THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 3                  Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Oct. 5                   Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated season stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – The calendar turns to a new month this week – and the Seattle Pacific Falcons hope they've found some new volleyball momentum.
 
Coming off their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory of the season, SPU returns home to Brougham Pavilion to host the Oregon schools. Concordia-Portland will face the Falcons on Iron Coaching Court on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., then Western Oregon is in town on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
 
Last Saturday in Idaho, Seattle Pacific (4-8, 1-3 GNAC) scored a much-needed victory, downing Northwest Nazarene in four games. It was their first 'W' against the Nighthawks since 2012, And, it was their first triumph in Nampa since 2011.
 
This week will be one of the few times the Falcons get to play at home during October, as their next four matches will be on the road.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Free live Webcasts and live stats will be available for all GNAC matches, home and away. The appropriate links for this week's home contests can be found at the top of this story.
 
 

COACH ABBIE WRIGHT SAYS …
(On the win at Northwest Nazarene)
"Winning is just really hard, so any time, whether you're home or away – especially away – when you can win and can do it after a tough loss, turn around right away and do it, that shows some character and some heart. I was happy with our girls for that. The process of getting more confident and getting them to realize we are a good team, this match was good for that. So it's just another step in that direction, and I'm happy about that."
 
 (On Concordia-Portland)
"Concordia has been good about moving their offense around. They've always had pretty good middles who can cut and slice and put balls away."
 
(On Western Oregon)
"They have a different coach this year (Stacy Metro), but traditionally, they have been physical and very aggressive. They'll go after it the whole match. It's two very different styles of teams, but being able to control the volleyball is going to be key this week, for sure."
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- These two matches will bring SPU to the midpoint of the 28-match season.
-- The Falcons are definitely hungry for a win at home. Their last eight in Brougham have all gone the other way: six in a row in 2018, and their first two (against Anchorage and Fairbanks) this season.
-- Their last homecourt victory was last Sept. 20 in five games against Montana State Billings.
-- Last Saturday's match at Northwest Nazarene was the first time this season the Falcons had won a set against a GNAC team. They came up on the short end of sweeps against Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks, and Central Washington..
-- It also was SPU's second three-set win of the year. The first one was in the season-opener against Cal State East Bay.
-- Seattle Pacific won both matches against both Oregon schools in 2018, sweeping three of them and dropping just one game (to Concordia) in the other one.
-- Senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo went for double-digit kills in all four matches.
-- Oddo hammered a season-high 20 kills on Saturday at Northwest Nazarene. That was her first 20 of the season and Seattle Pacific's third. Maddie Batiste had 20 in two straight matches: Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 13, and Chaminade on Sept. 14.
-- Those 20 kills by Oddo were part of SPU's season-high 61, coming off a season-high 189 attacks.
 

-- Junior middle blocker Gabi Stegemoller hit .385 both times against Western Oregon: 7 kills-2 errors-13 attacks at home, 5-0-13 on the road.
-- Stegemoller's .462 hitting percentage (13-1-26) at NNU was a team high for the season. The previous high had been Maddie Batiste's .360 (14-5-25) in the season opener against Cal State East Bay.
-- While the Falcons have scored 76 points on blocks this season, 71 of those have been on combined block-assist efforts. Of the mere five solo blocks, two came last Saturday in Nampa, both by freshmen: Lindsey Lambert and Delaney Dunham.
-- Coach Abbie Wright is 3-1 all-time against Concordia-Portland and 4-0 against Western Oregon.
-- Wright picked up her 30th career coaching win in last Saturday's match at Northwest Nazarene. It was her first in five tries against the Nighthawks.
 
SCOUTING REPORT
CONCORDIA-PORTLAND CAVALIERS: 4-7, 2-2 GNAC (tie 5^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 10-5. Current series streak: SPU won 3. Last time: SPU 3, CU 1 (25-21, 25-19, 24-26, 29-27; Oct. 11, 2018 at Portland. Cavaliers on the Web.
Cavaliers in a nutshell: Concordia got off to a slow start, losing its first five in preseason tournament play (although three of those went to a deciding fifth game). But it has won four of the last six, including a five-gamer last Thursday at home Simon Fraser. The Cavs even snagged the first game against national No. 2-ranked Western Washington last Saturday before the Vikings bounced back to take the next three. Senior Jessica Wheeler, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, leads Concordia with 101 kills, a 3.06 per-game average that ranks No. 10 in the GNAC – even though she has played in just eight of the 11 matches. Freshman 5-11 outside Zoe DiNardo has 91 kills for a 2.33 per-game average. This is a team with some solid serving, having delivered 86 aces – second-highest total in the GNAC. A trio of sophomores account for most of those: libero Callie Wilkins (26), opposite / setter Kahua Tilton (22), and  outside Camille Guerrero (21). The Wolves are plus-26 on aces to errors (86-60).
 
WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 2-9, 0-4 GNAC (tie 10^th).
All-time series: SPU leads, 31-18. Current series streak: SPU won 4. Last time: SPU 3, WOU 0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-18; Oct. 13, 2018 at Monmouth, Ore.). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: The road has been a bumpy for Western Oregon and first-year head coach Stacy Metro. The Wolves lost their first five, won their last two of preseason play, then have dropped four straight sweeps to start GNAC play. Setting the pace on offense is 6-foot junior outside hitter Sianna DeCarli with 92 kills, a 2.63-per game average. She also has 17 blocks, second-highest total on the team. Leading the block is 6-2 middle / opposite Allyson Crisp with 27 (10 of which are solo). She also is WOU's second-best hitter at .295 with 49 kills. At the top of the hitting list is 6-2 sophomore middle blocker Delaney Smith at .346 with 32 kills and just five errors on 78 swings. She has 15 blocks to go along with that. Western Oregon opponents hit at a .255 clip, while the Wolves are at .150.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
While Maddie Batiste and Gabby Oddo added to their career double-double collection on Saturday, freshman setter Lindsey Lambert joined the club with her first, logging 39 assists and 10 digs at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.
 
That's the first time this fall the Falcons have had three in a match, and it gives them 18 for the year.
 
Taylor Alicuben (1 season / 1 career)
32 AST-10D vs. Hawaii Hilo, Sept. 13
 
Maddie Batiste (9 season / 10 career)
14K-10D vs. Cal State East Bay, Sept. 7
11K-14D vs. Concordia Irvine, Sept. 7
12K-10D vs. Point Loma Nazarene, Sept. 8
13K-13D vs. Cal Poly Pomona, Sept. 12
14K-11D vs. Cal St. Monterey Bay, Sept. 12
20K-15D vs. Hawaii Hilo, Sept. 13
20K-11D vs. Chaminade, Sept. 14
11K-10D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Sept. 21
16K-12D at Northwest Nazarene, Sept. 28
 
Lindsey Lambert (1 season / 1 career)
39 AST-10D at Northwest Nazarene, Sept. 28
 
Gabby Oddo (7 season / 43 career)
17K-11D vs. Concordia Irvine, Sept. 7
14K-14D vs. Point Loma Nazarene, Sept. 8
15K-11D vs. Cal Poly Pomona, Sept. 12
14K-16D vs. Hawaii Hilo, Sept. 13
12K-18D  vs. Chaminade, Sept. 14
12K-13D vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Sept. 21
20K-14D at Northwest Nazarene, Sept. 28
 
TWO JUMPS ON ONE DAY
With her 20 kills at Northwest Nazarene, senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo is up to 145 for the season and 1,145 for her career. That moved her up two places on Seattle Pacific's career kills list, from No. 5 to No. 3.
 
 

First, Oddo climbed past Stephanie Huffman, who had 1,135 from 1997-2000. By the end of the match, she also had passed Tosca Lindberg's total of 1,141, from 1989-92.
 
Next in sight, now just 104 away, is No. 2 Leilani Kamahoahoa, with 1,249 from 1998-2001..
 
She's also nearing the top five in career points (kills-aces-blocks). She has 1,293.0. Hoffman is currently fifth with 1,311.5.
 

CAN YOU DIG THAT?
Not only were the Falcons finding the floor on offense at NNU, they were keeping it off the floor on defense.
 
The 61 kills against the Nighthawks marked a season high. So did the 80 digs, thanks to a couple of career-best performances.
 
That started with senior libero Mallie Donohoe, who came up with a career-high 25. That was the second time in two weeks she had a career high in the 20s. The first one was 22 in a four-game win against Chaminade on Sept. 14.
 
Freshman setter Lindsey Lambert contributed a career-high 10 digs.
 
MY FRIENDS CALL ME …
Several of the SPU players have interesting nicknames – monikers that are most commonly know by their teammates or closest friends outside of volleyball. 
-- Taydro (Taylor Alicuben)
-- Madz (Maddie Batiste)
-- D or Lancy (Delaney Dunham)
-- Austi or Austi Frosti (Austin Ibale)
-- Little Lightning (Katie Mansfield)
-- Gibbi (Gabi Stegemoller)
 
AROUND THE WEST
Look who's tied for first place atop the GNAC: Western Washington (no surprise there) and … Alaska Fairbanks. The Nanooks, who have improved steadily during the five years that coach Brian Scott has been in charge, are knotted with the No. 2-ranked Vikings at 4-0 in conference play. WWU is 12-0 overall, and UAF is 7-5. But one of those seven wins for the Nooks was last Tuesday at home in four games against rival Alaska Anchorage after the Seawolves took Game 1. Then, Fairbanks came from 2-1 down in games to beat Montana State Billings, also in Alaska.
 
Cal State Bernardino is undefeated at 11-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally The Coyotes, who have lost just three games all season, swept Cal State San Marcos and UC San Diego in California Collegiate Athletic Association action last week. Sonoma State and San Francisco State both moved into double-digit wins at 10-3. Frisco and Chico State (7-5 overall) are tied atop the North at 8-1; San Bernardino is atop the South at 4-0 with Cal State Los Angeles at 2-0 (6-4 overall)
 
Speaking of double-digit wins, Chaminade is the first Pacific West Conference team to get there. The Silverswords, are 10-2 overall, 4-0 in conference play. Azusa Pacific is also unbeaten in the Pac West (3-0) and is 9-2 overall. Both teams have won five straight. They don't face each other until late October
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons are out of town for their next four matches. That starts next Thursday, Oct. 10, against Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C., at 7:00 p.m. Then it's a visit to Western Washington in Bellingham on Saturday the 12^th, also at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                              Conference          Overall
Western Washington      4-0         12-0
Alaska Fairbanks        4-0          7-5
Alaska Anchorage        3-1          8-4
Central Washington      3-1          8-4
Simon Fraser            2-2          7-5
Concordia-Portland      2-2          4-7
Montana State Billings  2-2          4-9
Northwest Nazarene      1-3          5-6
Seattle Pacific         1-3          4-8
Western Oregon          0-4          2-9
Saint Martin's          0-4          0-13