SEASIDE INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Golden Gymnasium @ Point Loma Nazarene / San Diego, Calif.
 
Friday, Sept. 6                      Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State East Bay, 10:45 a.m.
                                          Seattle Pacific vs. Concordia Irvine, 5:45 p.m.
 
Saturday, Sept. 7                  Seattle Pacific vs. San Francisco State, 3:30 p.m.
                                          Seattle Pacific vs. Point Loma Nazarene, 8:00 p.m.
  
LIVE STATS / LIVE WEBCASTS (all matches)
 
 
        Weekly release (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – Sunny Southern California is beckoning the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
So is the start of the 2019 volleyball season.
 
The Falcons will serve it up for the first time this year when they head to San Diego on Friday and Saturday for the Seaside Invitational at Point Loma Nazarene University.
 
SPU will play four matches in Point Loma's Golden Gymnasium, beginning on Friday morning at 10:45 against Cal State East Bay, a 2018 NCAA West Regional qualifier. The match against the Pioneers will be followed by a 5:45 p.m. contest against Concordia Irvine.
 
Another pair of matches is on Saturday's docket, with San Francisco State at 3:30 p.m., and the finale against host PLNU at 8:00 p.m.
 
This is the first of two back-to-back preseason tourneys in SoCal. After winding up in San Diego, the Falcons head to Cal Poly Pomona for next week's D2 West Region Showcase.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Free live Webcasts and live stats will be available from all four matches this week. The appropriate link can be found at the top of this story.
 
PRESEASON THREE-PEAT FOR ODDO
Senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo has been voted to the Preseason All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference team for the third year in a row.
 
 

Oddo was one of 14 players on the squad selected by the conference's 11 coaches, and is the only three-time selection to make the list.
 
The Falcon standout is coming off her best season. She became just the seventh player in program history to reach both 1,000 points (kills-service aces-blocks) and 1,000 kills. For the year, Oddo finished with 362 kills, an average of 3.48 per game that ranked No. 5 in the conference.
 
Oddo had 16 kill-dig double-doubles, giving her 36 for her career, and wound up with 323 digs, her single-season best.
 
At the end of the fall, Oddo was voted to the All-GNAC first team for the second year in a row.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The Falcons are beginning the school's 34^th volleyball season. The program was started in 1986.
-- Coach Abbie Wright is starting her third year in charge. She is 26-29 overall. That includes 1-0 against Cal State East Bay.
-- This is SPU's first trip to the Seaside Invitational.
-- Seattle Pacific has an 18-15 record in season-opening matches. That includes last year's four-game victory against Fresno Pacific at home in the Falcon-Wildcat Invitational.
-- Their last multiple-win start was 2-0 in 2017.
-- The Falcons are looking to log a 'W' right away. Their last tally in the win column was a five-gamer at Alaska Anchorage last Nov. 1. They fell short in their final three matches of the year.
-- Opening with a road stretch is nothing new for SPU. The team played its first 10 on the road in 2016 (going 4-6) and its first eight in 2017 (going 5-3).
-- While Seattle Pacific was just 11-16 overall in 2018, it had a winning record of 6-5 in true road matches, and was 6-9 overall outside of Brougham Pavilion.
-- Last year, the Falcons went 2-5 in preseason tournament play.
-- Of the eight preseason opponents, only Chaminade was on last year's docket. The Falcons and Silverswords play next week in Pomona.
-- Seattle Pacific and Cal State East Bay, who meet in Friday's opener, had quite the thriller the last time they met. It was in 2017 at Western Oregon in the D2 West Region Showcase. The Falcons were down 2 games to 1, but came back to win in five, 15-7 in the fifth. Gabby Oddo had 18 kills in that one.
-- East Bay is one of five teams on the 2019 schedule that played in last year's NCAA West Regionals. The Falcons will face two more next week (Pomona and Chaminade), and two in conference play (Western Washington and Central Washington).
-- The matches against Concordia Irvine and Point Loma will be just the second in program history.
-- SPU's only previous match against Point Loma was so long ago (1994) that none of the current Falcons were even born then. And, games were still played to 15 points.
 




SCOUTING REPORT
CAL STATE EAST BAY PIONEERS: 16-13, 11-7 CCAA (tie 1^st in North)
All-time series: Tied, 1-1. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, EB 2 (25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 25-16, 15-7; Sept. 8, 2017 at Monmouth, Ore.). Pioneers on the Web.
Pioneers in a nutshell: East Bay will have a decidedly different look, going from senior-laden to one of the youngest teams in the CCAA. The top five players in kills (three of whom also were among the team's blocking leaders) all graduated. The leading returners on offense are 5-foot-11 sophomore outside / opposite Tayler Templeman (78 kills) and 6-foot junior opposite Tiana Weeks (75). The lone senior on the team is libero / defensive specialist Nathlee Wilson. She led the Pioneers with 418 digs last year and sent 20 service aces across the net. Weeks and Templeman also are solid defensively, with 34 and 23 total blocks, respectively, I 2018.
 
CONCORDIA IRVINE EAGLES: 10-20, 9-13 Pac West (7^th)
All-time series: CUI leads, 1-0. Current series streak: CUI won 1. Last time: CUI 3, SPU 1 (21-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-20; Sept. 2, 2016 at Irvine, Calif.). Eagles on the Web.
Eagles in a nutshell: Irvine is bulging with experience, as 13 letterwinners are back for another season. At the top of that list are All-Pacific West honorable mention picks Clarice Buchanan and Patience O'Neal. Buchanan, a 5-foot-2 defensive specialist / libero, led the Eagles with 389 digs. O'Neal, a 6-4 outside hitter / opposite, slammed 221 kills, hit .235, and added 35 total blocks. Junior 5-11 outside Jaclyn Brown led the team with 276 kills and came up with 221 digs. Sophomore 6-foot middle blocker Hannah Tostado had a team-high 78 blocks and hit .342 with 85 kills and just 19 errors on 193 attacks.
 
SAN FRANCISCO STATE GATORS: 14-12, 9-9 CCAA (tie 3^rd in North)
All-time series: SPU leads, 6-3. Current series streak: SF State won 1. Last time: SFS 3, SPU 1 (25-16, 25-13, 22-25, 25-22; Sept. 4, 2012 at San Francisco). Gators on the Web.
Gators in a nutshell: While not the overall favorite to win the CCAA, San Francisco State is the pick of the coaches to take the North Division crown. Leading the attack is 6-foot junior outside hitter Jessica Haynie, an All-CCAA second-team selection last fall. Haynie put 277 kills onto the floor and had a team-leading 15 solos among her 31 total blocks. Drew Morris, a 5-9 junior outside, had 258 kills, along with 40 total blocks, and senior 5-11 middle blocker Bailey Johnson tallied 215 kills, hit .312, and came up with 87 total blocks, including 14 solos. Together, they accounted for 898 points.
 
POINT LOMA NAZARENE SEA LIONS: 18-11, 15-7 Pac West (5^th)
All-time series: PLNU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: PLNU won 1. Last time: PLNU 3, SPU 0 (15-11, 15-13, 15-6; Sept. 3, 1994 at Irvine, Calif.). Sea Lions on the Web.
Sea Lions in a nutshell: Point Loma returns junior 6-foot outside hitter Jaime Cymbaluk, who slammed 282 kills and hit .206. Maddie Fox, a 5-11 junior middle blocker, added 148 while hitting a team-high .292, and also came up with 53 total blocks. Their contributions on offense will be even more important, as sophomore outside Rachael Schlect, who led the Sea Lions with 328 kills and was named Pac West Freshman of the Year in 2018, is out with an injury. The show runs through 6-foot senior Cara Keturakis. With 1,061 assists (9.92 per game), she was the conference's 2018 Setter of the Year and is the 2019 Preseason Setter of the Year.

SCOUTING THE 2019 FALCONS
Veteran firepower at the net. Experienced defensive know-how in the back. And a bevy of incoming talent that covers nearly every position on the court.
 
As they embark on the 2019 volleyball season, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have all of the pieces in place with the ultimate goal of blending them into a tandem that can find success in the powerful Great Northwest Athletic Conference and West Region and improve upon last year's record of 11-16 overall, 9-11 in the conference.
 
Directing that process will be head coach Abbie Wright, who begins her third year in charge.
 
A key go-to player is senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo. Last fall, she recorded her 1,000th career point in a match at  Montana State Billings. Then in the season finale at home against Western Washington, Oddo tied SPU's single-match record with her 32nd kill – and that happened to be the 1,000th kill of her career. She is just the seventh player in Falcon history with 1,000 points and 1,000 kills. Oddo also got the job done defensively with 323 digs, and had 16 kill-dig double-doubles.
 
 

Also on the outside is senior Jaeden Hooker. She is coming off by far her best season, with 176 kills (2.26 per game) and 22 total blocks. Junior Maddie Batiste saw considerably more action last season, and can play outside or opposite. In the middle is junior Gabi Stegemoller, who also had a stellar 2018 campaign. Stegemoller slammed 124 kills and came up with 78 total blocks, the third-highest total on the team.
 
Senior Mallie Donohoe has emerged as one of Seattle Pacific's top defensive players. She had 251 digs last season, an average of 2.41 per game. She also sent 12 service aces over the net. Erin Gould is coming off a freshman season in which she saw regular playing time and came up with 106 digs. Senior Katie Mansfield also can be counted on by the Falcons as a defensive specialist. Senior Taylor Alicuben, who saw limited action last fall, is a candidate for setter.
 
SPU has one of its largest-ever incoming classes, with eight freshmen in the fold. Of those newcomers, two will be part of the competition for the setter's position that was occupied for the last four years by record-setting and now-graduated Symone Tran
 
One of them is Lindsey Lambert, who helped Southridge win the Oregon Class 6A (large school) state championship as a junior in 2017. Austin Ibale played a big role for Kentridge in 2018 as the Chargers went 24-1, won the league and district titles and placed third In the Washington Class 4A (large school) state tournament.
 
Outside hitters  in the newcomers group are Ashley Antoniak and Lindsay Rosenthal. Antoniak helped Millennium High take second place in the Arizona state tournament as a freshman, and was on the state championship sand volleyball team as a senior. Rosenthal helped Richland High School take second in the Washington Class 4A tournament last November, and was a All-State honorable mention selection as a junior in 2017.
 
Others vying for playing time will be defensive specialist / libero Paige Dawson and middle blocker Delaney Dunham. Dawson and Northwest Christian of Spokane made the Washington Class 2B (small school) state tournament all four years. Dunham and Coronado High made the sectionals of the California Division III tournament.
 
Maddie Pruden, an opposite, helped North Kitsap go undefeated in Olympic League play, winning a sixth straight league title. She was All-League 1st team. Maya Holmen, a middle blocker, was an All-Kingco 2nd-team selection at Redmond.
 
COACH ABBIE WRIGHT SAYS …
(On what she has seen so far)
"I'm seeing a lot of grit and determination. Something we did really well last weekend (in a scrimmage against Northwest University) was ball control, serve receive, and working a lot on defense. Some of the best things I've seen have been off the court, just connecting with each other and getting to know each other. It's huge for a group of players to feel connected and bonded together."
 
(On the competition for the setter's job)
"We have two freshmen (Austin Ibale and Lindsey Lambert) and they're learning a lot from (senior) Taylor Alicuben. They're all contributing really well, and they're also learning a new system. With setters especially, they have a whole new plate of things they have to get used to. It's up to us to give them the information, but they're really catching on quick. All three of them are a really good group."
 
(On the GNAC and the West Region)
"We have a challenge every night (in conference play), we have a challenge in preseason. I think it just gets you playing higher-level volleyball sooner in your season when you can expect those really good matches."

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
SPU starts the season with two players who have recorded double-doubles.
 
Senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo has 36 for her career, racking up 16 of those in 2018. That included a stretch of 10 straight in the middle of the season, and four in a row to finish the schedule.
 
Junior outside / opposite Maddie Batiste has one, recording it last Aug. 25 with 13 kills and 13 digs against Metro State.
 
NEW FACE IN A NEW PLACE
Haley Doerfler, who starred at Hawaii Pacific University, is the new lead assistant coach for the Falcons.
 
 

Doerfler comes to SPU after spending the 2018 season as an assistant at North Alabama, which began a four-year transition from Division II to Division I last fall. Prior to that, she coached at Durham University in England, working with both the indoor and the sand volleyball programs.
 
A middle blocker during her playing days, she racked up 394 blocks during her four seasons at HPU, leading the team in three of those seasons. She also slammed 765 kills, with 208 of those as a senior in 2014.  During her senior year in 2014, she had 117 blocks and 208 kills.
 
Doerfler worked with middles and opposites at North Alabama. But she said her work at summer camps with other coaching mentors "has helped broaden my range of expertise."
 
Doerfler steps into the spot vacated by Korrin Wild, who had been with the Falcons the past two years. She resigned in May to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Nevada-Reno of the Division I Mountain West Conference.
 
FAMILIAR FACES IN A FAMILIAR PLACE
The SPU coaching staff also has two members who are well acquainted with the program.
   
 

Carolyn Farny is in her third year as a volunteer assistant. She is a graduate of the powerhouse University of Washington program and has coached for various periods of time since 2002. She was a volunteer for SPU from 2016-17, and has returned this year.

Hailey Gaines, who starred for the Falcons last year at opposite after transferring from Concordia Irvine, is staying on as a graduate assistant. Voted the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Newcomer of the Year, she is continuing working on her master's degree in industrial organizational psychology.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP CREDENTIALS
While they have yet to play their first official college match, some of SPU's numerous newcomers know a thing or two about what it takes to get to the top.
 
Lindsey Lambert, a setter, helped Southridge High School win the Class 6A (large school) Oregon state tournament as a junior in 2017. Ashley Antoniak, an opposite, was part of the Class 5A Arizona state champions at Millennium High last fall, leading the team in kills.
 
Austin Ibale was the setter on the Kentridge team that won the North Puget Sound League and West Central District crowns in 2018. Libero / defensive specialist Paige Dawson's Northwest Christian of Spokane team won back-to-back Bi-County League crowns (2017 and 2018), and opposite Maddie Pruden helped North Kitsap, located across Puget Sound in Poulsbo, win the Olympic League championship.
 
ODDO ON POINT
Gabby Oddo, who passed the career 1,000-point mark last Oct. 20 at Montana State Billings, comes into the 2019 season with 1,121.5 on her ledger (1,000 kills-69 service aces-6 solo blocks-93 block assists). That's No. 10 on the SPU career list.
 
The next rung up that ladder is Madi Cavell's 1,135.0 from 2011-14, and just above that is Tricia Larson's 1,157.5 from 1989-92. Oddo very likely will pass both of those this weekend.
 
Looking more long range, Oddo is well within each of the program's all-time top three. The third spot is currently occupied by Leilani Kamahoahoa, who racked up 1,461.5 points from 1998-2001. Oddo needs 340 points to match that total, and she has topped 400 in each of the past two seasons.
 
The top two spots are way above the rest: No. 1 Tosca Lindberg (1,773,0 from 1989-92) and No. 2 Alyssa Given (1,718 from 2004-07).
 
Oddo also starts the season at No. 7 on the career kills list with exactly 1,000. Immediately above her are No. 6 Nikki Lowell (1,037 from 2010-13) and No. 5 Lindsey Wodrich (1,041 from 2008-11).
 
AROUND THE WEST
While Western Washington and Central Washington are predicted to battle for the GNAC title, perennial powerhouse Cal State San Bernardino once again is the favorite to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association crown. In fact, the Coyotes were a near-unanimous favorite, receiving 12 of the 13 first-place votes. This is the 13^th straight year they start the schedule as the favorite. San Francisco State, which faces SPU on Saturday, is the slight favorite to win the North Division title. (Bernardino is tops in the South.)
 
Azusa Pacific is the favorite to defend its Pacific West Conference championship. The Cougars picked up 10 of the 12 first-place votes. Chaminade is the No. 2 choice, receiving one first-place vote. Biola got the other first-place and is picked third overall.
 
UP NEXT
After finishing up in San Diego, the Falcons will head 115 miles north to Pomona for next week's D2 West Region Showcase, with four matches spread over three days. They'll play twice on Thursday, Sept. 12, meeting host Cal Poly Pomona at 12:30 p.m. and Cal State Monterey Bay at 5:30 p.m. On Friday the 13^th, it'll be Hawaii Hilo across the net at 5:00 p.m. The finale will be against Chaminade on Saturday the 14^th at 2:00 p.m.
 
Pomona and Chaminade both played in last year's NCAA West Regionals.