THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Sept. 18               Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Thursday, Sept.20              Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash..
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)  

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons don't want to stop now.
 
Riding a three-match winning streak, SPU heads into the second half of a four-matches-in-eight-days stretch at home this week when Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings come to Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Saints are up first, on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. It's the only Tuesday home match of the season, and one of two Tuesdays on the entire schedule. Both against Saint Martin's, the designated "travel partner" for the Falcons.
 
Billings is in town on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. first serve. That match is a half-hour later than normal to accommodate the numerous freshman orientation / welcome activities taking place in Brougham and elsewhere around campus this week in advance of the start of the academic year next Monday.
 
SPU, part of a four-way tie for second in the conference at 3-1 (5-6 overall) is coming off two straight homecourt sweeps, having defeated Western Oregon and Concordia-Portland in three games apiece last week.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All GNAC matches, home and away, will feature free live Webcasts and free live stats. The appropriate links for this week's home matches can be found at the top of this page. Andrew Harvey will be on Tuesday's play-by-play call; Jack Head takes over the microphone on Thursday.
 
TICKET TALK
Falcon fans who want to catch the action in person will have some new ticket options when they come to Brougham Pavilion.
 
A new ticketing system that is now up and running will allow for credit card payment at the ticket window, as well as 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.
 
CRESPI EARNS GNAC PLAYER OF WEEK AWARD
On the way to winning three straight volleyball matches, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have helped themselves in a big way with some solid defensive work on the block.
 
Shaun Crespi has been a big part of that.

Crespi

had 11 blocks combined in SPU's back-to-back sweeps of Western Oregon and Concordia-Portland, and has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week.
 
The 6-foot-2 senior middle came up with seven block assists last Thursday against Western Oregon. On Saturday against Concordia-Portland, she had four more, to go along with nine kills and a .368 hitting percentage.
 
In the three consecutive victories, SPU has had 30 total team blocks. Crespi has had a hand on 19 of those.
 
This is Crespi's second Defensive Player of the Week award. She first won it as a sophomore in 2016.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Last Saturday's decision against Concordia-Portland gave Abbie Wright her 20^th victory as SPU's head coach, coming in her 39^th match at the helm.
-- By comparison, coach JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner (1986-99) collected her 20^th win in her 50^th match; Kellie Ryan (2000-04) got No. 20 in her 23^rd (the last of a 20-match winning streak), and Chris Johnson (2005-16) logged No. 20 in his 25^th.
-- The Falcons had a pair of three-match winning streaks last season.
-- If they beat Saint Martin's on Tuesday, that will make it four straight victories in the same season for the first time since Sept. 5-12, 2014. That particular streak extended to five, which SPU can equal if it wins both matches this week.
-- Seattle Pacific did win four in a row recently, albeit spread over two seasons: the last three of 2017 and the first one of 2018.
-- The Falcons have won 32 straight against Saint Martin's. The last Saints victory in the series was Oct. 20, 2001, a five-gamer in Lacey.
-- But Seattle Pacific had to battle in Brougham last year to keep that streak alive. Saint Martin's was up 2 games to 1 before the Falcons came back to close out a five-game victory.
-- In that one, middle blocker Shaun Crespi had a career-high 12 total blocks: 11 block assists and one solo.
-- Crespi also had 11 kills in that match for her first – and (so far) only – career double-double.
--That was one of just three matches of those aforementioned 32 in a row that has gone to the five-game limit. The other two were in 2003 at Seattle and 2004 at Lacey.
-- Seattle Pacific is now 3-1 at home this season. Last year, it went 4-6 in Brougham Pavilion.
-- The Falcons also had to come from 2 games to 1 behind against Billings in Montana last fall to win in five, then swept the Yellowjackets in Seattle a few weeks later.
-- Gabby Oddo initially set her career high of 23 kills in the match at Billings. She later tied that in a late-season match at Western Oregon.
-- For the season, SPU has kept opponents below the .200 mark in six of the 11 matches and has a 5-1 record when doing so. That includes limiting last week's opponents to less than .100 hitting (.034 for Western Oregon, .051 for Concordia-Portland).
 
SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 2-8, 0-4 GNAC (tie 10^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 54-5. Current series streak: SPU won 32. Last time: SPU 3, StM 0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-23; Oct. 24, 2017 at Lacey, Wash.). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Both wins for Saint Martin's came at the D2 West Region Showcase on Labor Day weekend, a five-gamer against Hawaii Hilo, and a sweep versus Academy of Art. A pair of seniors – 5-foot-11 opposite / outside hitter Megan Vernoy, and 5-10 outside Rachel Gondrezick – are the go-to players on offense. Vernoy had 128 kills, an average of 3.37 per game that is No. 4 on the GNAC list. Gondrezick isn't far behind with her 101 kills, a 2.66 average. Vernoy has some accuracy to go along with her power, as her .261 hitting percentage is tops among the Saints and ranks No. 11 in the conference. She can put the ball in on the serve, as well, with a team-high 16 aces. Saint Martin's has two very solid blockers. Freshman 5-11 outside Annika Briggs leads the way with 27, including four solos. Sophomore 5-11 opposite / outside Emily Gooding has 22 total, but eight of hers are solos.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 6-6, 0-4 GNAC (tie 10^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 29-11. Current series streak: SPU won 2. Last time: SPU 3, MSUB 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-14; Oct. 28, 2017 at Seattle). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in at nutshell: Billings has, in a manner of speaking, gone through a tale of two seasons so far. It started out with six straight wins in preseason tournaments, three of which went to the five-game limit. But coming into this week, the Yellowjackets have lost six in a row, four of them in three-game sweeps, including last week's two home matches against the Alaska schools. Sparking the offense for MSUB is 5-foot-9 sophomore outside hitter Maddi Vigil with 123 kills, an average of 2.73 per game. Miranda McConnell, a 6-1 senior middle blocker, has 98 kills and a .338 hitting percentage that not only leads the team, but ranks No. 4 in the conference. The Jackets have a pair of solid serves in sophomore opposite Bayli Monck and sophomore defensive specialist / libero Izela Alvarez, each of whom has 20 aces. Alvarez also has 210 digs. Eavan Taylor, a 6-2 freshman middle, already has 51 blocks for the season, an average of 1.13 per game to tie for No. 6 in the GNAC. That total includes six solos.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Senior setter Symone Tran's double-double against Concordia-Portland last Saturday was the only one of the week for the Falcons. They now have 11 for the season.
 
Maddie Batiste (1 season / 1 career)
13K-13D vs. Metro State, Aug. 25
 
Shaun Crespi (0 season / 1 career)
 
Gabby Oddo (4 season / 24 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
 
Symone Tran (6 season / 51 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
 
MOVING UP THE GNAC LADDER
The Falcons took some considerable jumps on various GNAC statistical lists through last week's two matches.
 
SPU started last week at the bottom among conference teams in kills per game at 10.94 and assists per game at 10.41. It now has pushed its kills total above 11 for the season, coming into this week at 11.32, ranking eighth. The Falcons also have moved up from No. 11 to No. 8 in assists per game, averaging 10.84.
 
On the defensive side, Seattle Pacific's opponents are now averaging below .200 hitting, checking in at .197. It is the No. 8 mark in the GNAC, a climb from No. 9. That was the result of keeping Western Oregon (.034) and Concordia-Portland (.051) below the .100 mark.
 
Seattle Pacific's highest team ranking is in aces, at 1.44 per game, fourth-best in the conference.
 
GAINES GAINS TRIPLE DIGITS – TWICE
Redshirt senior opposite Hailey Gaines hit the career 100 mark in a pair of statistical categories last week.
 
 

On Thursday against Western Oregon, she came up with one dig, putting her at exactly 100. She is now at 103 after getting three more on Saturday against Concordia.
 
She almost reached 100 total blocks in the WOU match, picking up four to leave her at 99; The 100^th – plus three more – came in the Concordia contest.
 
That gives Gaines three milestones in the past two weeks. During the Western Washington-Simon Fraser road trip on Sept. 6 and 8, she moved past 300 career points.
 
BREAKING BREAD
On their personal biographical forms, the Falcons are asked if it were possible to invite anyone to dinner, with whom would they like to share a meal?
 
Here are some of their responses:
 
Hailey Gaines: Comedian Steve Carrell.
Symone Tran: Actor Ansel Elgort.
Maddie Batiste: Basketball star Steph Curry.
Shaun Crespi and Nicole Tchabanov: Comedienne Ellen DeGeneres.
Erin Gould: Women's rights activist Malala Yousafezi
 
Also getting a double-invite would be singer Beyonce', from Jaeden Hooker and Gabi Stegemoller.
 
AROUND THE WEST
The GNAC showdown in Ellensburg last Saturday between Central Washington and Western Washington didn't go as far as some thought it would. The Vikings scored a three-game sweep, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20, as 2,109 fans packed into Nicholson Pavilion. That leaves Western alone atop the standings at 4-0 (9-3 overall). Central is part of a four-way tie for second at 3-1 (9-2 overall). Alaska Anchorage, with wins against Saint Martin's and Billings and a non-conference victory at Rocky Mountain, became the first GNAC team to 10 wins (10-2, 3-1 conference), and travels to Simon Fraser and WWU this week.

The top teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association continued to roll along. Cal State Los Angeles is 11-0 (3-0 CCAA); Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino are both 11-1 (4-0 CCAA). Pomona has won 10 straight; Bernardino has logged seven in a row. All three reside in the South Division.
 
Chaminade kept its overall record perfect last week, improving to 9-0 and 3-0 in the Pacific West Conference. Azusa Pacific still sits alone in first at 4-0, and is 8-4 overall. Hawaii Hilo is lurking in third at 2-0 (6-2 overall).Chaminade and Azusa clash in California on Thursday, the last of a three-matches-in-four-nights stretch for both teams.
 
UP NEXT
 Seattle Pacific returns to the road next week, visiting Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time. Then it's a stop in Ellensburg for a match against Central Washington on Saturday the 29^th. That one has a 3:00 p.m. first serve.
 
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                               GNAC     Overall
Western Washington            4-0     9-3
Central Washington            3-1     9-2
Alaska Anchorage              3-1    10-2
Concordia-Portland            3-1     6-5
Seattle Pacific               3-1     5-6
Simon Fraser                  2-2     5-5
Western Oregon                2-2     5-6
Alaska Fairbanks              1-3     3-8
Northwest Nazarene            1-3     1-10
Montana State Billings        0-4     6-6
Saint Martin's                0-4     2-8