Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – Getting two games and staying right in the thick of a volleyball match against perennial power Alaska Anchorage is always a good thing. But …
 
.. it still takes three to win the match.
 
Hailey Gaines hammered a career-high 19 kills on Saturday, and Gabby Oddo double-doubled for the sixth match in a row, but Seattle Pacific, despite taking the first two from UAA, ultimately fell short in a five-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference battle in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Scores were 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12.
 
It was the second straight year the Falcons (7-10, 5-5 GNAC) and Seawolves (15-3, 8-2 GNAC) went the distance in Seattle. It also was the second time this week SPU went all five games, as Alaska Fairbanks escaped with the win on Thursday.
 
 

"We're so close, and can't quite seal the deal," Falcons coach Abbie Wright said. "It's just part of the growing process. Sometimes, those are going your way, and sometimes, they don't.

"I told the team that they can feel sorry for themselves, or they can respond well – and the great thing about our team is every time, they've responded well. We're going to come back next week and play hard."
 
For Gaines, it was the third time in the last four matches that she has set a career high for kills. She had 15 last Thursday at Northwest Nazarene (beating her previous best of 14 from the Sept. 6 match at Western Washington), followed that with 16 last Saturday at Central Washington, then came through with Saturday's tally of 19.
 
She echoed Wright's sentiments about the Falcons responding, especially in light of Thursday's close loss to Fairbanks.
 
"I think Thursday was kind of a tough match just because we're used to playing (Fairbanks') style," Gaines said. "We just got frustrated, but we came back on Friday and practiced hard, and that showed today. If we can keep doing that, we can play with any team, and we can hang with everyone. The main thing now is just to focus on coming out fast."
 
The Falcons did indeed come out fast on Saturday, hitting a phenomenal .472 in the first game (19 kills-2 errors-36 attacks) – only to see Anchorage do almost nearly as well at .448 (14-1-29). SPU bolted to a 10-4 lead and never let the Seawolves get closer than three points, the last time at 17-14.
 
Seattle Pacific bounced back from 12-9 down in the second game, ultimately using a 5-0 run to turn a 16-14 deficit into a 19-16 lead, and never trailed again.
 
"I knew it was going to be a dogfight. Even when we were up 2-0, I knew it wasn't in the bag at all, just because they're a good team," Wright said.
 
Indeed, Alaska Anchorage built a 14-5 lead in the third game. But the Falcons answered with a 14-5 run of their own, thanks in part to a four-point run with Mallie Donohoe on the serve. SPU never could forge in front, however, and the Seawovles closed it out to stay alive.
 
UAA trailed just once – that on the first point – in Game 4. It then built a 5-1 lead in Game 5 and was up 8-5 when the teams switched sides.
 
Seattle Pacific ran off four in a row to go up, 9-8, with a kill by junior outside hitter Jaeden Hooker providing the go-ahead point The Falcons also had leads of 10-9 and 11-10. The even got the benefit of an overturned call after a video review showed that a crosscourt kill by Gaines did land inbounds after initially being called out. That left it even at 12-12.
 
But that was SPU's final point, as Anchorage got the final three to clinch the match.
 
 

"We came ready – we were mentally ready to take care of business," Gaines said. "The third game, they woke up and we maybe let off the gas a little. But I think they played well, and we played well.
 
Added Wright, ""Those games we won, we looked really good. It's just getting the to believe I that and sustain that, and go back to the things that are going well when it gets hectic out there."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The Falcons finished at .241 hitting on Saturday (57-17-166), their third-highest mark of the season. Anchorage had 11 more kills and checked in at .263 (68-23-171).
--Saturday's match concluded the first half of GNAC play. Seattle Pacific also was 5-5 halfway through last year's conference schedule.
--Hailey Gaines was in double-digit kills for the fifth straight match and the eighth time in the last 10. She hit .356 for the day (19-3-45)
--Senior middle blocker Shaun Crespi led the Falcons with a .417 hitting performance. It was her fourth .400-plus of the year.
--SPU now has four 19-kill efforts this fall – three by Gabby Oddo, and Saturday's by Gaines.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific begins the second half of conference play with a four-match road trip, beginning on Thursday at Concordia-Portland. The first serve is at 6:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Alaska Anchorage 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12.
 
Service aces – UAA 12 (Vanessa Boyer 4), SPU 6 (Amanda Ganete 2).
Kills – UAA 68 (Boyer 15), SPU 57 (Hailey Gaines 19, Gabby Oddo 14, Jaeden Hooker 11).
Assists – UAA 65 (Ellen Floyd 57), SPU 55 (Symone Tran 45).
Digs – UAA 78 (Taylor Noga 25), SPU 66 (Tran 14, Mallie Donohoe 13, Oddo 12, Ganete 12).
Block assists / solo – UAA 8 / 0 solo (3 with 2 / 0 solo), SPU 14 / 1 solo (Shaun Crespi 4 / 0 solo, Tran 3 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – UAA 68-23-171—263 (Vera Pluharova 5-0-11—455, Tara Melton 14-4-23—435), SPU 57-17-166—241 (Crespi 6-1-12—417, Gaines 19-3-45—356).
Attendance – 91.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 7-10, 5-5 GNAC.   Alaska Anchorage 15-3, 8-2 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Concordia-Portland
Thursday, Oct. 11     6:00 p.m.
LCEF Court / Portland, Ore.