THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 11               Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 13                Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – What a way to close out the home portion of the 2021 volleyball schedule for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
SPU will welcome the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's top two teams to town, looking to extend a string of Brougham Pavilion success that started way back in September.
 
On Thursday, second-place Simon Fraser will be in town, bringing along an 11-4 GNAC record (17-5 overall) to face the co-fourth place Falcons (9-5 in the GNAC, 13-8 overall, and 10-0 at home). The first serve is at 7:00 p.m.
 
Then on Saturday, rival Western Washington (18-4,14-1 GNAC), currently ranked No. 16 nationally, will come visit for a 7:00 p.m. contest. That will be Senior Night, as outside hitters Maddie Batiste and Erin Gould play for the final time on their home court.
 
Seattle Pacific starts the week on a two-match winning streak, the second of which was a 3-1 victory last Saturday at home against Montana State Billings.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both matches will have live Webcasts and live stats. Greg Sexton will call the action on Thursday against Simon Fraser, and Mike Lefko will be on the mic for Saturday's contest against Western Washington.
 
TICKET TALK
Fans are welcome to attend matches 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?
-- Last Saturday's victory against Montana State Billings assured an overall winning record for the Falcons, as they are 13-8 with four matches left.
-- That will mark the second consecutive season and the third time in her five years here that coach Abbie Wright's team will finish with a winning record. SPU went 15-13 during her first year (2017) and were 11-7 during last spring's pandemic-shortened season.
-- With 10 homecourt wins, SPU reached double digits for the first time since 2006. That team finished 10-0. The most home wins in program history was 12 by the 2005 team (12-2).
--The Falcons will be looking for a season series split against both teams. Last month on the road, they dropped a tight three-setter at Western Washington and fell in four sets at Simon Fraser.
-- Senior outside hitter Maddie Batiste had a double-double of 12 kills and 13 digs against the Vikings, hitting .375.
-- Sophomore middle blocker Hannah Hair led the way against Simon Fraser with 11 kills.
-- The Falcons need two wins in their final four matches to reach 600 in program history. They come into this week with a record of 598-469.
-- The match against WWU will be Seattle Pacific's sixth against a nationally ranked opponent this season. Of the first five, the Falcons lost at then-No. 12 Colorado Mines, lost to No. 10 Colorado Mesa, defeated No. 13 St. Cloud State of Minnesota, lost at No. 20 Western Washington, and defeated No. 24 Alaska Anchorage.
-- Along with WWU (No. 16), Colorado Mines (No. 10) and St. Cloud State (No. 11) are still ranked.
-- With four matches left, Maddie Batiste starts the week with 975.0 career points (838 kills, 74 service aces, and 8 solo blocks, all worth one point each, and 110 block assists, with half a point each). She would be the 18th player in SPU history to reach 1,000 career points.
-- Coach Abbie Wright is 2-11 all-time against Western Washington and 3-3 against Simon Fraser. The two victories vs. Western came last spring.
 
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER: 17-5, 11-4 GNAC (2^nd)
All-time series: SPU leads, 30-18. Current series streak: Simon won 4. Last time: Simon 3, SPU 1 (25-23, 25-16, 21-25, 25-17; Oct. 16, 2021 at Burnaby, B.C.). Last SPU series win: SPU 3, Simon 1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 28-26; Sept. 8, 2018 at Burnaby). Simon Fraser on the Web.
Simon Fraser in a nutshell: After dropping three of five to start GNAC play, the team has won nine of its last 10, including four-setters against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's last week. Freshman 6-foot-2 opposite Brooke Dexter has been a force on offense in her first year. She has put 382 kills onto the floor, an average of 4.12 per set that leads the conference. She is the only GNAC player averaging more than 4.00 per set. She's accurate, too, hitting .287 to rank No. 9 in the GNAC. Getting the ball to her is senior setter Julia Tays, who average of 11.05 assists per set is No. 1 in the conference and is the only average in the 11s. The other front-row threat for Simon is sophomore 6-foot outside hitter Camryn Vosloh. She has 183 kills / 2.86 per set to rank No. 10 in the GNAC. Sophomore 6-2 middle Kalyn Hartmann has 184 kills, hits .287, and has a team-high 83 blocks with 12 solos.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 18-4, 14-1 GNAC (1^st)
All-time series: WWU leads, 55-28. Current series streak: WWU won 3. Last time: WWU 3, SPU 0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-22; Oct. 14, 2021 at Bellingham). Last SPU series win: SPU 3, WWU 0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22; May 14, 2021 at Seattle). Vikings on the Web. Vikings in a nutshell: Western Washington has a 13-match winning streak, with No. 13 coming on Monday night in a four-set victory against Alaska Anchorage – the second time in 10 days the Vikings have taken down the Seawolves to take firm command of the GNAC title race. The Vikings have plenty of firepower up front with sophomore 6-foot-1 outside hitter Calley Heilborn (279 kills / 3.28 per set, No. 5 GNAC) and junior 5-10 outside Gabby Gunterman (265 / 3.12, No. 6). Junior 6-2 middle blocker Olivia Fairchild is the conference's second-best hitter at .326 (208 kills) and also is the leading blocker at 1.38 per set (117 total, with a GNAC-high 17 solos). Junior 6-foot middle Chloe Roetcisoender is No. 5 on the hit percentage list at .304 with 164 kills and is the No. 6 blocker at 1.12 per set (95.0 total). In a 3-2 victory at Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 28, Heilborn and Gunterman both went for monster double-doubles: 26 kills / 22 digs / .258 hitting for Heilborn; 22 kills / 22 digs / .396 hitting for Gunterman.
 
SENIOR NIGHT SET FOR SATURDAY
Maddie Batiste and Erin Gould will play their final home matches this week, capped by Saturday's showdown against Western Washington at 7:00 p.m.
 
The two outside hitters will be focus of a Senior Night celebration prior to the first serve. In addition, Gabi Stegemoller, who concluded her career last spring, will be part of the ceremony in order to receive proper recognition in front of Falcon fans. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, fans were not allowed at any of those spring matches.
 
Batiste 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. She is within 25 points of reaching 1,000 for her career.
 
Gould hails from the Seattle suburb of Kent. She recently collected her 400th career dig and needs 45 kills in the final four matches to reach 400.
 
AS GOOD AS 1-2-3
Offense should be in abundant supply when Simon Fraser and Western Washington visit Seattle Pacific this week.
 
All three teams are averaging 13-plus kills per set: 13.47 for Simon, 13.27 for WWU, 13.08 for SPU. No other GNAC team is in the 13s.
 
They also are the top three for assists at 12-plus per set: 12.49 for Simon, 12.43 for SPU, 12.42 for WWU. No other team is in the 12s.
 
 

The Vikings and Simon Fraser also have the GNAC's top two team hitting percentages: .235 for Western, .220 for Simon. SPU is No 5 at .205. Individually, Western Washington's Olivia Fairchild is No. 2 in hitting at .326, SPU's Hannah Hair is No. 3 at .325, and Western's Chloe Roetcisoender is No. 5 at .304.
 
Of course, defense isn't lacking, either. Western is the top blocking team at 2.67 per set; Seattle Pacific is No. 2 at 2.65. Simon Fraser averages 2.11. Fairchild is on top of the individual blocking list at 1.38 per set, and Hair is No. 2 at 1.35.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
SPU is ..
-- No. 4 in blocks per set at 2.65.
-- No. 35 in assists per set at 12.43.
-- No. 48 in total blocks at 198.5.
-- No. 59 in kills per set at 13.08.
 
-- Hannah Hair is No. 7 in blocks per set at 1.35.
-- Allison Wilks is No. 36 in blocks per set at 1.10.
 
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 clinched at least a tie for the GNAC championship by defeating Alaska Anchorage on Monday night. That leaves the Vikings (14-1 GNAC, 18-4 overall) three matches ahead of Simon Fraser (11-4, 17-5 overall) with three to play for both teams. One more WWU win or Simon Fraser loss will seal the deal and give the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid to the Vikings.
 
Cal State San Bernardino has wrapped up the California Collegiate Athletic Association crown. The Coyotes are 15-0 in conference play, 20-3 overall, and are riding a 17-match win streak with three regular-season matches left prior to the CCAA Tournament. Cal Poly Pomona (13-3 in conference, 20-3 overall) has two matches left and still has a mathematical chance of tying the Coyotes of both were to finish at 15-3. But San Bernardino beat the Mustangs in both regular-season matches, so owns the tiebreaker.
 
Azusa Pacific, which recently had two Pacific West Conference matches postponed for health and safety reasons, is back in action, playing a string of six matches in nine days. APU (11-2, 16-5 overall), Biola (13-3, 23-5 overall), Concordia Irvine (12-4, 17-6 overall) and even Hawaii Hilo (11-4, 14-5 overall) are all still in the title hunt.
 
UP NEXT
SPU brings down the curtain on the season next week with a road trip to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. The Falcons and Wildcats square off on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7:00 p.m. in Ellensburg. Then it's off to Idaho for a match against the Nighthawks on Saturday, Nov. 20, at noon Pacific time. Seattle Pacific beat both teams in Brougham Pavilion to open conference play back in September.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference          Overall
Western Washington       14-1        18-4
Simon Fraser             11-4        17-5
Central Washington        9-5        13-7
Alaska Anchorage          9-5        17-10
Seattle Pacific           9-5        13-8
Alaska Fairbanks          8-7        15-12
Montana State Billings    5-9        10-14
Saint Martin's            3-11       10-14
Northwest Nazarene        2-12        5-17
Western Oregon            1-13        3-18