Box Score

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BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Most teams might not relish the idea of taking on a nationally ranked opponent in the first conference volleyball match of the year.
 
Seattle Pacific coach Abbie Wright had no problem at all with it – and still felt that way afterward even though the final result didn't fall in the Falcons' favor.
 
Hailey Gaines hammered a career-high 14 kills on Thursday night, but No. 12 Western Washington finally pulled away from SPU to score a four-game victory in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball opener for both schools.
 
Scores in Carver Gymnasium were 25-17, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21.
 
"Playing them first was a great confidence-builder for us," Wright said. "It was a tough environment to play in, and they're a seasoned team. … We hung in there and showed some grit."
 
Redshirt senior Gaines topped her previous high of 12 kills, which came last year against Western when she was playing with Concordia Irvine.
 
Senior middle blocker Shaun Crespi put nine onto the floor for the Falcons (2-6, 0-1 GNAC).
 




"Hailey had a great match and was just swinging hard," Wright said. "She's a great, steady leader, and her leadership came out, and she showed what she could do on offense. She and our middles did a really good job tonight."
 
After winning the first two games, WWU (6-3, 1-0 GNAC) scored the first four points of Game 3 and was up 12-8 when the Falcons got things going. They put six straight points on the board, five of those with senior setter Symone Tran on the serve, to go up 14-12.
 
SPU stayed in front the rest of the way, four times pushing the lead to four points, the last one at 21-17. At 24-22, Western fought off one game point to regain the serve. But  Gaines finished it off with her career high-tying 12^th kill.
 
Western Washington started fast again in Game 4, scoring the first five points. Again, the Falcons climbed back in, this time after twice trailing by as many as six. Down 20-17, they got back-to-back kills from junior outside hitter Gabby Oddo and a Vikings attack errors to tie it at 20-20.
 
The Vikings scored the next three points to regain control at 23-20, and SPU got just one more point the rest of the way.
 
 

"We made some changes defensively, and the girls did a good job with their eye work," Wright said. "Our offense started to figure it out and we were being smarter.

"Once we got caught to the speed of the game, we were right in there."
 
Tran recorded season highs of 43 assists and 21 digs for her fourth double-double of the year and the 49^th of her career. She also had another error-free hitting match (4-0-10—400). Crespi hit .312, and Gaines checked in at .241.
 
Abby Phelps had 16 kills for Western Washington.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU actually had the edge on Western in total kills, 52-51. But the Vikings had only 10 attack errors, while the Falcons had 30.
-- In fact, WWU did not have an error until midway through Game 2, putting 21 kills down before one missed into the net.
--The Falcons also out-dug Western, 82-74. Senior libero Amanda Ganete led the way with 22, the sixth time in eight matches she has had the most for SPU. Joining her and Tran (21) in double digits were Oddo and Mallie Donohoe, each with 10.
-- Tran's error-free match was her seventh in eight outings this season.
-- Seattle Pacific is now 8-10 all-time in GNAC opener, 5-7 on the road.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons conclude the first week of conference play on Saturday at Simon Fraser, with a first serve at 7:00 p.m. They play their first GNAC home match of the year next Thursday against Western Oregon at 7:00 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
(No. 12) Western Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-17, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21.
 
Service aces – SPU 3 (3 players with 1), WWU 5 (Davenport 3).
Kills – SPU 52 (Gaines 14), WWU 51 (Phelps16).
Assists – SPU 50 (Tran 43), WWU 49 (Boesel 46).
Digs – SPU 82 (Ganete 22, Tran 21), WWU 74 (Stephens 20).
Block assists / solo – SPU 2 / 1 solo (Crespi 1 / 1 solo), WWU 18 / 4 solo (Hall 5 / 1 solo, Harper 4 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 52-30-166—133 (Tran 4-0-10—400, Crespi 9-4-16—312), WWU 51-10-147—279 (Harper 12-1-22-500).
Attendance – 345.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 2-6, 0-1 GNAC.  Western Washington 6-3,1-0 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.