THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, Feb. 27                                Seattle Pacific at Northwest University, 2:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
                                                                Kristi Brodin Pavilion / Kirkland, Wash.
                                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Tuesday, March 2                                Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
                                                                Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
                                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

SEATTLE – Are you ready for some volleyball?
 
After 460 days without a match …
 
… the Seattle Pacific Falcons certainly are.
 
Yup: 460 days. It was that long ago when the Falcons closed the 2019 season at Alaska Anchorage, on Nov. 23 of that year. They had no idea as they flew home to Seattle a few hours afterward that words such as "coronavirus," "covid-19," and "pandemic" soon would become part of everyday conversation, and that the Falcons would go through all of 2020 and nearly the first two months of 2021 before playing again.
  
SPU officially returns to action on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader at Northwest University in nearby Kirkland. The first match begins at 2:00 p.m. The second will follow at approximately 5:30 p.m.
 
Next Tuesday, March 2, the Falcons visit Saint Martin's for a pair of matches, the first one at 3:00 p.m.; the second one at 5:30.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, fans will not be allowed to attend any of this year's matches, home or away. However, they can keep up with all the action online with free live Webcasts for most matches and free live stats. The appropriate links are at the top of this story.
 
NO CONFERENCE CONTESTS
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference voted last July not to conduct a 2020 season for the traditional fall sports – volleyball, men's and women's soccer, and cross country. At the time, it was suggested that those sports potentially could play spring schedules, but nothing was finalized.
 
Then in January the conference announced that those sports indeed could play in the spring, but with each institution setting up its own schedule rather than playing a GNAC schedule. Conference standings will not be kept, and no champion will be declared.
 
The bulk of Seattle Pacific's 22 matches will be in the form of doubleheaders, and the vast majority of those will take place on Saturdays.
 
Of the 13 playing dates on SPU's calendar of 22 matches, nine are doubleheaders, with five of those at home in Brougham Pavilion. While conference matches are always just one on any given playing date, all teams have experience playing two matches on one day, as that often is the case at preseason tournaments.
 
No NCAA postseason competition will be conducted.
 
PLAYERS CAN KEEP THIS YEAR
Regardless of how many matches take place, the Falcons and all NCAA Division II  players will be able to retain this year of eligibility. That means all current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will return at that same eligibility level in 2021-22, and all current seniors will be allowed to play in 2021-22 if they choose to do so and maintain certain academic requirements.
 
All 2020 fall sports athletes whose seasons were canceled, and all 2020-21 winter sports athletes whose seasons were reduced or canceled have been granted that same allowance by the NCAA, as were 2020 spring sports athletes.



SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- This will be the 35^th season of Seattle Pacific volleyball. The program began in 1986.
-- The Falcons finished 2019  with a 13-15 overall record, including 10-10 in GNAC play.
-- In her first three seasons, coach Abbie Wright has an record of 39-44 overall, 29-31 against GNAC schools.
-- Saturday will mark the second time this week that SPU and Northwest have been across the net from each other. The scrimmaged on Tuesday in Brougham Pavilion.
-- SPU has a roster of 17 players. Included are seven true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen.
-- That is the largest roster the Falcons have ever had. Their 2012 and 2017 teams each had 16 players..
-- Senior outside hitter Maddie Batiste is coming off a breakout season in 2019, which she capped with her first-ever All-GNAC selection, earning a spot on the honorable mention list. She hammered 20 or more kills in five matches, with a career-high 22 in a five-gamer against Simon Fraser.
-- Sophomore setter Lindsey Lambert racked up 876 assists in her first season. That was 44 more than Symone Tran had during her 2015 freshman season – and by the time Tran had played her final Falcons match in 2018, she owned the school record for career assists with 4,149. Tran recorded 1,085 of those as a sophomore.
-- Batiste and Lambert are the only two returning players who have racked up double-doubles. Batiste has 16 for her career (15 of them in 2019), and Lambert has five.
-- The Falcons were 11-3 when winning Game 1 last season and 2-12 when losing it.
 
SCOUTING THE NORTHWEST UNIVERSITY EAGLES: 0-0 (13-14 in 2019)
All-time series: First meeting. Eagles on the Web. Eagles in a nutshell: Northwest and SPU have played several times over the years, albeit just in preseason no-count scrimmages or in unofficial springtime matches. In fact, they played a five-game scrimmage this past Tuesday in Brougham Pavilion. The Eagles have two returners who slammed 200-plus kills in 2019: Hannah Lord, a senior 6-foot outside hitter who had 218 plus 56 total blocks, and Abigail Broussard, a junior 6-1 middle blocker who tallied 218, hit .317, logged 117 total blocks, with 13 solos, and served a team-leading 54 aces. Senior 5-10 outside hitter Tatiana Ensz added 195 kills, 24 service aces, and came up with 199 digs. Senior 5-11 outside hitter Sarah Howlett put 131 kills onto the floor, with .245 hitting and 65 total blocks.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 0-0 (1-28 in 2019)
All-time series: SPU leads, 58-5. Current series streak: SPU won 36. Last time: SPU 3, STM 1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19; Nov. 12, 2019 at Seattle). Last STM series win: STM 3, SPU 2; Oct. 20, 2001 at Lacey. Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's is under the direction of a new head coach, as Dan Behnke was named to the position in February 2020. He welcomes back almost every player from 2019. Leading the way is senior 5-foot-8 outside hitter Mackenzie Carter, who hammered 273 kills and had 175 digs during her junior season. Sophomore 5-8 outside Kylie Coon also returns, having recorded 134 kills as a freshman. Bridgette Bourgouin, a junior 6-1 middle blocker, had a team-high 56 total blocks, including seven solos. A slot that will need filling is that of setter Alyssa Bartlett, who transferred. As a sophomore in 2019, she had 639 assists and a team-high 31 service aces.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The 35^th season of Seattle Pacific volleyball certainly will be the most unusual one in program history.
 
A springtime season instead of the fall. No conference matches. Doubleheaders on most playing dates.
 
All of that being said, the Falcons come into it with a roster that is both large (17 players) and young (10 freshmen or redshirt freshmen, just two seniors) as Abbie Wright begins her fourth season as head coach.
 
 

One of the expected leaders on the attack is senior outside hitter Maddie Batiste. She enjoyed a huge breakout season in 2019, setting single-season career highs in almost every major statistical category on the way to earning All-GNAC honorable mention selection. Batiste's 369 kills included five matches of 20 or more, and she had 15 double-doubles.
 
 

Also returning on the outside is junior Erin Gould. She played in all 28 matches as a sophomore, with 22 starts, totaled 120 kills and sent 39 service aces across the net, second-most on the team.
 

Setting them up is sophomore Lindsey Lambert. She saw action in all 28 matches, starting 19 of them, and racked up 876 assists. Lambert got 51 of those in a five-gamer against Simon Fraser. She wound up with five assist-dig double doubles.
 
 

Looking to return to action in the middle is senior Gabi Stegemoller. In the first 21 matches of 2019, she got her hands on 72 blocks and also had 139 kills with a .267 hitting mark before missing the final seven matches with an injury.
 
 

Paige Dawson became part of the regular rotation as a defensive and serving specialist as a freshman in 2019. She totaled 25 service aces, the biggest of which just might have been on match point at home against Central Washington as the Falcons came from two games down and fought off four match points against them to pull out the win.
 
Sophomore opposite Ashley Antoniak and sophomore setter Austin Ibale both saw limited playing time as freshmen and will be seeking more action this spring. Redshirt freshmen Maya Holmen (middle blocker), Maddie Pruden (opposite) and Lindsay Rosenthal (outside hitter) also are vying for time.
 
The group of seven freshmen includes six across the front row and one libero / defensive specialist.
 
Hannah Hair, a 6-1 middle blocker, was a third-team high school All-American in 2019 and a Washington All-State selection in 2018 at Walla Walla. Sydney Perry is a 6-3 outside / opposite who helped Cactus Shadows win four straight regional in Arizona. Erin Smith, a 6-1 middle, was instrumental to Carlsbad High winning the California Interscholastic Federation's San Diego Section championship as a senior in 2019.
 
Sarah Brachvogel is a 6-footer who started at all three front row positions during the course of her career at Kamiak High in Mukilteo, just north of Seattle. Allison Wilks is a 6-1 outside / middle who was a two-time All-Kingco first-team selection and a key part of the North Creek team that won back-to-back Kingco Tournament titles. Sarah Day, a 5-11 outside hitter, was a 2018 Washington All-State selection at Monroe High School and a three-time All-Wesco Conference second teamer.
 
Zoe Shuckhart is a 5-4 libero / defensive specialist who helped Curtis High reach the Washington state large-school quarterfinals in 2018.

COACH ABBIE WRIGHT SAYS …
(On the upcoming season)
"I'm looking for us again to establish that confidence and that culture that we really could and can some big things. I'm excited to see how far this group can go – and how far they think they can go. It's about taking advantage of this year. These games count and they matter. It's just owning who we are and having a firm grasp of, 'This is who we are and where we want to go.'"
 
 

(On the large class of freshmen)
"They all bring something really different to the group. I really see a lot of them stand out for a lot of different reasons. Something that they bring is they're pretty physical. … A lot of them have played at really competitive levels. They bring that competitive mix into our gym. That really increases the level of play as far as attitude and effort and drive to win."
 
(On dealing with all of the new protocols and processes)
"It's just interesting for everybody. We have to adjust, the recruits have to adjust, the players have to balance more time at home and coming back to train. … They're a really great group and super grateful, even during a time like this. They're seeing the advantage of having extra time to train and get to know one another. In the long run, that will benefit a group like ours."
 
(On a schedule that has nine doubleheaders)
"It's kind of fun – you don't usually get to do doubleheaders in a weekend. There's not a lot of time to think – you have to play on your feet. It will show the resiliency of our team, how well we're able to turn around and play, how physical we are. It will give an opportunity for a lot of different girls to see the court and see what they can do. Just seeing what is our trademark going to be; what is our view going to be on the court? That's all multiplied when you have to play two matches in one day. You have to have something your committing to (in order) to get you through a long day."

MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
200^th block           Gabi Stegemoller (has 193.0)
200^th dig               Lindsey Lambert (has 193)
200^th point            Erin Gould (has 189.5)
500^th dig               Maddie Batiste (has 406)
500^th kill               Maddie Batiste (has 464)
500^th point            Gabi Stegemoller (has 462)
1,000^th assist        Lindsey Lambert (has 876)
 
UP NEXT
After the doubleheader at Saint Martin's on Tuesday, the Falcons won't return to action until Friday, March 19, when they play a single match at Northwest University at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday, March 20, Alaska Anchorage comes to Brougham Pavilion for a doubleheader. The first match begins at 1:00 p.m., and the second will begin 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first.