Box score (PDF)
 
PORTLAND, Ore. – Six in a row.
 
Been awhile since the Seattle Pacific Falcons put together a streak like that on the volleyball court.
 
But they've put it together now – and Saturday was No. 6.
 
Maddie Batiste matched her career high with 20 kills, and Erin Gould served up a career-best seven aces as SPU downed Concordia-Portland in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest.
 
Scores on LCEF Court were 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19.
 
The last time Seattle Pacific won six straight was Oct. 15-19, 2011. The team has had a handful of five-match win streaks since then, the most recent of those being last September.
 
The Falcons have leveled their season record at 11-11, and have climbed two matches above the .500 mark in the GNAC at 8-6.
 
Saturday was the third time this season junior opposite / outside hitter Batiste has hammered 20 kills. The first two were in back-to-back matches during preseason tournament play: Sept. 13 in a four-game loss to Hawaii Hilo and Sept. 14 in a four-game victory against Chaminade.
 
COMING UP ACES AT THE START
 

SPU rang up the first eight points of the match. Gould was on the serve and started off ace-ace-ace. Batiste had a pair of kills, freshman Delaney Dunham had one, and in between, Gould dropped in another ace as the Falcons went up 8-0.
 
Concordia (8-13, 6-8 GNAC) gradually got into its rhythm and came as close as four at 16-12 before Seattle Pacific gradually pulled away.
 
The Cavaliers started Game 2 the same way the Falcons started Game 1, scoring the first eight points. They pushed their advantage to as many as 11 at 15-4. SPU responded with a 7-0 run to get within reach at 15-11. It was still a four-point difference at 18-14 when the Falcons ran off another four straight to pull even at 18-18.
 
Yet another surge turned a 19-18 deficit into a 22-19 lead. Concordia twice got within one, the last time at 24-23. But Gabby Oddo closed it out with a crosscourt kill to the sideline, giving Seattle Pacific a two-games-to-none advantage.
 
Concordia fought off defeat by rallying from 22-20 down to score the last five points and take Game 3. Then, except for a 1-1 tie, the Falcons were in front for the entire fourth game, using a trio of three-point runs, a five-pointer to take it from 6-4 to 11-4, and finally, a four-pointer to clinch the match.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Seattle Pacific hit .260 for the day with 53 kills and 15 errors on 146 attacks. That was its third-highest hitting percentage of the season. Concordia finished at .195 (56-24-164).
-- Maddie Batiste made it a double-double by adding 15 digs to her 20 kills. She has 13 for the season and 14 for her career.
 

-- Gabby Oddo also double-doubled with 16 kills and 13 digs. That left her with 999 career digs. Whenever she gets her first dig this coming Thursday at home against Western Washington, she will become just the third Seattle Pacific player and the 19^th player in GNAC history to achieve "triple thousand" – 1,000 kills, 1,000 points, and 1,000 digs.
-- Erin Gould's previous high for service aces was four in a five-gamer at Simon Fraser on Oct. 10. Of the seven she had on Saturday, four game in the opening game.
-- SPU wound up with 12 aces for the day – the second straight match and the fourth time this fall they've delivered that many.
-- Once again, senior libero Mallie Donohoe led the team in digs, coming up with 22.
-- Freshmen Lindsey Lambert and Delaney Dunham each totaled six blocks.
-- The Falcons gained a split of their season series against the Cavaliers, each winning in four on the other's home court.
 
UP NEXT
The final homestand of the season is also the longest homestand of the season. It begins next Thursday when current national No. 5-ranked Western Washington comes to Brougham Pavilion at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019
LCEF Court / Portland, Ore.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Concordia-Portland 1
 
Game scores – 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19.
 
Service aces – SPU 12 (Gould 7), CU 9 (Wheeler 4).
Kills – SPU 53 (Batiste 20, Oddo 16), CU 56 (Wheeler 22).
Assists – SPU 50 (Lambert 41), CU 49 (Tilton 33).
Digs – SPU 69 (Donohoe 22, Batiste 15, Oddo 13), CU 64 (Wilkins 19).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 53-15-146—260 (Dunham 7-1-16—375, Batiste 20-6-51—275), CU 56-24-164—195 (Rose 8-1-19—368, Wheeler 22-4-56—321).
Attendance – 203.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 11-11, 8-6 GNAC.   Concordia-Portland 8-13, 6-8 GNAC.
 
Next match
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Nov. 7    7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.