THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 10                Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser, 7:00 p.m.
                                                West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Oct. 12                Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated season stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – They won't be going far from home, except for a trip to Montana. But Seattle Pacific will be away from home for their next four volleyball matches, two of which are on this week's calendar.
 
The Falcons climb into the vans and head north to Canada on Thursday and Bellingham on Saturday for Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. Up first is Simon Fraser in Burnaby B.C., with a first serve at 7:00 p.m.
 
They'll return home after that one, then hit the road again on Saturday, this time for a clash with No. 2-ranked Western Washington in Carver Gymnasium, also with a 7:00 p.m. start time
 
These are the first two of four straight road matches, with journeys to Lacey and Billings set for next week.
 
Seattle Pacific (5-9, 2-4 GNAC) is coming off a split of its two home contests last week. After dropping a four-game decision to Concordia-Portland on Thursday, the Falcons had their best hitting performance of the season on Saturday to sweep Western Oregon.
 
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.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The match at Simon Fraser will begin the second half of the 28-match schedule.
-- SPU has four of its five wins in out-of-town matches. The most recent one was Sept. 14, a four-gamer against Chaminade at the D2 West Region Challenge in Pomona, Calif.
-- Those five wins include a pair of three-game sweeps, a pair of four-gamers and one that went all the way to five games.
-- The Falcons have beaten Simon Fraser the past two years in Burnaby, both times, prevailing in four games.
-- Gabby Oddo and Jaeden Hooker both came up big last year in Canada, with 15 kills apiece and solid hitting: .361 for Hooker, .255 for Oddo.
-- Western Washington topped the Falcons in four games last year in Bellingham.
-- Saturday's contest against the Vikings will be SPU's first this season against team in the national top 25 at match time. Western comes in ranked No. 2, trailing only Cal State San Bernardino.
-- The Falcons already have played Cal Poly Pomona and Central Washington, both of which were receiving votes at the time of those matches, but had been in the top 25 prior to that.
-- Oddo has pushed her season percentage back above the .200 mark. She's now at .201 after a .364 performance 14 kills-2 errors-33 attacks) against Western Oregon last Saturday.
-- She and Maddie Batiste are nearly dead even in the kills department. Batiste comes into the week with 177; Oddo has 171.
-- Speaking of dead even, those two are exactly that in digs, with 159 apiece.
-- SPU hit a season-high .351 against Western Oregon. That was its first .300 match of the season and first since hitting .320 on Oct. 16, 2018 at Saint Martin's.
-- Freshman setter Lindsey Lambert likely will log her 400^th career assist on Thursday at Simon Fraser. She comes in with 390, with a career-high 46 of those coming in the Western Oregon.
-- Together, Lambert and fellow freshman Paige Dawson have accounted for 31 of Seattle Pacific's 87 service aces. Dawson has 17 (second-most on the team behind Oddo's 24) and Lambert has 14.
-- Coach Abbie Wright is 3-1 all-time against Simon Fraser and 0-4 against Western Washington.
 




SCOUTING REPORT
SIMON FRASER CLAN: 7-7, 3-3 GNAC (tie 5^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 30-15. Current series streak: Simon won 1. Last time: Simon 3, SPU 1 (25-16, 26-24, 20-25, 25-17; Nov.8, 2018 at Seattle). Clan on the Web. Clan in a nutshell: Simon Fraser has hovered around .500 all season, never more than one game above or below it. The Clan split its road trip last week, getting a game at Western Washington but ultimately falling in four, then scoring a sweep at Montana State Billings. In fact, they have been on the road for 12 of their 14 matches. Simon Fraser has two of the GNAC's top attackers. Kirsten Pinkney, a 6-foot senior outside hitter, has 158 kills (2.98 per game), and 6-1 senior outside Betsie de Beer is right behind at 151 (2.90). They rank Nos. 11 and 12 in the conference. De Beer, who had 13 kills against SPU in Burnaby last fall, also hits .239. Among the top 10 in the GNAC in that department is 6-2 senior middle blocker Nicole Chevrier at .282. Johal Farnaaz, a 6-1 sophomore middle, averages better than a block a game, sitting at No. 6 on the conference list at 1.03. Tessa May, a 6-3 middle who was always a challenge to defend against, has graduated.
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 14-0, 6-0 GNAC (1^st)
All-time series: WWU leads, 48-26. Current series streak: WWU won 10. Last time: WWU 3, SPU 2 (17-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 15-13; Nov. 10, 2018 at Seattle). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Heading into the week, Western Washington is one of seven remaining undefeated teams in D2 and is picking up a sprinkling of first-place votes in the national poll (three) to help solidify its No. 2 spot in that poll. The Vikings are atop the GNAC list in four major statistical categories: hitting (283), kills per game (14.33), assists per game (13.58) and blocks per game (2.64). Redshirt freshman Calley Heilborn, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, ranks No. 2 in GNAC kills with 186 total / 3.58 per game. In fact, the Vikings have three hitters in the top 10. In addition to Heilborn, 5-10 sophomore outside Gabby Gunterman is No. 8 with 168 kills / 3.23 per game, and Kayleigh Harper, a 6-3 senior middle, is No. 9 with 156 / 3.18. Harper, one of the top players in all of Division II, leads the GNAC in blocks at 1.39 per game (No. 5 nationally) and is second in hitting percentage at .366. Giving those attackers their opportunities is freshman setter Malia Aleaga, averaging 12.27 assists per game (No. 3 nationally).
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
The Falcons had two more double-doubles last week, both of the by senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo. She now has nine for the year. And, with 14 matches left, Oddo is just five away from reaching 50 for her career.
 
SPU is up to 20 double-double for the season.
 
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 (9 season / 45 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
12K-15D vs. Concordia-Portland, Oct. 3
14K-15D vs. Western Oregon, Oct. 5
 
HALFTIME ALREADY? YUP, IT SURE IS
Sure, it was just five weeks ago that the Falcons took their first serve of the 2019 season. But they already have played exactly half of their 28-match schedule, the 14^th of those contests going into the book with last Saturday's sweep of Western Oregon.
 
Here's a comparison between the 14-match stats this season and last season.
 
Team stat                             2019                              2018
Record                5-9, 2-4 GNAC     7-7, 5-2 GNAC
Hitting               .173              .153
Opponents' hitting    .235              .185
Total kills           652               598
Kills per game        12.54             11.73
Assists per game      11.71             11.27
Service aces          87                77
Digs per game         15.31             16.65
Blocks per game        1.65              2.26

Team stat                           2019                                                                    2018
Kills Leader         Maddie Batiste 177 (3.40/g)       Gabby Oddo 157 (3.08/g)
Hitting pct.         Gabi Stegemoller .258               Gabby Oddo .192
Assists leader       Lindsey Lambert 390 (7.80/g)      Symone Tran 498 (9.76/g)
Aces leader          Gabby Oddo 24                       Gabby Oddo 19
Digs leader          Mallie Donohoe 199 (3.90/g)       Amanda Ganete 236 (4.63/g)
Blocks leader        Gabi Stegemoller 43 (0.83/g)      Shaun Crespi 63 (1.24/g)
 
REMEMBER THIS CLASSIC?
The last time Seattle Pacific squared off against Western Washington, it went down as a milestone for the program – and a classic on the court.
 
It was last Nov. 10 in Brougham Pavilion, the final match of the regular season. For starters, it was the 1,000^th match in the 33-year history of the program.
 
The Falcons and Vikings then proceeded to make it one to remember. They played 2 hours, 25 minutes through five games. Twice, SPU was ahead, one game to none, and two games to one. Both times, Western came back, and eventually forced Game 5.
 
WWU had an 8-7 lead at the changeover, and eventually went up, 11-9. Seattle Pacific came back to go up 13-12, But the Vikings got the final three points on two kills by Kayleigh Harper and a match-clinching ace by Alison Davenport.
 
SPU outside hitter Gabby Oddo slammed 32 kills, tying the program's single-match record. The 32^nd of those – which tied the fifth game at 12-12 – was the 1,000^th of her career. Senior libero Amanda Ganete came up with a career-high 37 digs.
 
MMM! MMM! GOOD
Athletes in general pay very close attention to what they eat and don't eat. That being said they are, of course, human and not just volleyball-playing machines. So they all have their favorite treats that are just hard to resist.
 
Cheetos, in their various forms and tastes, is a popular pick among several of the Falcons. Here are some of their other preferences.
 
Taylor Alicuben: Spudzilla fries in Hilo.
Paige Dawson and Maya Holmen: Ice cream.
Mallie Donohoe: All kinds of chips.
Austin Ibale: Watermelon Sour Patch Kids.
Lindsey Lambert: Brownies.
Gabby Oddo: Barbecue pop chips
Gabi Stegemoller: Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Western Washington got a run for it from Montana State Billings last Friday in Montana. The home-standing Yellowjackets took Game 1 by a 25-12 count. But the Vikings, as they typically do, found a way to win, prevailing in four to stay undefeated at 14-0, 6-0 in GNAC play. Alaska Anchorage (10-4 overall) and Alaska Fairbanks (8-6) are both one match behind at 5-1. The Nanooks were hit with their first conference loss, a five-gamer at home to Northwest Nazarene.
 
Cal State San Bernardino remains unbeaten after wining both of its California Collegiate Athletic Association matches. The Coyotes (14-0, 7-0 CCAA) face one of the conference's double-digit winners this week, visiting UC San Diego (10-4, 4-2) on Saturday. Stanislaus State (10-4) and Chico State (9-5) are tied atop the North Division with 5-2 records.
 
Chaminade and Azusa Pacific are both unbeaten in the Pacific West Conference and have the best overall records, as well. The Silverswords are 13-2, 7-0, and the Cougars are 11-2, 5-0. All three Hawaii schools have reached double digits in the 'W' column. Hawaii Pacific is 10-5, 6-1; Hilo is 10-5, 5-2.
 
UP NEXT
The stretch of four straight road matches continues next week. It starts on Tuesday, Oct. 15, with a visit to Saint Martin's in Lacey. First serve is at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons then head east for a match against Montana State Billings on Saturday the 19^th. That one begins at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                 Conference        Overall
Western Washington        6-0       14-0
Alaska Anchorage          5-1       10-4
Alaska Fairbanks          5-1        8-6
Concordia-Portland        4-2        6-7
Central Washington        3-3        8-6
Simon Fraser              3-3        7-7
Northwest Nazarene        2-4        6-7
Seattle Pacific           2-4        5-9
Montana State Billings    2-4        4-11
Western Oregon            1-5        3-10
Saint Martin's            0-6        0-15