D2 WEST REGION SHOWCASE SCHEDULE
Kellogg Arena at Cal Poly Pomona / Pomona, Calif..
 
Thursday, Sept. 12              Seattle Pacific vs. Cal Poly Pomona, 12:30 p.m.
                                                Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State Monterey Bay, 5:30 p.m.
 
Friday, Sept. 13                    Seattle Pacific vs. Hawaii Hilo, 5:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, Sept. 14               Seattle Pacific vs. Chaminade, 2:30 p.m.
  
LIVE WEBCASTS (all matches)        LIVE STATS (all matches)
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – They didn't get all of the volleyball results they wanted from last week's trip to San Diego.
 
But the Seattle Pacific Falcons will get another chance this week in Pomona.
 
Actually, they'll get four chances.
 
After going 1-3 at the Seaside Invitational, SPU heads 115 mils north to Pomona for this week's D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase.
 
The three-day tournament begins on Thursday in Cal Poly Pomona's Kellogg Arena. SPU will be plenty busy on Day 1, facing host CPP at 12:30 p.m., then tangling with Cal State Monterey Bay at 5:30.
 
The final two days will have one match apiece for the Falcons: Hawaii Hilo on Friday, Sept. 13, at 5:00 p.m., and the finale against Chaminade on Saturday the 14^th at 2:30 p.m.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Free live Webcasts and live stats will be available from all four matches in Pomona. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
SHOWTIME AT THE SHOWCASE
This is the fourth year of the D2 Showcase. The tournament had its origins in 2014 as the GNAC-Pacific West Crossover, with the Pac West hosting the first one and the GNAC (including SPU) hosting the second.
 
The California Collegiate Athletic Association came aboard in 2016, making it a true West Region crossover event. All matches count toward the regional rankings that ultimately determine who qualifies for the NCAA Tournament. The CCAA hosted the first one, the GNAC hosted in 2017, and the Pac West was the home conference in 2018. Seattle Pacific played in the six-team pod at Fresno Pacific last fall.
 
Each pod has two teams from each conference. This week's group at Cal Poly Pomona  includes SPU and Western Washington from the GNAC, Chaminade and Hawaii Hilo from the Pac West, along with Pomona and Monterey Bay from the CCAA.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU went 1-3 in at last year's Showcase in Fresno, Calif., defeating host Fresno Pacific, but falling to Chico State, Chaminade, and UC San Diego.
-- All four of those matches were three-game sweeps.
-- In the first three Showcases, the Falcons have a 7-5 overall record, going 3-1 in in both 2016 and 2017 before last year's 1-3 finish.
-- The last time SPU and Cal Poly Pomona met was in the 2014 at the Seattle Pacific Invitational in Brougham Pavilion. The Broncos won in four games.
-- The Falcons and Cal State Monterey Bay have played just once, that in 2007 when CSUMB hosted the Otter Invitational in Seaside, Calif. Seattle Pacific swept.
-- SPU and Hawaii Hilo were on opposite sides of the court in the inaugural Showcase in 2016 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, Calif. The Falcons came from two games down to force a deciding fifth before falling, 15-12.
-- A win against Hilo would level the all-time series at 8-8.
-- This will be the third straight Showcase in which SPU has tangled with Chaminade. The Silverswords swept the previous two matches and have topped the Falcons three straight times overall.
-- Cal Poly Pomona and Chaminade both played at last year's NCAA West Regionals in Bellingham. Pomona beat Azusa Pacific in five games before getting swept by eventual national runner-up Western Washington. Chaminade was swept by Cal State San Bernardino in the first round.
-- The Falcons already have played – and defeated – a 2018 West Regional team, as they swept Cal State East Bay at last week's Seaside Invitational in San Diego.
-- SPU came up with some solid serving in last week's tournament, sending 31 aces across the net. The only GNAC team with more is Alaska Anchorage, which has 48. Both teams played 16 total games in their respective tournaments.
-- Senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo is already in double-digit aces with 10.
-- Last year, the Falcons went 2-5 in preseason play. With their current record of 1-3, they would need to win at least two of this week's four matches to top that.
-- Their last preseason of .500 or better was 5-3 in 2016.
-- Abbie Wright, now in her third year as head coach, will face Pomona, Monterey Bay and Hilo for the first time. This will be her fourth shot at Chaminade, and she is still seeking her first win in that series.
 
SCOUTING REPORT
CAL POLY POMONA BRONCOS: 2-1, 0-0 CCAA
All-time series: CPP leads, 7-5. Current series streak: CPP won 1. Last time: CPP 3, SPU 1 (19-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-20; Sept. 5, 2014 at Seattle). Broncos on the Web.
Broncos in a nutshell: Pomona went 2-1 last weekend at the Concordia Volleyball Classic in Portland, beating GNAC members Western Oregon in three and Concordia-Portland in five, and falling in three to Metro State of Denver. Jazminn Parrish wasted no time making an impression on the college scene. The 5-foot-7 freshman outside hitter played all 11 games and slammed 49 kills, a noteworthy 4.45 per game. That included 24 in the five-gamer against Concordia. Even more impressive was her accuracy for the tournament, as she hit .404 with just 11 errors on 94 attacks. Ally Wilder, a junior 6-1 middle blocker, added 33 kills and solid hitting of .257. Senior 6-foot outside Karah Griffiths got her hands on seven blocks. The Broncos hit .251 as a team, third in the CCAA..
 
CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY OTTERS: 2-1, 0-0 CCAA
All-time series: SPU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU3, CSUMB 0 (30-17, 30-26, 30-23; Aug. 31, 2007 at Seaside, Calif.). Otters on the Web.
Otters in a nutshell: Monterey Bay almost mirrored Pomona's results at the Concordia Classic, with a four-game win against Western Oregon, a five-game triumph against Concordia, and a three-game loss to Metro State. The Otters had a pair of big weapons on offense. Junior 5-foot-11 outside hitter Jenna Tobin put a team-leading 33 kills on the floor, and freshman 5-10 outside Kaylie Honberger added 31 while hitting .231. Honberger also set the pace with four aces. Junior 6-foot outside Hannah Haveman came up big on the block with 14 total, including two solos. Baylie Pierson, a junior 6-foot outside hitter, also was in double digits with 10 blocks.
 
HAWAII HILO VULCANS: 3-1, 0-0 PAC WEST
All-time series: Hilo leads, 8-7. Current series streak: Hilo won 1. Last time: Hilo 3,SPU 2 (27-25, 25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 15-12; Sept. 8, 2016 at Carson, Calif.). Vulcans on the Web.
Vulcans in a nutshell: Hilo won three of its four matches in last week's Hawaii Challenge at Chaminade, with a three-gamer, a four-gamer, and a five-gamer. Junior outside hitter Bria Beale, who stands 5-foot-11, had a big hand in the offense, slamming 42 kills in 15 games played, an average of 3.73 per game. She also delivered a team-high nine service aces. Close behind in kills was 5-10 junior outside / opposite Amber Tai with 36. Ashton Jessee, a 6-3 junior middle blocker, added 28 kills on solid .377 hitting and had eight aces. Jesse also had a part in 17 blocks, and 6-3 freshman middle Emily Wade factored into 14 total blocks with two solos.
 
CHAMINADE SILVERSWORDS: 4-0, 0-0 PAC WEST
All-time series: SPU leads, 11-8. Current series streak: Cham U won 3. Last time: Cham U 3, SPU 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-13; Aug. 31, 2018 at Fresno, Calif.). Silverswords on the Web.
Silverswords in a nutshell: Not only did Chaminade win all four matches at its own Hawaii Challenge last weekend in Honolulu, it took three of those in three-game sweeps. Of the 10 Pac West teams that played in tournaments last weekend, the Silverswords were the only one to go undefeated. Their attack was spearheaded by four players who topped 30 kills apiece: 6-foot-2 sophomore middle blocker Lataisia Saulala (34), 5-11 senior outside hitter Emma Tecklenburg (34), 5-11 junior opposite Rachel Reedy (33), and 5-10 senior outside Alana Handy (31). Tecklenburg has been a thorn to the Falcons. In three matches over the past two years (two in 2017 and one in 2018), she has gone for 16, 12, and 13 kills, hitting a combined .209. Rae Montrose, a 6-2 freshman middle, leads the way on the block with 15 total.
 
COACH ABBIE WRIGHT SAYS …
 

On one of the positive takeaways from last week
"I do think we had some real rays of light here and there. There were some really productive and great thing we were doing. I think what we did well is we saw some moments of aggression that we haven't seen on the floor.
 
On some things the Falcons are still working on
"It's about managing our errors and playing with a little bit of maturity—those are two things we're still growing in. Tournaments like these are good to find our identity on the court. Our girls have a lot of talent and a lot of skills that they just need to trust and rely on."
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
In the first two year of her career, junior opposite / outside hitter Maddie Batiste had one double. That one came in the third match on the 2018 calendar when she had 13 kills and 13 digs against Metro State.
 
 

Batiste already has tripled that total, recording double-doubles in three of the four matches at last weekend's Seaside Invitational in San Diego. Batiste started out with 14 kills and 10 digs in a season-opening sweep of Cal State East Bay, then came up with 11 kills and 14 digs in a five-game loss to Concordia Irvine, both on Friday.
 
Batiste finished with 12 kills and 10 digs against Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday. A few hours earlier, she had 18 digs – just one short of her career high – and eight kills against San Francisco State.
 
Senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo had two double-doubles, giving her 38 for her career.
 
Maddie Batiste (3 season / 4 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
 
Gabby Oddo (2 season / 38 career)
17K-11D vs. Concordia Irvine, Sept. 7
14K-14D vs. Point Loma Nazarene, Sept. 8
 
FROSH FACTOR
With eight freshmen on the squad, it was inevitable that some of them would be earning regular playing time – and that certainly was the case last weekend.
 
Setter Lindsey Lambert started all four matches and played in all 16 games, starting 14 of them. She racked up 132 assists, an average of 8.25 per game. She also had 13 kills, several of them on dumps at the net, and hit .500 for the weekend, with three out of four error-free matches.

 

Paige Dawson, a libero / defensive specialist,  got onto the court in all 16 games as a server. That paid off with eight aces on her 42 serves, and just three errors.
 
Delaney Dunham came off the bench for one game on Friday against Concordia Irvine. On Saturday, she started Games 3 and 4 against San Francisco State and all four games against Point Loma Nazarene. In the Point Loma matc, she had five block assists – the most by any Falcon in any of the four matches.


 
UP TWO RUNGS ON TWO LISTS FOR ODDO
Gabby Oddo started the season in the No. 10 spot on SPU's career points list with 1,121.5. It was expected that she would move up at least one place, and probably two, last weekend – and she did exactly that.
 
 

For the four matches in San Diego, Oddo racked up 62 points (50 kills-10 service aces-4 block assists, each of the latter worth half a point. That pushed her total to 1,183.5. In so doing, she jumped past Madi Cavell (1,135.0 from 2011-14) and Tricia Larson (1,157.5 from 1989-92).
 
The next step up for Oddo is No. 7 Lindsey Wodrich (1,212.0 from 2008-11)..
 
She also climbed two places on the career kills list. Beginning the year at No. 7 with exactly 1,000, Oddo added 50 more. That elevated her past Nikki Lowell (1,037 from 2010-13) and Lindsey Wodrich (1,041 from 2008-11) into the No. 5 spot. Immediately above her now is No. 4 Stephanie Huffman (1,135 from 1997-2000)..
 
OF TRIPLE DIGITS AND TWIN 200s
Maddie Batiste, Gabby Oddo, and Mallie Donohoe hit the century mark in one stat category apiece last week.
 
Batiste moved past 100 kills, Her 45 for the weekend give her 140. Oddo needed just one more block for 100, and picked up four. Donohoe was 1 ½ points shy of 100 and got over the top with four service aces.
 
Jaeden Hooker moved past 200 in two categories. Her 24 kills for the week moved her from 187 to 211 for her career. She had 27 total points to go from 198 to 225.

AROUND THE WEST
One week into the season, and Western Washington is the only GNAC team with a perfect record. The Vikings won all four matches at the West Florida Invitational, including two against top-25 teams: a five-gamer against host West Florida, and a four-gamer against No. 13 Wheeling. Everyone else in the conference did no better than 2-2.
 
The California Collegiate Athletic Association, three teams went perfect in Week 1: Cal State San Marcos (5-0), preseason favorite Cal State San Bernardino (3-0), and Cal State Dominguez Hills (3-0). San Marcos' five wins at the its own Cougar Classic included a three-game sweep of Pacific West Conference preseason favorite Azusa Pacific.
 
Speaking of the Pac West, Chaminade, which faces SPU this Saturday in Pomona, is the only 4-0 squad. Behind the Silverswards are five teams at 3-1: Azusa, Concordia Irvine, Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii Pacific, and Point Loma Nazarene.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons get to play at home in Brougham Pavilion next week when they begin GNAC play against the Alaska schools. Anchorage comes to town on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7:00 p.m., and Fairbanks visits on Saturday the 21^st at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                  Conference     Overall
Western Washington        0-0       4-0
Alaska Anchorage          0-0       2-2
Alaska Fairbanks          0-0       2-2
Central Washington        0-0       2-2
Simon Fraser              0-0       2-2
Northwest Nazarene        0-0       1-2
Montana State Billings    0-0       1-3
Seattle Pacific           0-0       1-3
Concordia-Portland        0-0       0-3
Western Oregon            0-0       0-3
Saint Martin's            0-0       0-5