SPU-Fresno Pacific box score, play-by-play (HTML)
        SPU-UC San Diego box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
FRESNO, Calif. – They put a tally mark in their 'W' ledger in the afternoon, then gave one of the West Region's better programs a run for it in the evening.
 
From start to finish, it was a considerably better day on the volleyball court for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
 

Gabby Oddo had nine kills and hit a season-best .350, and SPU topped .200 hitting in all three games on the way to a sweep of Fresno Pacific in the D2 West Region Showcase.
 
Scores in the Special Events Center on the FPU campus were 25-20, 25-21, 25-17.
 
Just 3½ hours later, the Falcons were back on the court against UC San Diego, which as been receiving votes in the first two national polls of the season. The Tritons had to fend off SPU in the first game then come from behind in the second before pulling away in the third on the way to a 25-19, 29-27, 25-15 win.
 
That left Seattle Pacific with a 2-5 record through its two preseason tournaments as it heads into next week's start of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule.

 

"We're doing some good things, and some things that we weren't doing at the beginning of the weekend," head coach Abbie Wright said. "Our team is figuring out our rhythm. (Against Fresno Pacific), we were able to withstand some things and play a little more error-free.
 
"I felt we fought really hard (against UC San Diego) – it was just hard to sustain," Wright added. "We out-dug them by two (61-59), and that says something about our grit and our heart and our hard work."
 
Falcons 3, Fresno Pacific 0
SPU never trailed in the opening game, taking command with a 6-0 run that snapped a 10-10 tie. Oddo served up five of those points, with junior outside hitter Jaeden Hooker slamming kills on two of them.
 
Tied at 17-17 in the second game, the Falcons went on a 5-1 run to take charge at 22-18. Fresno Pacific twice got within two, the last time at 23-21. Oddo closed it out with a kill for side out, and then a service ace on game point.
 
A 5-1 burst midway through Game 3 extended a 15-13 lead to 20-14. Up 22-17, Seattle Pacific then scored the final three points of the match.
 
 

Hooker finished with seven kills, just one short of her career high. Senior opposite Hailey Gaines and sophomore middle blocker Gabi Stegemoller added six apiece. Senior middle blocker Shaun Crespi had five blocks along with five kills and hit .400, senior setter Symone Tran earned 31 assists, and senior libero Amanda Ganete recorded 16 digs.
 
The Falcons hit .233, .229 and .250 in the three games for a final mark of .237. Fresno Pacific hit .113.
 
It was the second win in two weeks against the Sunbirds, SPU opened the season last Friday with a four-game victory at the Falcon-Wildcat Invitational in Seattle.
 
UC San Diego 3, Falcons 0
The Tritons were on the verge of running away with Game 1, building a 17-7 lead. The Falcons came to life, going on a  7-2 surge to get within five at 19-14, but couldn't get any closer than that.
 
A string of four straight points to snap a 9-9 tie put SPU ahead in Game 2. That lead gradually grew to six at 21-15. UC San Diego wiped that out with six points in a row. The Falcons subsequently had double-game point at 24-22, and had game points at 25-24 and 26-25. The Tritons fought off all of them and eventually went up, 27-26. At 27-27, a kill by Brie Severino and a service ace from Molly Dalziel gave the game to San Diego.
 
Seattle Pacific was down just 14-11 in the third game. Then, seven points in a row from the Tritons put it out of reach.
 
Oddo and Tran each put another double-double into the books. Oddo had 11 kills and 16 digs for her third of the season and 23^rd of her career. Tran posted 27 assists and 10 digs for her third of the year and 48^th of her career.
 
UP NEXT
With preseason now in the past, Seattle Pacific opens its GNAC slate on the road this coming week, visiting Western Washington in Bellingham on Thursday and Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday. The first serve for both matches is at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons got to check out Simon this weekend, as the Clan went 2-2 in Fresno. They beat Fresno Pacific in four and swept San Diego, but dropped five-gamers to Chico State and Chaminade.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
D2 West Region Showcase
Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018
Special Events Center / Fresno, Calif.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Fresno Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-20, 25-21, 25-17.
 
Service aces – SPU 5 (Oddo 3), FPU 3 (3 players with 1).
Kills – SPU 37 (Oddo 9), FPU 34 (Bodiak 9).
Assists – SPU 36 (S. Tran 31), FPU 30 (C. Tran 14).
Digs – SPU 48 (Ganete 16, Donohoe 11), FPU 41 (3 players with 8).
Block assists / solo – SPU 14 / 1 solo (Crespi 5 / 0 solo), FPU 4 / 2 solo (Kennedy 1 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 37-14-97—.237 (S. Tran 3-0-5—.600, Crespi 5-1-10—.400), FPU 34-21-115—.113 (Montayre 3-0-3—1.000, Sotoa-Stuebing 5-2-11—.273).
Attendance – 80.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 2-4.  Fresno Pacific 0-7.
 
 
UC San Diego 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-19, 29-27, 25-13.
 
Service aces – SPU 3 (Ganete 2), UCSD 3 (3 players with 1).
Kills – SPU 35 (Oddo 11), UCSD 38 (Tekstra 8, Cortesi 8).
Assists – SPU 31 (Tran 27), UCSD 35 (Mayhew 14).
Digs – SPU 61 (Oddo 16, Ganete 16), UCSD 59 (Cortesi 13, Severino 13)
Block assists / solo – SPU 8 / 0 solo (Crespi 2 / 0 solo), UCSD 14 / 3 solo (Rieble 4 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 35-28-143—.049 (Hooker 7-3-23—.174), UCSD 38-15-125—.184 (Rieble 6-0-12—.500).
Attendance – 37.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 2-5.  UC San Diego 4-2.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Thursday, Sept. 6     7:00 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.