THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 6                  Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – Home is where the wins have been. And the Seattle Pacific Falcons are hoping to notch another one on their own volleyball court this week.
 
Coming off a split of their road trip to Western Oregon and Saint Martin's, SPU welcomes Montana State Billings to Brougham Pavilion for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest on Saturday. The first serve against the Yellowjackets is at 2:00 p.m. It will be first of a three-match slate over the upcoming two weekends to close out the home portion of the 2021 schedule.
 
Since Seattle Pacific (12-8, 8-5 GNAC) and Billings (10-13. 5-8 GNAC) are travel partners on the conference schedule, that will be the only match for both teams this week.
 
After dropping a 3-0 decision at WOU last Thursday, the Falcons bounced back on Saturday with a 3-0 sweep at Saint Martin's.
 
With three weeks left in the season, Seattle Pacific finds itself alone in fourth place in the GNAC standings. Billings will arrive in town sitting in seventh place.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Saturday's match will have a live Webcast and live stats. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
TICKET TALK
Fans are welcome to attend games in person at Brougham Pavilion.
 
In compliance with King County guidelines, spectators 12 years of age and older attending SPU athletic events will need to provide proof of full vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 test. Before purchasing or picking up tickets at venue Will Call windows, attendees will be required to show evidence of vaccination. Acceptable forms of proof include a CDC-issued Vaccination Record Card, a photo of the card, the Washington state myIRmobile.com app or a document from a health care provider.
 
Those who cannot provide proof of vaccination may instead present documentation of a negative FDA-approved COVID-19 test administered by a professional and dated within 72 hours of the event.
 
For additional details, please click on the SPU ATHLETICS ENTRY POLICY webpage. Mask wearing is mandatory at all times and spectators are encouraged to social distance when possible. Save the wait in line and obtain your SPU soccer tickets in advance by purchasing them online the SPU TICKETS webpage.
 



SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Seattle Pacific has a 9-0 record at home, with six of those coming against GNAC opponents.
-- The last time a Falcons team logged that many homecourt victories was in 2011 with a 9-1 record. The most recent season with double-digit wins at home was 2006 (10-0).
--The Falcons have a chance to secure their second season series sweep. They won the first meeting in Billings on Oct. 9.
-- SPU already has one series sweep, having taken both against Saint Martin's.
-- The road team has won the last three matches in the Falcons-Yellowjackets series.
-- Seattle Pacific is closing on in the 600^th victory in program history. It comes into this week with a 597.
-- Of this fall's 20 matches, 12 have ended in three-set sweeps. The Falcons are 7-5 in those matches.
-- In last month's contest at Billings, SPU hit a season-high .381. That included .636 for senior outside hitter Erin Gould, .417 for sophomore middle blocker Hannah Hair, and .385 for senior outside hitter Maddie Batiste. The percentages for Gould and Batiste were season highs.
-- Of MSUB's 40 kills in that match, Skylar Reed (14) and Bayli Monck (13) accounted for 27 of them.
-- Seattle Pacific is back atop the GNAC blocking standings, averaging 2.61 per set.
-- Hair is No. 2 in the conference and tied for No. 5 in the nation at 1.35 blocks per set
-- The Falcons are still averaging more than 13 kills per set, starting the week at 13.08 to rank No. 3 in the GNAC. The last time the team finished the season above 13 was in 2011 at 13.14.
-- Junior setter Austin Ibale logged her 200th career assist last Thursday at Western Oregon. She now has 202.
-- Batiste comes into the week with 961.5 points (828 kills, 73 service aces, and 7 solo blocks, all worth one point each, and 107 block assists, worth half a point each. With another 38.5, she will become the 18th Falcon to tally 1,000 points in her career.
-- Coach Abbie Wright's teams are 5-2 all-time against Billings, including 2-1 at home.
 
SCOUTING THE MONTANA STATE BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 10-13, 5-8 GNAC (7^th).
All-time series: SPU leads, 32-13. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, MSUB 0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-20; Oct. 9, 2021 at Billings). Last MSUB series win: MSUB 3, SPU 1 (25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19; Nov. 14, 2019 at Seattle). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Billings split a pair of four-setters in GNAC play last week, falling at Saint Martin's, but then coming back from a first-set loss to win at Western Oregon. Possibly the biggest victory of the year for the Jackets was a five-setter at home against Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 21, after dropping the first two sets. Senor 5-foot-10 opposite Bayli Monck is one of the biggest front-row threats in the entire conference, with 287 kills (3.54 per set / No. 4 in the GNAC) and a .261 hitting percentage (No. 11). But she's not alone up there. Skylar Reed, a junior 5-11 outside hitter / opposite, has 230 kills for a 2.84 average (No. 11). Senior 6-1 middle blocker Joelle Mahowald has recorded 174 kills, hits .297 (No. 8 in the GNAC) and is the team's leading blocker with 76, including 18 solos. Close behind her on the block is 6-1 sophomore middle Hannah Hayden with 72 / 12 solos. Running the offense is 5-8 sophomore setter Hannah Hashbarger with 625 assists, a per-set average of 8.01 that ranks No. 6 in the GNAC.
 
SET TO SALUTE THE SENIORS
Heading into their final homestand of the season, SPU will be getting ready for Senior Night next Saturday, Nov. 13, against rival Western Washington.
 
Outside hitters Maddie Batiste and Erin Gould will be honored in a ceremony prior to the 7:00 p.m. first serve.
 
 

Batiste, a native of Portland, is in her fifth year with the Falcons, taking advantage of an NCAA allowance to use her final year of eligibility this season after the 2020 schedule was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic. With six matches remaining in her career, she is on the brink of reaching 1,000 career points (starting the week with 961.5) and has a chance at 900 career kills (828) and 800 digs (736).
 
 

Gould hails from Kent, just southeast of Seattle. She collected her 400^th career dig last week and is rapidly approaching her 400^th kill, coming into the week with 351. Gould has set and subsequently tied her career high for kills in a match (15) this fall, and also set a career high with 21 digs against Northwest Nazarene.
 
THEY'RE DIGGIN' IT ON DEFENSE
The Falcons came up with one of their best defensive efforts of the season last Saturday at Saint Martin's.
 
To begin with, they limited Saint Martin's to just 18 kills. The last time an opponent did not manage 20 kills against the Falcons was Oct. 6, 2011, when Simon Fraser had just 18 in a three-set SPU victory.
 
Seattle Pacific also kept the Saints to a negative hitting percentage of minus-.040 (18 kills-22 errors-101 attacks). The last opponent to hit negative vs. the Falcons was Simon Fraser at minus-.023 (26 kills-29 errors-133 attacks) in a three-set SPU victory on Oct. 13, 2016.
 
In addition, Seattle Pacific outdug Saint Martin's 54-46. The Saints came into the match ranked first among the 10 GNAC schools in digs per game, and the Falcons were last. In fact, SPU had more digs in both matches against the Saints, with a 42-35 advantage on Sept. 30 in Seattle.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
SPU is ..
-- No. 6 in blocks per set at 2.61.
-- No. 32 in assists per set at 12.46.
-- No. 40 in total blocks at 185.5.
-- No. 55 in kills per set at 13.08.
 
-- Hannah Hair is No. 5 in blocks per set at 1.35.
-- Hair is tied for No. 47 in total blocks with 88.
 
The team rankings are based on the 285 NCAA Division II schools that are playing volleyball this fall.
 
Click in this link to see a complete look at how the Falcons stack up in Division II. Click on this link for a look at how GNAC teams rank in the national statistics.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Western Washington took command of the GNAC standings last week with two impressive victories in Alaska. On Thursday, the Vikings (11-1 GNAC, 15-4 overall) lost the first set, but came back for a 3-2 victory at Alaska Fairbanks, winning 15-11 in the fifth. Then on Saturday at Anchorage, Western scored a 3-0 sweep, 25-22, 25-23, 25-19. Simon Fraser (9-4 GNAC, 15-5 overall) won at Anchorage on Thursday, but then lost 3-1 at Fairbanks on Saturday. UAA (8-3 GNAC, 16-8) is still in second ahead of Simon (9-4 GNAC, 15-5), but faces a brutal stretch of three road matches in five days: at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, at Central Washington on Saturday, and then a make-up match at Western Washington next Monday, Nov. 8.
 
Cal State San Bernardino, now on a 15-match winning streak is in clear control of the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Coyotes are 13-0 in conference play, 18-3 overall, and took down previously second-place Cal State Los Angeles in four sets last Friday. They now have beaten L.A. twice. Cal Poly Pomona and San Francisco State are now tied for second at 11-3, and Bernardino went 2-0 against Pomona and won its only scheduled match against San Francisco.
 
Azusa Pacific still leads the Pacific West Conference at 8-1, but had both of last week's matches postponed for health and safety reasons. The Cougars now face a brutal stretch of five matches in nine days. Chaminade (11-3), Hawaii Hilo (10-3) and Biola (10-3) all remain in the title hunt.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for news, notes, results, and stats from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
The final home matches of the season are slated for next week. Simon Fraser comes to town on Thursday, Nov. 11, followed by Western Washington on Saturday the 13th. The first serve for both is at 7:00 p.m.
 
  
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference          Overall
Western Washington       11-1        15-4
Alaska Anchorage          8-3        16-8
Simon Fraser              9-4        15-5
Seattle Pacific           8-5        12-8
Central Washington        7-5        11-7
Alaska Fairbanks          7-6        14-11
Montana State Billings    5-8        10-13
Saint Martin's            3-9        10-12
Northwest Nazarene        2-10        5-15
Western Oregon            1-11        3-16