SPU-San Francisco State box score (PDF)
       SPU-Point Loma Nazarene box score (PDF)
 
SAN DIEGO – The Seattle Pacific Falcons definitely had their moments on Saturday.
 
Just not enough of them.
 
SPU came up short in both of its matches on the final day of the Seaside Invitational volleyball tournament. The Falcons got the early jump on San Francisco State by winning the opening game, but the Gators found their rhythm with decisive scoring runs in each of the next three games and prevailed in four, 17-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-12.
 
Then in the tourney finale against host Point Loma Nazarene, double-doubles by Gabby Oddo and Maddie Batiste weren't enough to keep the Sea Lions from securing a four-game victory, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 25-15 in Golden Gymnasium.

 

"It's about managing our errors and playing with a little bit of maturity—those are two things we're still growing in," Falcons coach Abbie Wright said. "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.
 
"I do think we had some real rays of light here and there," Wright added. "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."


 
San Francisco State 3, Falcons 1
The Gators were coming off a five-game loss to Concordia Irvine a few hours earlier after having won the first two games. SPU jumped all over them in the opener, snapping a 1-1 tie with three straight points and led the rest of the way.
 
A 7-0 run with junior Batiste serving six of those points helped the Falcons extend a 6-5 lead to 13-5, and it was never closer than five after that.
 
Seattle Pacific then built an 8-4 lead in Game 2. But San Francisco State then put together a 21-4 surge, including 5-0 to go up 9-8, and 9-0 push a 15-11 lead all the way to 24-11.
 
 

The Falcons got the first for points of Game 3, then saw the Gators score seven of the next eight for a 7-5 advantage. They eventually made it 20-11 before SPU, with Mallie Donohoe serving the last six points of a 7-0 run, climbed all the way back to 20-18. The Falcons eventually got into a 21-21 tie, with the equalizer coming off a tip by Gabi Stegemoller.
 
But San Francisco State scored the last four to close it out and go up two games to one.
 
The Gators scored the first four points of Game 4, and the closest Seattle Pacific came was 5-2.
 
Oddo led SPU with 14 kills. Batiste had 18 digs and Mallie Donohoe recorded 13. Freshman Lindsey Lambert's 35 assists pushed her past 100 in just the third match of her career.
 
The Falcons hit a solid .246 and had 11 more kills (49-38). San Francisco State hit .264 and also had 10 service aces..
 
Point Loma Nazarene 3, Falcons 1
After the Sea Lions took the opening game, SPU came from 20-19 behind in Game 2 by scoring three straight points to move in front. Point Loma twice closed within one and regained the serve down 23-22 with a chance to tie. A service error gave the Falcons game point, and sophomore Erin Gould converted it with an ace.
 
Seattle Pacific then went up 9-5 in the third game, only to see the Sea Lions run off six on a row to go up 11-9 and stay ahead the rest of the way.
 
Point Loma then built a 10-3 lead in Game 4 and never let the Falcons get closer than four, the last time at 10-6.
 
Oddo had 14 kills and 14 digs for her second double-double of the season. Batiste's 12 kills and 10 digs marked her third double-double in four matches.
 
Seattle Pacific hit .118 with 44 kills, but 28 attack errors. Point Loma Nazarene hit .256, slamming 49 kills with 17 errors.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Prior to her three double-doubles this weekend, Maddie Batiste had just one in her first two seasons.
-- Gabby Oddo now has 38 double-doubles for her career.
-- With her 62 points this weekend (50 kills-10 aces-4 block assists) Oddo moved from No. 10 to   No. 8 on SPU's all-time list for that statistical category. She now has 1,183.5 points, moving past Madi Cavell (1,135.0 from 2011-14) and Tricia Larson (1,157.5 from 1989-92).
-- Freshman Delaney Dunham made her collegiate debut on Saturday, playing Games 3 and 4 against San Francisco State, then all four against Point Loma – and started all six of those. The middle blocker from nearby Coronado had three kills against the Gators, followed by four kills and five block assists against Point Loma.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will head about 115 miles north to Pomona for this coming week's D2 West Region Showcase. They'll start that tourney on Thursday against host Cal Poly Pomona at 12:30 p.m., then take on Cal State Monterey Bay at 5:30. On Friday, it's Hawaii Hilo at 5:00 p.m., then Chaminade next Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Seaside Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019
Golden Gymnasium / San Diego, Calif.
 
San Francisco State 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 17-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-12.
 
Service aces – SPU 5 (Donohoe 3), SFS 10 (Gillespie 3).
Kills – SPU 49 (Oddo 14), SFS 38 (Morris 16).
Assists – SPU 40 (Lambert 35), SFS 29 (Fong 25).
Digs – SPU 54 (Batiste 18, Donohoe 13), SFS 46 (Garcia 17).
Block assists / solo – SPU 8 / 1 solo (Stegemoller 3 / 1 solo), SFS 0 / 0 solo.
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 49-19-122—.246 (Hooker 6-0-7--..857), SFS 38-10-106—.264 (Haynie 10-0-21—.476).
Attendance – 132.
 
 
Point Loma Nazarene 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-21, 22-25,25-17, 25-15.
 
Service aces – SPU 7 (Gould 3), PLNU 10 (Keturakis 3).
Kills – SPU 44 (Oddo 14, Batiste 12), PLNU 49 (Cymbaluk 13).
Assists – SPU 42 (Lambert 28), PLNU 44 (Keturakis 34).
Digs – SPU 51 (Oddo 14, Batiste 10), PLNU 56 (Dyer 16).
Block assists / solo – SPU 14 / 0 solo (Dunham 5 / 0 solo), PLNU 20 / 0 solo (Keturakis 6 / 0 solo, Fox 6 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 44-28-136—.118 (Lambert 2-0-3—.667), PLNU 49-17-125—.256 (Fox 12-1-19—.579).
Attendance – 181.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 1-3. Point Loma Nazarene 3-1, San Francisco State 2-2.
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Cal Poly Pomona
Thursday, Sept. 12 / 12:30 p.m.
Kellogg Arena / Pomona, Calif.