Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
BILLINGS, Mont. – The Seattle Pacific Falcons had their moments in all phases of the game.
 
But those moments didn't always come together at the same time.
 
Gabby Oddo had 23 kills and logged her 1,000^th point in an SPU uniform, but Montana State Billings bolted to a big lead in the fifth and deciding game on Saturday to beat the Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match.
 
Scores in Alterowitz Gymnasium were 26-24, 22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-6.
 
The result snapped a three-match winning streak for Seattle Pacific (10-11, 8-6 GNAC), although the Falcons are still part of a fourth-place tie in the standings. It also helped Billings (11-12, 5-9 GNAC) turn the tables after SPU had beaten the Yellowjackets in a five-gamer last month in Seattle.
 
"When our passing was on, our hitting was off. And when our hitting was on, our passing might have broken down. We just couldn't quite fit all the pieces together," head coach Abbie Wright said. "It was kind of a toss-up match. We had some moments when we played well, then had some when we couldn't produce."
 
Junior outside hitter Oddo's 23 kills matched a total she had reached twice previously, most recently last Nov. 16 in a five-game win at Western Oregon. She also had 10 digs on Saturday for her 10^th straight double-double.
 
The second of Oddo's 23 kills, which came late in Game 1, went into the book as her career-milestone 1,000^th point. It made her the 17^th player in the 33-year history of the Seattle Pacific program to reach that level. She had 24.5 points altogether on Saturday (one ace and one block assist to go along with all of the kills), giving her 1,022.5 for her career.
 
Last month in Seattle, it was the Falcons rolling to a commanding 13-2 lead in Game 5, as they eventually won it, 15-3, to take the match.
 
This time, Montana State Billings scored the first three points, never trailed, and was never tied. The closest Seattle Pacific game was 3-2. The Yellowjackets followed up with a trio of three-point runs: the first one making it 6-2, the second one 9-3, and the last one 14-5.
 
"We just couldn't get some traction," Wright said. "You get down a couple points, and it's a grind to get back into it if you can't put away the first couple of balls."
 
Trailing by 24-20 in the opener, SPU fought off four game points to climb back into a 24-24 tie before Billings got the last two. The Falcons came from 12-8 down in Game 2 with a 12-3 run to make it 20-15.
 
Seattle Pacific had leads of 8-1, 9-2, and 10-3 in the third, only to see MSUB come back to go in front 20-17 and stay ahead the rest of the way to take a 2-games-to-1 advantage. Then, except for an 11-11 tie, the Falcons led Game 4 from start to finish, forcing the deciding fifth.
 
SPU wound up with seven more kills (60-53), but made 38 attack errors – 13 more than Billings.
 
"They got a lot more touches on the dig, and they played pretty gritty," Wright said of the Yellowjackets. "It was hard for us to keep up sometimes. When we could connect, they would keep the ball alive."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Senior setter Symone Tran had 52 assists on Saturday. She now has 3,887 for her career and needs just 123 more in the final six matches to set the program career record. Tran made it a double-double with 12 digs.
-- Senior libero Amanda Ganete had a team-high 24 digs, one of four Falcons in double figures.
-- Redshirt senior opposite Hailey Gaines set a career high with eight block assists. Her previous best was six.
-- SPU is 1-5 in five-gamers this season.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific returns home next week to host Central Washington on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Falcons will be eyeing a season series split in both contests, as the Wildcats won in four and the Nighthawks in five on their respective home courts last month.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
Montana State Billings 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 26-24, 22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-6.
 
Service aces – SPU 6 (Amanda Ganete 3), MSUB 5 (Izela Alvarez 2).
Kills – SPU 60 (Gabby Oddo 23, Jaeden Hooker 10), MSUB 53 (Skylar Reed 15).
Assists – SPU 56 (Symone Tran 52), MSUB 49 (Alexa Smythe 25).
Digs – SPU 86 (Amanda Ganete 24, Mallie Donohoe 17, Tran 12, Oddo 10), MSUB 81 (Maddi Vigil 21).
Block assists / solo – SPU 18 / 2 solo (Hailey Gaines 8 / 0 solo), MSUB 24 / 5 solo (Miranda McConnell 7 / 3 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 60-38—.119 (Gabi Stegemoller 9-2-22—.318), MSUB 53-25-176—.159 (Reed 15-4-38—.289.
Attendance – 157.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 10-11, 8-6 GNAC.   Montana State Billings 11-12, 5-9 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 27     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion