponent below .100.
-- Last year in Billings, the Falcons were down 2 games to 1 before coming back to win in five, 15-5 in the fifth.
-- They also went five last month in Seattle. Once again, SPU completely dominated Game 5, running off 10 straight points (the last nine with senior libero Amanda Ganete on the serve) o expand a 3-2 lead to 13-2 on the way to closing it out, 15-3.
-- Senior middle blocker Shaun Crespi hit a season-best .474 in that match (10-1-19), the third of four straight matches in which she topped .300.
-- Coach Abbie Wright is 3-0 all-time against both Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings.
 
SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 3-15, 1-11 GNAC (11^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 55-5. Current series streak: SPU won 33. Last time: SPU 3, StM 0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-13; Sept. 18 at Seattle). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's pulled out its first GNAC victory of the year last Thursday, coming from 2 games to 1 down to win in five at Western Oregon. The Saints were down 13-12 in the fifth game before getting the last three points on kills, two of them by junior 5-foot-9 outside / right side Ililani Kamaka. She and teammate Megan Vernoy each had 18 kills that night. That snapped an 11-match losing streak for Saint Martin's. Vernoy, a 5-11 senior right side / outside, is the top threat on offense for the Saints with 211 kills (3.10 per game, No. 10 in the GNAC). She also is the team's top hitter at .226, and has sent 20 service aces across the net. Saint Martin's also goes to 5-10 senor outside Rachel Gondrezick (179 kills), and Kamaka (140). Kamaka had a team-high eight of hers in last month's match at SPU. Freshman setter Alyssa Bartlett and senior libero Courtney Misner each have 21 aces. Freshman 5-11 outside Annika Briggs is tops on the block with 47.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 9-12, 3-9 GNAC (9^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 30-11. Current series streak: SPU won 3. Last time: SPU 3, MSUB 2 (25-20, 15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-3; Sept. 20 at Seattle). Yellowjackets on the Web. Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Billings opened the season with six straight wins, then dropped eight in a row. Two weeks ago in Montana, the Yellowjackets knocked off Central Washington in five games. In fact, five-gamers have become commonplace with MSUB, which has played nine of them and won six. Of those that didn't go the Jackets' way, one was at SPU on Sept. 20, and another was last Thursday at Alaska Fairbanks. Maddi Vigil, a 5-foot-9 sophomore outside hitter, is by far and away Billings' biggest weapon on offense with 215 kills (2.56 per game). She had 15 in last month's match in Seattle. Senior 6-1 middle blocker Miranda McConnell has 147 kills and hits a team-high .253. Eavan Taylor, a 6-2 freshman middle, also tops .200 in hitting (.214) and is the leading blocker for the Jackets with 80 (including 15 solos). Her 0.95 per-game average is No. 12 in the GNAC.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Gabby Oddo recorded two more double-doubles last week and now has eight in a row. That exceeds her run of seven in a row midway through her freshman season, which was halted after an injury sidelined her for the final month of that year. Symone Tran also had one last week, and the Falcons now have 24 for the year.
 
Maddie Batiste (1 season / 1 career)
13K-13D vs. Metro State, Aug. 25
 
Shaun Crespi (0 season / 1 career)
 
Gabby Oddo (12 season / 32 career)
19K-12D vs. Fresno Pacific, Aug. 24
13K-17D vs. Metro State, Aug. 25
11K-16D vs. UC San Diego, Sept. 1
15K-11D at Simon Fraser, Sept. 8
12K-11D vs. Saint Martin's, Sept. 18
15K-16D vs. Montana State Billings, Sept. 20
11K-30D at Northwest Nazarene, Sept. 27
19K-10D at Central Washington, Sept. 29
19K-10D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 4
14K-12D vs. Alaska Anchorage, Oct. 6
15K-16D at Concordia-Portland, Oct. 11
13K-11D at Western Oregon, Oct. 13
 
Symone Tran (11 season / 56 career)
38 AST-19D vs. Fresno State, Aug. 24
39 AST-20D vs. Metro State, Aug. 25
27 AST-10D vs. UC San Diego, Sept.1
43 AST-21D at Western Washington, Sept. 6
45 AST-10D at Simon Fraser, Sept. 8
34 AST-13D vs. Concordia-Portland, Sept. 15
54 AST-17D vs. Montana State Billings, Sept. 20
42 AST-10D at Central Washington, Sept. 29
43 AST-10D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Oct. 4
45 AST-14D vs. Alaska Anchorage, Oct. 6
46 AST-17D at Concordia-Portland, Oct. 11
 
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
While Symone Tran continues to rack up assists in her role as SPU's setter, two other Falcons picked up the first assists of their careers within the past two weeks.

 

On Oct. 6 against Alaska Anchorage in Brougham Pavilion, it was junior outside hitter Jaeden Hooker earning an assist that led to a kill by Hailey Gaines on the opening point of the fourth game.
 
In last Thursday's four-game win at Concordia-Portland, junior defensive specialist Katie Mansfield picked up her first assist. Matter of fact, she picked up two, both in the second game. The first led to a kill by Tran, the second to a kill by Gabby Oddo.
 
Oddo is normally on the receiving end of assists. But in that match against Anchorage, she logged a career high of four. Her previous best was three, in three previous matches.
 
WHILE WE'RE TALKING TRAN AND ASSISTS …
As expected, Symone Tran did move up two places on Seattle Pacific's career assist list last week.
 
She came into Thursday's match at Concordia-Portland with 3,721. She had 46 more in that four-game win, moving into No. 3 past Shelby Swanson (3,749).
 
Then on Saturday at Western Oregon, Tran had 34 more. That eclipsed the 3,793 earned by Deri Paulson and moved her up to No. 2.
 
Now with 3,801, Tran has eight matches left to catch program record holder Jenna Von Moos' total of 4,009. That's an average of 26 per match.
 
HANDS UP … BALL DOWN
Shaun Crespi is on the brink of her second 100-block season. The 6-foot-2 senior middle comes into this week with 91 total, including six solos. Her 1.26 per-game average ranks No. 3 in the GNAC, trailing only Western Washington's Kayleigh Harper (1.43) and Central Washington's Julia Mellander (1.31).
 
 

As a sophomore in 2016, Crespi had 151 total blocks, the eighth-highest total in program history. Even last year, when she missed the first 10 matches due to an injury, Crespi had 79 blocks in just 69 games, a 1.14 average that ranked No.6 in the conference.
 
Crespi jumped seven places to No. 15 in the NCAA Division II national statistics for block per game. She remains the highest-ranking Falcon in any stats category. She also is No. 20 in total blocks.
 
The Falcons as a team rank 15^th (among 290 D2 programs) in blocks per game at 2.33, and 37^th in total blocks with 160.5.
 
Speaking of "ball down,", Gabby Oddo 55^th in attacks per game (10.71), 64^th in total attacks (739), and 131^st in kills per game (3.25).
 
AROUND THE WEST Western Washington continued its winning ways in the GNAC last week, starting with a second consecutive sweep of Central Washington, this time in Bellingham. The Vikings (17-3, 12-0 GNAC) are now up to 17 straight victories and have a three-match lead on Alaska Anchorage (16-4, 9-3 GNAC). One way or another – up or down – that three-match margin will change on Thursday, as WWU and UAA meet in Alaska. When they played on Sept. 22 in Bellingham, the Vikings won in four. Anchorage is alone in second place, as Central (14-5, 8-4 GNAC) was swept at Simon Fraser on Saturday and now has lost three in a row
 
Cal State San Bernardino's 14-match winning streak came to an end last Friday in a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association loss at Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos thus gained some revenge for a three-game sweep at the hands of the Coyotes two weeks earlier in San Bernardino. CSSB (18-2, 11-1 CCAA) continues to lead the South Division, with Cal State Los Angeles (18-1, 10-1) and Pomona (17-3, 10-2) close behind. No blockbuster matches are on this week's schedule.
 
Azusa Pacific and Biola are now just half a match apart in the Pacific West Conference standings. APU (16-5, 12-1) has won three in a row; Biola (16-5, 12-2) has logged eight straight wins. They meet next Tuesday, Oct. 23, in Azusa. Before that, Azusa Pacific must deal with third-place Point Loma Nazarene (13-7, 10-3) on Tuesday.
 
UP NEXT
After four straight on the road, the Falcons are back home next week to host Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. The Wildcats are in on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7:00 p.m., followed by the Nighthawks on Saturday the 29^th at 2:00 p.m. Central beat SPU in four games last month in Ellensburg; NNU pulled out a five-gamer in Nampa, Idaho.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                   GNAC         Overall
Western Washington      12-0      17-3
Alaska Anchorage         9-3      16-4
Central Washington       8-4      14-5
Simon Fraser             7-5      10-8
Alaska Fairbanks         7-5       9-10
Seattle Pacific          7-5       9-10
Concordia-Portland       6-6       9-10
Northwest Nazarene       4-8       4-15
Montana State Billings   3-9       9-12
Western Oregon           2-10      5-14
Saint Martin's           1-11      3-15