FALCON-WILDCAT INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
At Brougham Pavilion
Thursday, Aug. 23               Metro State vs. Cal State San Bernardino, 5:00 p.m.
 
Friday, Aug. 24                    Seattle Pacific vs. Fresno Pacific, 10:00 a.m.
                                         Fresno Pacific vs. Cal State San Bernardino, 3:00 p.m.
                                         Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State San Bernardino, 7:30 p.m.
 
At Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg
Friday, Aug. 24                    Central Washington vs. Metro State, 6:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, Aug. 25                Fresno Pacific vs. Metro State, 10:00 a.m.
                                         Central Washington vs. Fresno Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                         Seattle Pacific vs. Metro State, 4:00 p.m.
                                         Central Washington vs. Cal State San Bernardino, 7:30 p.m.
                                                 Live webcasts at SPU        Live stats at SPU
                                                 Live webcasts / Live stats at CWU

 
        Falcon-Wildcat Invitational Tournament Central (HTML)
        Weekly release (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – Most years, Seattle Pacific's volleyball players start the season by packing their bags and heading out for a long stretch of road matches.
 
But this year is different: The Falcons get to start the new season in their own gym.
 
That new season opens this week when SPU and Central Washington co-host the Falcon-Wildcat Invitational preseason tournament.
 
Competition begins Thursday in Brougham Pavilion when defending NCAA West Region champion and preseason No. 11-ranked Cal State San Bernardino serves it up against Metro State of Denver at 5:00 p.m.
 
SPU makes its 2018 debut on Friday by taking on Fresno Pacific at 10:00 a.m., then tangling with San Bernardino at 7:30 p.m. In between those two, Fresno and Bernardino square off at 3:00 p.m.
 
The final tournament match for the Falcons will be on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Ellensburg against Metro State.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Free live Webcasts and live stats will be available from all four matches in Brougham Pavilion. Live stats also will be available from Saturday's match in Ellensburg. A live Webcast is tentatively planned for that one, as well.
 
TICKET TALK
Admission to all four Brougham Pavilion matches this week is free.
 
Once the regular season begins in September, admission prices are $7 for adults and $5 for youths, students, and senior citizens. SPU students, faculty, and staff will be admitted free with a valid current identification card.
 
A new ticketing system, which will allow online ordering and payment by credit card at Brougham Pavilion ticket windows, is in the final stages of installation and is expected to be ready by the time of the regular-season opener on Sept. 13. Cash will continue to be accepted at the ticket windows, as well.
 
All volleyball seating is in the north grandstands and is general admission.
 
FALCONS TABBED FOR 6^TH IN GNAC
Seattle Pacific has been picked by coaches for a sixth-place finish in the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball campaign.
 
Coming off a 15-13 season, which included a 10-10 record in conference play, the Falcons received 72 points in voting by the 11 conference coaches.

Last year, SPU was voted eighth and wound up sixth in the final standings.
 
Defending champion Western Washington was a unanimous choice to repeat, receiving all 11 first-place votes and the maximum 121 points (11 points for each vote). The Vikings went 27-4 overall, 19-1 in GNAC play and advanced all the way to the NCAA West Region championship match (the Sweet 16 of the Division II national tournament).
 
Central Washington was second in the voting with 106 points, the only other team to receive more than 100. Simon Fraser was picked third with 91 points.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- This marks the 33^rd season of SPU volleyball.
-- The Falcons have a 17-15 all-time record in season openers. That includes last year's come-from-behind five-game victory against UC Colorado Springs at the Hawaii Challenge in Honolulu.
-- The last time the season opened at home was with the Seattle Pacific Tournament in 2014. The Falcons won three of those four matches.
-- Since then, they opened with four on the road in 2015, followed by 10 straight in 2016 and eight in 2017.
-- SPU comes in on a three-match winning streak, such as it were. The Falcons closed 2017 by defeating Simon Fraser, Western Oregon, and Concordia-Portland.
-- Thursday's match against Fresno Pacific will be the first of two in two weeks against the Sunbirds. The teams meet again next Saturday, Sept. 1, in the D2 West Region Challenge at FPU.
-- The Falcons won their first two matches in 2017.
-- That was their first multi-match win streak to start a season since the record-setting 16-0 run in 2010.
-- Cal State San Bernardino will be one of two nationally-ranked opponents who will be across the net from Seattle Pacific during the first three weeks of the season. The Coyotes are No. 11 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll. Western Washington, which will host the Falcons in the GNAC opener on Sept. 6, is No. 5.
-- SPU's most recent win against a ranked team was 3-1 at then-No. 8 Western Washington on Oct. 24, 2013.
-- The last – and only time – SPU and Metro State played was so long ago (Aug. 25, 2000) that games still went to just 15, and rally scoring had not yet come into play.
-- Because this is just a five-team tournament and one of the other teams is conference rival Central Washington, the Falcons will play just three matches instead of the four that are customary in most preseason gatherings. That will leave them with 27 matches for the season (instead of 28).
-- Last season, Seattle Pacific went to the maximum five games in four of its eight preseason contests, and won three of those.
-- The Falcons were 4-6 in Brougham Pavilion in 2017 and 11-7 away from home, including 4-2 on neutral courts. Saturday's match against Metro State in Ellensburg will be considered neutral.
 
FRESNO PACIFIC SUNBIRDS: 12-17, 10-10 Pac West (8^th)
All-time series: FPU leads, 3-2. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, Fresno 2 (18-25, 21-25, 25-14, 25-14, 15-13; Sept. 8, 2017 at Monmouth, Ore.). Sunbirds on the Web.
Sunbirds in a nutshell: Fresno Pacific will be looking for a better start in 2018, having won last year's opener, then dropping seven in a row. That skid included the five-gamer against Seattle Pacific in which the Sunbirds won the first two games before the Falcons stormed back. Fresno had four players with 200-plus kills in 2017, and two of those are back: 5-foot-10 senior opposite Caroline Bodziak (214, the second-most on the team) and 5-10 middle blocker Kylei Dewar (205). Dewar also led FPU with 80 total blocks (14 solo) and in service aces with 35. Madison Price, a 6-2 middle / opposite, came up with 144 kills and 43 blocks. Christina Tran is a 5-7 junior setter who racked up some solid numbers across the board with 509 assists, 258 digs, and 26 service aces. She had 12 assist-dig double-doubles.
 
CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO COYOTES: 24-8, 14-3 (1^st CCAA South)
All-time series: CSSB leads, 7-1. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, CSSB 2 (9-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-23 15-11; Sept. 7, 2013 at San Bernardino, Calif.). Coyotes on the Web.
Coyotes in a nutshell: San Bernardino made yet another trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, falling to Florida Southern in the first round. Prior to that, the Coyotes had won 13 in a row, including three straight to take the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, then three more in a row to capture the NCAA West Regionals. Gone from that team via graduation is 5-9 outside hitter Lauren Nicholson, was earned All-American honors from three different organizations with her 522 kills and .265 hitting. Still, the Coyotes have plenty of talent back. Sophomore 5-11 outside Alexis Cardoza was second on the team with 252 kills, led the way with 48 service aces, and came up with 339 digs. Moira Murphy, a junior 5-11 outside, had 229 kills and hit .224. Leading blocker Lyida Morohunfola, a 5-11 sophomore, had 74 total, with 13 solos, added 138 hills and hit .264. Senior 5-7 setter Jayann DeHoog racked up 785 assists (9.59 per game).
 
METRO STATE ROADRUNNERS: 22-9, 16-2 (3^rd RMAC)
All-time series: Metro leads, 1-0. Current series streak: Metro won 1. Last time: Metro 3, SPU 1 (15-8, 10-15, 15-4, 15-12; Aug. 25, 2000 at Omaha, Neb.). Roadrunners on the Web.
Roadrunners in a nutshell: Metro is coming off a trip to the semifinals of last year's NCAA South Central Region tournament. The team put together two lengthy win streaks in 2017: a midseason one of 10 in a row, and a late-season one of eight straight. The group of returners includes 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter Santaisha Sturges, who led the team with 459 kills last year, hitting a solid .270 along the way. She also served up 24 aces. Senior 5-11 outside Taylor Duryea slammed 288 kills and got her hands on 36 total blocks. But when it comes to blocking, senior 6-0 middle Stephanie Laraway is the go-to person, as she had 92 total, with a team-high 10 solo. Laraway also put 234 kills onto the floor, hitting .319, and delivering 19 aces.

SCOUTING THE 2018 FALCONS
Coming off a 15-13 campaign that saw them win their last three matches and thus finish above the .500 mark for the first time since 2013, the Falcons are looking for even more this fall as head coach Abbie Wright begins her second year at the helm.
 
SPU certainly has the talent and experience to justify those loftier ambitions. It starts with returning All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference first-team outside hitter Gabby Oddo and two-time honorable mention setter Symone Tran.
 
Oddo, a junior, hammered 396 kills last season, the most ever by a Falcon sophomore. Her 3.50 per-game average ranked No. 7 in the conference, and her 3.88 points-per-game average was No. 8. She had 20 or more kills in six matches, and hit a career-best .219.
 
Tran heads into her senior season sitting in the No. 5 spots on Seattle Pacific's all-time assists list with 3,093, with a career-best 1,176 of those coming in 2017. That was tied for No. 3 in the GNAC at 10.32 per game. She had 17 assist-dig double-doubles last fall.
 
 

Middle blocker Shaun Crespi and libero Amanda Ganete join Tran in the group of returning seniors. Ganete has come up with 1,162 career digs in three years, putting her well within reach of SPU's all-time top five (1,379 is the number to reach for that).
 
Crespi has gotten her hands on 310 total blocks, giving her a chance to make the program's top five in that category (currently 412). She also is just 20 kills away from her 500th.
 
 

Also back in the middle is junior Nicole Tchabanov. She was second among the Falcons with 90 total blocks last year, including a team-high 12 solos. Her average of 1.15 block per game ranked No. 6 in the GNAC (right ahead of Crespi's 1.14). Tchabanov also had 104 kills (1.33 average).
 
 

Junior Mallie Donohoe became one of SPU's best defensive specialists in 2017, coming up with 264 digs while playing in 110 of the 114 games. Sophomore Gabi Stegemoller showed plenty of promise in the middle with 43 blocks, 86 kills, and a .289 hitting percentage. She will be vying for more playing time, as will junior outside hitter Jaeden Hooker, junior libero / defensive specialist Katie Mansfield, and sophomore outside / opposite Maddie Batiste.
 
Seattle Pacific has three newcomers in the fold. Hailey Gaines is a 6-foot, left-handed opposite who transferred from Concordia Irvine. She enjoyed her best season last year with 136 kills and 49 blocks. Gaines is a grad student with one year   of eligibility remaining. Taylor Alicuben is a junior setter who played two seasons at Highline College in the Seattle suburb of Des Moines, earning first-team All-Northwest Conference honors in 2016.
 
Erin Gould, a 5-10 outside hitter is the team's only true freshman. She comes from Kentwood High School in Covington, southeast of Seattle. The Conquerors are regarded as one of Washington's best high school programs.

 
ODDO, TRAN AMONG PRESEASON FAB 14
Junior outside hitter Gabby Oddo was a unanimous selection by the coaches for the GNAC Preseason All-Conference team, and senior setter Symone Tran also earned a spot on the elite 14-player list. Oddo was one of six unanimous selections.
 
 

After her freshman season in 2016 ended early because of an injury, Oddo came back and set a Seattle Pacific program sophomore record by hammering 396 kills last fall. Her average of 3.50 per game ranked No. 7 in the GNAC. She had double-digit kills in 22 of the 28 matches.
 
 

Tran topped 1,000 assists for the second straight year, finishing with 1,176. That total ranked 49^th nationally, and her 10.32 per-game average was No. 3 in the GNAC and No. 51 in Division II.
 
Abby Phelps of Western Washington was named the Preseason Player of the Year.
 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
A total of four SPU players combined for 38 double-doubles last season. Of those, three players accounting for 24 of the double-doubles are returning.
 
Symone Tran led the way with 16, all of them assist-dig. She has 45 for her career. Gabby Oddo had seven kill-dig double-doubles, giving her 20 through her first two years. Senior middle blocker Shaun Crespi logged the first of her career, getting 11 kills and 12 blocks at home against Saint Martin's on Sept. 26.
 
The other double-doubler last fall was now-graduated Hannah Lautenbach, who had 14 kill-dig for the season and 25 for her career.
 
ASSIST RECORD IN SIGHT
Symone Tran is in reach of finishing her Falcon career with a school record.
 
The senior heads into 2018 with 3,093 assists. She is 916 away from the current school record of 4,009. That mark was set by Jenna Von Moos from 2003-06.
 
Tran has topped 1,000 assists for each of the past two seasons. She recorded 1,085 as a sophomore in 2016 and 1,176 last season. As a freshman in 2015, Tran eared 832 assists.
 
Her current total has Tran sitting in the No. 5 spot on the all-time list. The next rung up the ladder is Katy Higgins with 3,549 (2000-03). Then, it's No. 3 Shelby Swanson (3,749 from 2009-12), No. 2 Deri Paulson (3,783 from 1986-89), and Von Moos.
 
MILESTONE MATCH APPROACHING
It won't happen until the end of the year. But come Nov. 10 when Western Washington visits Brougham Pavilion for the regular-season finale, it will mark the 1,000^th match in the history of the SPU volleyball program.
 
The Falcons began playing volleyball in 1986 under the guidance of JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner. She remained at the helm for the first 14 seasons, stepping down after the 1999 season with a record of 260-223 Atwell-Scrivner is still a professor in SPU's Health and Human Performance department.
 
Through the previous 32 years, Seattle Pacific has compiled a record of 550-423.
 
It will mark the second time in five years that the Falcons have played in a milestone match against their arch rivals. In 2013, they logged the program's 500^th victory, a four-game decision in Bellingham. 
 
SPEAKING OF MILESTONES
On this first weekend of the season, some individual milestones will be within reach for some of the SPU players.
-- Shaun Crespi is 20 kills away from her 500th.
-- Junior Mallie Donohoe is eight digs away from her 300th.
-- Newcomer Hailey Gaines needs just six kills for her 200th.
-- Amanda Ganete is 38 digs away from her 1,200th.
 
On a longer-term note, Gabby Oddo needs 362 kills and a total of 293 points (through kills, service aces, and blocks) to reach the 1,000 mark in both categories.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Cal State San Bernardino, one of the teams in town for this week's Falcon-Wildcat Invitational, is the preseason favorite to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship. The Coyotes, ranked No. 11 nationally, have won the past two conference tournament crowns, and they are the unanimous pick to win the South Division.
 
Sonoma State is a very slight favorite to win the North Division, with Cal State East Bay and Chico State right in the hunt.
 
In the Pacific West Conference, Azusa Pacific is the preseason favorite, receiving nine of the 12 first-place votes and 140 points. Biola is second with one first-place vote and 125 points; Concordia Irvine is picked third with one first-place and 112 points. None of the Pac West teams are in the national top 25, but Azusa and Biola did receive votes.
 
From the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Western Washington is ranked No. 5 in the AVCA preseason poll and Northwest Nazarene is No. 19. Alaska Anchorage and Central Washington received votes.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons head to California next week for their second and final preseason tournament, the D2 West Region Showcase at Fresno Pacific. SPU will play two matches on Friday, Aug. 31, facing Chico State at 1:00 p.m. and Chaminade at 7:45 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 1, it's host Fresno Pacific at 1:00 p.m. and UC San Diego at 5:30. The GNAC schedule begins the following week at Western Washington on Thursday, Sept. 6, and at Simon Fraser on Saturday the 8^th, both at 7:00 p.m.