OREDIGGER VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 3                Seattle Pacific at Colorado Mines, 12:30 p.m. PDT
                                  Seattle Pacific vs. Colorado Christian, 5:00 p.m. PDT
                                  Lockridge Arena / Golden, Colo.
                                  Live Webcast        Live stats (Mines)        Live stats (CCU)
 
Saturday, Sept. 4           Seattle Pacific vs. Colorado Mesa, 8:30 a.m. PDT
                                  Seattle Pacific vs. Midwestern State, 1:30 p.m. PDT
                                  Lockridge Arena / Golden, Colo.
                                  Live Webcast        Live stats (both matches)
 
 
SEATTLE – For the first time in two years, September means volleyball.
 
And the Seattle Pacific Falcons are ready to play.
 
Following the cancelation of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and an abbreviated 2021 spring season that offered a chance to gain some experience but without anything else at stake, SPU returns to the court for contests that count this fall.
 
Up first is a trip to Colorado for the Oredigger Classic. The tournament at Colorado School of Mines in Golden will have four matches over two days for the Falcons. On Friday, the host Orediggers will be on the other side of the net at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, then Colorado Christian at 5:00 p.m. Pacific.
 
It's a bright-and-early start on Saturday for Seattle Pacific, as it faces Colorado Mesa at 8:30 a.m. and concludes against Midwestern State of Texas at 1:30 p.m., both PDT.
 
After posting a 13-15 overall record in 2019, including 10-10 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, the Falcons went 11-7 this past spring against a partial slate of GNAC opponents plus nearby Northwest University. Every player who saw action during the spring is back.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All four matches will have live Webcasts and live stats. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 



SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- This will be the 36^th season of Falcons volleyball.
-- The all-time record is 585-461 (.559 winning percentage).
-- Head coach Abbie Wright is starting her fifth year at the helm. Through her first four seasons, she has a 50-51 record (29-31 GNAC).
-- Seattle Pacific's last trip to Colorado was in 2011 for the Colorado Premier Challenge in Denver. The Falcons split four matches – although none of them were against Colorado schools. They defeated Nebraska Omaha and Florida Southern, and fell to Cal Baptist and Southwest Minnesota State.
-- SPU has a 20-15 record in season-opening matches. It swept Cal State East Bay in 2019 to start the Seaside Invitational in San Diego, then swept Northwest University last year in nearby Kirkland.
-- In fact, the Falcons won both ends of the doubleheader on that same day in Kirkland for their first multiple-win start since 2017.
-- Seattle Pacific was 3-4 on the road last spring. In 2019, the team had a 9-9 record out of town: 7-5 in true road matches, 2-4 on neutral courts.
-- None of this week's opponents are regulars on SPU's preseason schedule. It will be just the second all-time match against Colorado Mines (only previous meeting was in 1991), the fourth against Colorado Christian (last one in 2016), the sixth against Colorado Mesa (last one in 1999), and the first against Midwestern State.
-- Colorado Mines went all the way to the 2019 NCAA South Central Regional final (the Sweet 16 for Division II) before getting swept by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference stablemate Regis.
-- Of the 15 RMAC schools, 14 played a good number of matches last spring, including a conference schedule, even though there was no NCAA Tournament. Colorado Mesa went undefeated at 15-0, 11-0 in conference play.
-- Among GNAC schools, Seattle Pacific played the most matches in the spring (18).
 
SCOUTING THE COLORADO MINES OREDIGGERS: 9-4, 8-4 RMAC (5^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, Mines 0 (15-9, 15-8, 15-10, Sept. 26, 1991 at Golden, Colo.). Orediggers on the Web.
Orediggers in a nutshell: Colorado Mines got into a groove when it mattered most last spring. After losing the last three regular season matches, it blitzed through the RMAC Tournament, sweeping Western Colorado in the first round, previously undefeated Colorado Mesa in the semifinals, then topping Metro State in four games for the title. Returning at the net is senior 6-foot middle blocker Taylor Hicken. She led the conference both in kills per set (3.22, a total of 174) and hitting percentage (.423). She also had 37 total blocks. Senior 5-6 libero Elle Duis was No. 1 in the RMAC for digs with 257 (4.76 per set) and delivered 19 service aces. Another pair of seniors – 6-2 opposite Amanda Donais and 6-foot middle blocker Julia Eiken – found the floor with regularity. Donais had 137 kills (2.63 per set) and hit .268; Eiken had 128 kills (2.37) and hit .292, the No. 9 mark in the conference. Eiken also led the team with 54 blocks. Senior 5-11 setter Drew Stokes does it all, racking up an RMAC-high 614 assists (1137 per set), hitting .402 with 43 kills, coming up with 113 digs, and factoring into 28 blocks.
 
SCOUTING THE COLORADO CHRISTIAN COUGARS: 5-13, 5-8 RMAC (9^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 2-1. Current series streak: CCU won 1. Last time: CCU 3, SPU 0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-20; Sept. 3, 2016 at Irvine, Calif.). Last SPU series win: SPU 3, CCU 0 (15-10, 15-8, 15-8; Sept. 24, 1991 away). Cougars on the Web.
Cougars in a nutshell: CCU is looking to take a step up after a rough 2021 spring season. Among the returners is senior 6-foot outside hitter Breanna Allen, whose 127 kills (2.89 per set) was the second-highest total on the team. She hit .206. Sophomore 5-10 outside Alli Douglass added 119 kills, a 2.48 per-set average. On the defensive end, senior 5-9 middle Kristy Dick is the top returning blocker with 24. Colorado Christian ranked No. 3 in the RMAC at 1.78 service aces per ser. Among the returners, sophomore 5-9 defensive specialist Megan Piton had 11 of those, along with 95 digs.
 
SCOUTING THE COLORADO MESA MAVERICKS: 15-1, 11-0 RMAC (1^st)
All-time series: Mesa leads, 3-2. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, Mesa 0 (15-13, 15-5, 15-4; Sept. 4, 1999 at Davis, Calif.). Last Mesa series win: Mesa 3, SPU 2 (14-16, 15-5, 14-16, 18-16, 15-13; Aug. 29, 1998 at Grand Junction, Colo.). Mavericks on the Web
Mavericks in a nutshell: Mesa was the dominant team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last spring, winning its first 15 matches – eight of them in three-set sweeps – until falling in a sweep to Colorado School of Mines in the RMAC Tournament semifinals. Returning up front for the Mavericks is 5-foot-11 sophomore middle blocker Savannah Spitzer. Her .377 hitting percentage was No. 4 in the conference and netted 128 kills. She also had 38 total blocks, with seven solos. Maddi Foutz, a 5-5 senior libero / outside hitter, slammed 171 kills, a 3.05 per-set average that was No. 5 in the RMAC. She also came up with 151 digs and hit .228. Outside hitter Holly Schmidt, a 6-foot junior, had 122 kills and hit .204.
 
SCOUTING THE MIDWESTERN STATE MUSTANGS: 10-7, 8-4 Lone Star (2^nd North)
All-0time series: First meeting. Mustangs on the Web.
Mustangs in a nutshell: Multiple threats on offense are back for Midwestern State, as its roster has four players who got into triple-digit kills last spring. Tops among them is senior 5-foot-11 middle blocker Lissette Lefforge, who hammered 162 for a 2.28 per-set average. She also sent 21 service aces across the net and got her hands onto a team-leading 53 total blocks. Sophomore 5-9 outside hitter Lauryn Bourne had 148 kills (2.85 per set) and 162 digs. Kaitlyn Stoker, a junior 5-11 outside, logged 127 kills, and 5-9 senior outside Taylor Anderson had 126, which she achieved with a team-high .239 hitting percentage. The offense runs through a pair of talented setter who also are tough servers: Autumn Roach (365 assists, 30 aces) and Kaitlyn Masseth (342 assists, 28 aces).

SCOUTING THE 2021 FALCONS
Having come through the most unusual year since the program started in 1986, Seattle Pacific head into the 2021 season eager to showcase the talent that got 18 matches worth of experience during an abbreviated spring season after the 2020 fall schedule was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Every player who took part in any or all of those spring matches – 16 altogether – is back, along with two talented incoming freshman as head coach Abbie Wright begins her fifth season at the helm. And, since none of the NCAA Division II fall sports had national championships, all of those players retained that year of eligibility, whether they played a few matches or every match.
 
 

Leading the returners are senior outside hitter Maddie Batiste and sophomore middle blocker Hannah Hair. Batiste slammed a team-leading 185 kills (2.76 per set) and came up with 172 digs, notching four double-doubles along the way. She had a breakout year as a junior in 2019, setting career highs in almost every major statistical category and earning a spot on the All-GNAC honorable mention list.
 
The 6-foot-1 Hair made an instant impact in the middle, leading the GNAC in total blocks with 90. Her .340 hitting percentage ranked No. 2 in the conference. Twice last spring, she was honored at the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week. Redshirt freshman Maddie Pruden made her presence felt at opposite. She had 157 kills, hit .270, and had a hand in 38 blocks. Junior outside hitter Erin Gould added 87 kills and 19 blocks.
 
 

Setting them up is junior Lindsey Lambert. She racked up 545 assists, an average of 7.87 that was No. 3 in the GNAC. Lambert recorded nine assist-dig double-doubles. In addition, she delivered a team-leading 24 service aces.
 
Lindsay Rosenthal, a sophomore, led SPU in digs last spring with 187 while seeing some action at libero. But she's also valuable at the net, chipping in 64 kills. Sophomore Maddie Pruden made an impact on the right side, averaging 2.38 kills per set, hitting .270, and having a hand in 38 blocks.
 
The fact that no postseason berths were at stake last spring afforded Wright and the Falcons a chance to experiment with different lineups and offered the opportunity to get more playing time for more players. The squad featured 10 freshmen (seven true, three redshirt), all of them got at least one start – and all of them still have same eligibility status, but now have some college playing experience to go along with it.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
SPU has four players on the squad who have recorded double-doubles during their careers.
 
Leading the way is outside hitter Maddie Batiste with 19. She got three of those last spring. Setter Lindsey Lambert has 14, picking up nine of those during the spring.
 
Outside hitter Lindsay Rosenthal and opposite Ashley Antoniak each recorded their first double-doubles during the spring. Batiste, Rosenthall, and Antoniak's are all kill-dig; Lambert's are assist-dig.
 
NICE TO KNOW YA, NEWBIES
 

The Falcons come into the 2021 season with their largest-ever roster of 18 players. Included are true freshmen Abby Cunningham and Emily Tulino.
 
Cunningham is a 5-foot-5 libero who helped Lincoln Christian of Tulsa win three Oklahoma state championships. She owns the school career record for digs, was a four-time all-conference player and was named the All-Valley Player of the Year. She earned seven all-tournament honors, with a pair of tournament MVP awards, during her career.
 
Tulino hails from Carlsbad, California, and is a 5-7 setter. She helped La Costa Canyon High School reach the California Interscholastic Federation state semifinals as a junior in 2019. She has a wide athletic background, having also played basketball, soccer, softball, field hockey, tennis, and beach volleyball.
 
MOVIN' TOWARD A MILESTONE
Outside hitter Maddie Batiste is back for her fifth year in a Falcons uniform. When the 2020 fall season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, all student-athletes were allowed by the NCAA to retain that year of eligibility, even if they played during the abbreviated 2021 spring schedule. In Batiste's case, that meant a chance to come back this fall and play one final season. Now that she's here, she has a chance to become the eighth player in the 36-year history of the SPU program to reach 1,000 career points and 1,000 kills.
 
Batiste comes in with 753 points (247 away from a grand) and 649 kills (351). During 2019, the last full season prior to the pandemic, she had 416 points (which are scored for kills, service aces, and blocks) and 369 kills.
 
The most recent Falcon to achieve that was Gabby Oddo. She finished her career in 2019 with 1,550 points and 1,369 kills.
 
Other career milestones well within reach this fall are 2,000 assists for setter Lindsey Lambert (she has 1,421) and 100 total blocks for Hannah Hair (90), Batiste (84), Lambert (69) and Erin Gould (62).
 
AROUND THE WEST
While Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage are essentially co-favorites in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, separated by just three points in the preseason coaches poll, Cal State San Bernardino is widely regarded as the team to beat in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Pacific West Conference looks to be a tight three-way race.
 
San Bernardino, which won the 2019 NCAA title and is therefore the defending champion (since the 2020 tournament was canceled), received 11 of the 12 first-place votes in the CCAA preseason poll. (Coaches cannot vote for their own team in the poll.) The other first-place vote went to Cal State Los Angeles. Cal State San Marcos was picked third.
 
The Pac West is almost a dead heat between Azusa Pacific, Chaminade, and Hawaii Hilo. Azusa, the two-time defending conference champ, got three first-place votes and 106 points. Chaminade picked up six first-places and 103 points, while Hilo also had 103 points and one first-place vote. The other first-place nod went to Biola, which was picked fourth overall with 91 points.
 
UP NEXT
Unlike most seasons when the Falcons are on the road for both of their preseason tournaments, they'll get to play one of those tourneys at home, and that will be next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Sept. 9-11, when they and Central Washington co-host the SPU-CWU Invitational.
 
A total of six matches will be played in Brougham Pavilion. The lone Thursday match will feature Seattle Pacific against Biola at 7:00 p.m. Friday also has just one on the docket: Simon Fraser against Biola at 1:00 p.m.
 
The busy day is Saturday with four matches. The Falcons are in two of those, facing Hawaii Pacific at 11:00 a.m. and St. Cloud State of Minnesota at 6:00 p.m. Simon Fraser will take on St. Cloud at 1:00 p.m., then it'll be Simon and Hawaii Pacific at 8:00 p.m.