THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 27              Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 6:00 p.m. PDT
                                                Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Sept. 29               Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 3:00 p.m.
                                                Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash..
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – The first half of their conference schedule started on the road.
 
But the Seattle Pacific Falcons get to finish it at home.
 
Coming off a tough road trip to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington when the chips didn't fall their way, the Falcons will arrive at the midpoint of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on their home court in Brougham Pavilion when the welcome the Alaska schools to town.
 
Fairbanks is in on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. first serve. On Saturday, Anchorage comes in at 2:00 p.m.
 
SPU (7-8, 5-3 GNAC) is looking to get back to or over the .500 mark again. A victory in either match would guarantee a winning record through the first half of the conference calendar.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All GNAC matches, home and away, will feature free live Webcasts and free live stats. Maxwell Gun will be the man on the mic for both matches this week. The appropriate links for this week's home matches can be found at the top of this page.
 
TICKET TALK
A new ticketing system that is now up and running will allow Falcon fans to pay by credit card payment at the ticket window, as well as having the opportunity to purchase tickets online in advance. As always, cash will continue to be accepted for those buying their tickets on site.
 
Ticket prices – all general admission – are $7 for adults and $5 for students, youths, and senior citizens. Children age 2 and under are admitted free. Seattle Pacific students, faculty, and staff are admitted free when they present a valid current identification card.
 
The credit card and online purchasing options will be available for all home events across all sports – volleyball, soccer, basketball, and gymnastics. General admission prices are the same for every sport. The only additional category is $10 reserved seating for men's and women's basketball.
 
GET ALL DECKED OUT IN YOUR FAVORITE DECADE'S DUDS
The match against Alaska Fairbanks will be a Throwback Thursday in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Falcon fans – especially students – are encouraged to pick out their favorite decade – whether it's the 2010s, or perhaps something earlier – and arrive at the match dressed accordingly.
 
Along with that, a special competition will take place during the five-minute break between Games 2 and 3.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Last year, Seattle Pacific finished the first half of GNAC play with a 5-5 record (10-8 overall).
-- The last time the team finished above .500 through the first half of conference was in 2013 with a 5-4 record. The GNAC had just 10 schools then (Concordia-Portland had not yet joined), so teams played 18 conference matches.
-- The Falcons and Nanooks split a pair of five-gamers last season. Each won on the other's home court – and each came from behind after dropping the first two games.
-- In the match at SPU, the Falcons were up 12-11 and 13-12 in the deciding fifth game before Fairbanks pulled it out to clinch the match, 16-14, on back-to-back kills from then-freshman Markie Miller.
-- Because both matches went the distance, Seattle Pacific players piled up some big numbers: 15 kills and 16 digs for Gabby Oddo, 51 assists for Symone Tran in the home match; 22 kills for Oddo and 58 assists for Tran in Fairbanks.
-- Although SPU still has a big lead in the overall series against Alaska Fairbanks, it has been a much closer of late. The teams split in 2017 and 2016, and the Nanooks won both matches in 2015.
-- Of the eight regulation sets the teams played last year (not counting the two deciding sets), three of them went beyond 25 points: 28-26 for UAF and 26-24 for SPU in Fairbanks, and 30-28 for the Falcons in Seattle.
-- Alaska Anchorage has won the last 10 against Seattle Pacific, one of two teams that current owns a double-digit win streak versus the Falcons. (Northwest Nazarene, with 12 in a row, is the other.)
-- SPU's last win against the Seawolves was a four-gamer in Anchorage on Nov. 10, 2012.
-- The last time the Falcons beat UAA in Seattle was a four-gamer on Oct. 29, 2011, part of SPU's 15-3 record that led to a GNAC championship.
-- At the start of GNAC play on Sept. 6, opponents were hitting .234 against SPU, putting the Falcons 10^th among 11 teams in that defensive category. Since then, they've moved up to No. 9 (.223), No. 8 (.197), No. 6 (.183) and No. 5 (.186).
-- During that same stretch, SPU's own hitting percentage has climbed from .116 to .152 – still No. 10, but a 36-point improvement nevertheless.
-- Gabby Oddo is No. 6 in the GNAC at 3.20 kills per game. Shaun Crespi is No. 3 in blocks at 1.27. That ranks No. 16 nationally, highest of any Falcon in any stat category. Also, her 70 total blocks ranks No. 37 among Division II players.
-- Seattle Pacific's best team national ranking is No. 21 in blocks at 2.28.
-- Coach Abbie Wright is 1-1 vs. Alaska Fairbanks and 0-2 vs. Alaska Anchorage.
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 5-10, 3-5 GNAC (8^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 38-13. Current series streak: UAF won 1. Last time: UAF 3, SPU 2 (22-25, 28-30, 25-15, 16-14; Oct. 21, 2017 at Seattle). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: Fairbanks is coming off a pair of homecourt sweeps against the Oregon schools, thereby earning GNAC Team of the Week honors. With those two victories, it has won of its last five after having lost seven in a row. The Nanooks have a solid outside hitter in  5-foot-10 sophomore Lahra Weber, who hails from Berlin, Germany. Weber has 181 kills for the season, a 3.42 average that ranks No. 4 in the GNAC. But that's not all she does. Weber also has delivered 13 service aces and had 32 total blocks, including eight solos for a total of 214 points, one of half a dozen conference players to have moved past the 200 mark this season. Supplying further firepower at the net is 5-10 redshirt sophomore outside / right side Tatum Upchurch. She has 147 kills (2.88 per game). A player who has been particularly tough on the Falcons the past two years is 6-foot junior middle blocker Kim Wong. Although she had one match in negative hitting (3 kills / -.286), the other three have been way inside positive territory: 13 kills / .357, 8 kills / .583, and 13 kills / .321.
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 13-3, 6-2 GNAC (3^rd)
All-time series: SPU leads, 28-25. Current series streak: UAA won 10. Last time: UAA 3, SPU 2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-6; Oct. 19, 2017 at Seattle). Seawolves on the Web. Seawolves in a nutshell: Anchorage bounced back from a loss at No. 8 Western Washington to take care of Concordia-Portland and Western Oregon in Alaska last week. Eve Stephens, a 6-foot-1 freshman middle blocker / right side, has made an immediate impact. She leads the team in kills with 181, a 3.08 per-game average that ranks No. 9 in the GNAC. And she's accurate, too, hitting .316. Chrisalyn Johnson is close behind in the kills department with 181 (2.92) and has served up 20 aces. Tara Melton, a 6-foot senior middle, had added 118 kills, hits .341, and has piled up 69 block assists. Sophomore 6-2 middle Vera Pluharova is even bigger on the block, with 80 altogether, including seven solos. Her 1.29 per-game average is second in the conference, and UAA's team average of 2.58 ranks No. 9 in all of Division II. Anchorage is the GNAC's toughest team to hit against, allowing opponents just a .140 success rate.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Junior outside hitter Gabby Oddo ran her string of double-doubles to four matches in a row last week. That included a big match in each category: 30 digs (along with 11 kills) at Northwest Nazarene, followed by 19 kills (along with 10 digs) at Central Washington. The Falcons now have 17 double-doubles for the season.
 
Maddie Batiste (1 season / 1 career)
13K-13D vs. Metro State, Aug. 25
 
Shaun Crespi (0 season / 1 career)
 
Gabby Oddo (8 season / 28 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
 
Symone Tran (8 season / 53 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
 
NIFTY FIFTY – AND MOVING UP TO NO. 4
Senior setter Symone Tran put a season-high 59 assists into the book during last Thursday's tough five-game loss at Northwest Nazarene. That was her second match this season of 50-plus, topping the 54 she recorded in a five-game win against Montana State Billings on Sept. 20 in Brougham Pavilion.
 
 

Through her four years, Tran has had 14 matches of 50 or more assists. One of those was her career high of 68 in a five-gamer against Western Washington in Seattle last Nov. 9.
 
For the week, Tran had 101 assists, tacking on 42 more in four games at Central Washington on Saturday. That moved her past Katy Higgins for No. 4 on the all-time SPU career assists list. Tran now has 3,633. Higgins racked up 3,539 from 2000-03.
 
The only former Falcons still in front of Tran are No. 3 Shelby Swanson (3,749 from 2009-12), No. 2 Deri Paulson (one of the original SPU players, she had 3,783 from 1986-89), and all-time leader Jenna Von Moos (4,009 from 2003-06).
 
SPEAKING OF TOP 4 …
Heading into last week, it was just a matter of time – just at few minutes, actually – before senior libero Amanda Ganete would move into SPU's all-time top 5 for digs. By the end of the first game in what would turn out to be a five-gamer at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, she was there. Ganete needed just four and came up with seven, thus moving past Tiffany Butac's total of 1,379.
 
 

By the time the Falcons and Nighthawks were done with all five games, Ganete had 22 digs. That gave her 1,398 and pushed her past the 1,397 accumulate by Leilani Kamahoahoa.
 
Chances are, Ganete's not done climbing that ladder just yet. She begins this week with 1,423 and 12 regular-season matches left. The next notch up the list is No. 3 Torii Mount with 1,552 from 2005-08. Just ahead of Mount is No. 2 Brianna Leenders, with 1,570 from 2011-14.
 
ONE AT A TIME FOR GAINES
Before playing her first match for Seattle Pacific this fall after three seasons at Concordia Irvine, the most kills Hailey Gaines had recorded in a match was 12, which she achieved twice.
 
 

She erased that number on Sept. 6 by putting 14 onto the floor in the GNAC opener at Western Washington in Bellingham.
 
Last week, Gaines went one better than that on Thursday – and one better than that on Saturday. The 6-foot redshirt senior opposite had 15 kills at Northwest Nazarene, then followed that with 16 at Central Washington.
 
After not reaching double-digit kills in any of her first seven SPU matches, Gaines now has gone for 10 or more in six of her last eight contests.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Western Washington will try to conclude an undefeated run through the first half of GNAC play when it visits the Oregon schools this week – Concordia-Portland on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday. The Vikings (13-3, 8-0 GNAC) have won 13 straight after an 0-3 start (all of those losses to nationally ranked opponents). The most compelling match of the week just might be on Tuesday when Central Washington visits Northwest Nazarene.
 
In a showdown week among California Collegiate Athletic Association leaders, Cal State San Bernardino emerged unscathed. The Coyotes swept Cal Poly Pomona at home, ending the Broncos' 12-match winning streak, then swept Cal State Los Angeles on the road, halting the Eagles' win streak at 13 in a row. Adding in a sweep at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Bernardino (16-1, 9-0) now has won 12 straight. CSULA (14-1, 6-1) got back on track by sweeping Pomona (14-3, 7-2).
 
Azusa Pacific stretched its winning streak to 10 and is now 9-0 atop the Pacific West Conference, owning a 13-4 overall mark. Staying in the hunt are Hawaii Hilo (7-1, 11-3 overall) and Biola (7-2, 11-5 overall). Chaminade is 6-3, but has a 12-3 overall record that keeps it in the picture for possible postseason play. Azusa visits Biola on Wednesday, and Hilo is home against Chaminade on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
The second half of GNAC play begins with a four-match road trip for the Falcons. First up is the Oregon schools next week, with a visit to Concordia-Portland on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 6:00 p.m. (an hour earlier than a normal Thursday starting time), and Western Oregon on Saturday the 13^th in Monmouth at 4:00 p.m.
 
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                           GNAC      Overall
Western Washington           8-0    13-3
Central Washington           7-1    13-2
Alaska Anchorage             6-2    13-3
Seattle Pacific              5-3     7-8
Simon Fraser                 4-4     7-7
Concordia-Portland           4-4     7-8
Northwest Nazarene           4-4     4-11
Alaska Fairbanks             3-5     5-10
Western Oregon               2-6     5-10
Montana State Billings       1-7     7-10
Saint Martin's               0-8     2-12