THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 8               Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 10:00 a.m. / 1:00 p.m.
                                            Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                            Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – During a volleyball season that has been unusual in so many ways, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have learned to expect the unexpected …
 
… and just keep moving ahead.
 
Last week, for the second time in a month, SPU got an unexpected weekend off, as a scheduled doubleheader against Saint Martin's was canceled.
 
This week, the Falcons are looking forward to a return to action when they host Western Oregon for a doubleheader on Saturday in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The first match is set for 10:00 a.m., and the second will begin 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
 
Seattle Pacific last played on April 24 in Brougham when it split a twin bill against Western Washington, winning the opener in four sets, then dropping the nightcap in four.
 
This will be the Falcons' only match-up against Western Oregon.
 
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 and free live stats. Alex Payton will call the action of both matches. The appropriate links for all three matches this weekend can be found at the top of this story.
 
WHEN THEY SWING, THEY DON'T OFTEN MISS
Although they're vastly different games, volleyball and baseball do have one thing in common:
 
If you're hitting .300 or better in either sport, you're an excellent hitter.
 
Heading into the final two weekends of the season, the Falcons have not one, but two players who have a chance to finish above .300 for the season.
 
 

Redshirt freshman opposite Maddie Pruden is currently at .310, a mark that ranks No. 5 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. She has taken 287 swings, and 121 of those have gone for kills. Just 32 of her attacks – a mere 11.1 percent – have gone out of play.
 
 

True freshman middle blocker Hannah Hair is hitting .304, the No. 6 percentage in the GNAC. She has attacked 289 times, finding the floor with 125 of them. She has seen just 37 of her swings (12.8 percent) go out .
 
Seattle Pacific's last .300 hitter was middle blocker Jackie Arnold, who finished her freshman season in 2012 at .362 (101 kills-21 errors-221 attacks). That also was the last time the Falcons had two players finish above .300, as middle blocker Nikki Lowell, a junior, hit .310 (241-78-525).
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 0-5
All-time series: SPU leads, 33-18. Current series streak: SPU won 6. Last time: SPU 3, WOU 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-23; Oct. 31, 2019 at Monmouth, Ore.). Last WOU series win: WOU 3, SPU 1 (25-19, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22; Oct. 22, 2016 at Monmouth). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: Western Oregon's five matches have come against three of the toughest teams in the GNAC, with four of those five on the road: at Central Washington (once), home against Alaska Anchorage once), then three at Western Washington. They have won just one set, that by a 29-27 count at WWU in the second half of a doubleheader on April 17. That also was the last time the Wolves stepped onto the court. A good chunk of the attack runs through 5-foot-11 sophomore outside hitter Isabel Hurliman and 6-1 sophomore outside Lauren Smith. Hurliman leads the team with 49 kills, an average of 3.06 per set that ranks No. 5 in the GNAC. Smith is close behind with 43. Makenzie York, a 6-foot sophomore middle blocker / opposite, is next with 31 kills, has the highest hitting percentage on the squad at .170, and is Western Oregon's co-leader in blocks with eight. Bella Maclellan, a 6-foot freshman middle, also has eight. Smith and Hurliman had double-digit kills in two of the three matches at Western Washington, with Hurliman getting 15 on .256 hitting in the five-gamer on April 17.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Of the current six straight wins against Western Oregon, the last four in a row and five of the six overall have been 3-0 sweeps.
-- The one exception was a 3-2 decision in Monmouth on Nov. 16, 2017.
-- All six victories have been under the direction of head coach Abbie Wright, whose first season with SPU was 2017.
-- With the win against Western Washington in the first half of the doubleheader on April 24, Wright now has a 'W' against all nine GNAC opponents.
-- Sophomore setter Lindsey Lambert had double-doubles in both matches against WWU that day, giving her a team-leading seven for the season. Her 47 assists in the opener was a season high and her second in the 40s this spring.
-- Freshman Sydney Perry had breakthrough of sorts against the Vikings. Getting the start in the second match, the 6-foot-3 outside / opposite slammed eight kills, hit .375 with just two errors on 16 swings, and got her hands on four block assists.
-- Freshman Hannah Hair has the most blocks in the GNAC (68 in 50 sets), one more than Tayler Markland of Northwest Nazarene. NNU has completed its season. Hair average of 1.36 per set is No. 2 behind the 1.52 of Olivia Fairchild of Western Washington, who has 32 in 21 sets.
-- Although SPU has dropped below .200 hitting for the season (.188), it still is keeping its opponents far below .200, at .168. Of the 13 matches so far, opponents have hit below.200 in 10 of them.
-- Even with the cancellations of the doubleheaders at Central Washington on April 17 and at home against Saint Martin's on May 1, the Falcons still will wind up with the most matches in the GNAC. They have played 13 already, with five more remaining.
 
COACH ABBIE WRIGHT SAYS …
 

(On what the team has been working on)
"When games are close and we're ahead, how to win when we're ahead. We've been putting them in a lot of pressure scenarios and trying to replicate the feeling in games that makes you nervous and getting that mentality of understanding how to win."
 
(On Western Oregon)
"We have key in on some players who get the ball a lot. They're a team that is always hitting hard and always coming out with something tough. If you aren't disciplined, there are a lot of things they can sneak past you."
 
(On approaching the end of the season)
"This has been a really fun group. Seeing their growth and development has been awesome. It's hard to believe we have less than two weeks left."
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Ashley Antoniak (1 season / 1 career)
10K-17D at Saint Martin's 2, March 2
 
Maddie Batiste (3 season / 19 career)
13K-12D vs. Alaska Anchorage 2, March 20
16K-14D vs. Central Washington 1, April 3
15K-15D vs. Central Washington 2, April 3
12K-17D vs. Northwest Nazarene, April 10
 
Lindsey Lambert (7 season / 12 career)
33 AST-15D at Saint Martin's 1, March 2
31 AST-11D at Saint Martin's 2, March 2
25 AST-11D vs. Alaska Anchorage 2, March 20
34 AST-12D vs. Central Washington 1, April 3
37 AST-14D vs. Central Washington 2, April 3
47 AST-18D vs. Western Washington 1, April 24
31 AST-14D vs. Western Washington 2, April 24
 
Lindsay Rosenthal (1 season / 1 career)
12K-13D vs. Northwest Nazarene, April 10
 
MARCH TO A MILESTONE
In the making
100^th block           Hannah Hair (has 68.0)
200^th block           Gabi Stegemoller (has 193.0)
200^th kill                Erin Gould (has 174)
 
Made last week
100^th dig               Lindsay Rosenthal (has 129)
300^th dig               Lindsey Lambert (has 317)
600^th kill                Maddie Batiste (has 611)
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will wrap up the season next weekend with three matches against Western Washington. The first one will be in Brougham Pavilion on Friday, May 14, at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday the 15^th, it'll be a doubleheader on the Vikings' court inside Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham. The first match will be at 12:30 p.m., and the second will follow at 5:00.