SEATTLE – Erin Gould knows this is her last year of college volleyball.
 
She's determined to make her best year, as well.
 
Gould recorded a double-career high on Thursday night of 15 kills and 21 digs – her first career double-double – and came up with an ace serve on match point to help Seattle Pacific close out a four-set victory against Northwest Nazarene to open the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-17, 25-19, 24-26, 25-21.
 
The win was the fifth in a row for the Falcons (5-3) after they closed out preseason tournament play with four straight W's.
 
 

"We're learning to play consistent through the whole match," head coach Abbie Wright said. "Teams will adjust and (NNU) made some really good adjustments. Then we were able to adjust to a different pace and adjust to a different look.
 
"We're maturing in the game and learning not to give up those scoring runs," Wright added. "We're learning to see what's next and being able to make those adjustments."

 
Gould's previous career highs were 13 kills last spring against Saint Martin's, and 14 digs, a number she hit twice, the last time being in 2019 against Northwest Nazarene.



 

"Just going into it knowing it's my last year has made everything seem that much more urgent, and that much more like 'I gotta go now or I'm not gonna go at all,'" Gould said. "It has been fun to kind of get after it and just feeling that there's no consequences for going after it. So it has been really fun."
 
The Falcons scored the first four points of the match and never trailed in the opening set. A 5-0 run extended a 16-14 lead to 21-14. Another 5-0 run gave SPU command of the second set, turning a 16-16 tie into a 21-16 lead.
 
Different story in Set 3, which had 13 ties and 10 lead changes. SPU gained a match point at 24-23, which the Nighthawks save with a kill by Brooke Foster. A combined block and a service aces put the next two point on NNU's side of the board, as well, thereby bringing on a fourth set.
 
Seattle Pacific built a 20-17 lead. Northwest Nazarene responded with four in a row to go up 21-20.
 
But the Falcons, who ran off 10 straight points to close out a sweep of Hawaii Pacific in the SPU-CWU Invitational tournament last Saturday, came up with five in a row to finish off this one. A Nighthawks service error tied it at 21-21 and turned the serve over to Gould.
 
Her first one gave sophomore Allison Wilks an easy serve-and-volley dunk opportunity at the net. A kill by senior outside hitter Maddie Batiste – her season-high 17^th of the night – made it 23-21. Another kill by Wilks set up match point.
 
Gould's ensuing serve hit the net cord and dribbled over it. An NNU player dove for it and got her arm under it, but could only manage to dig it wide.
 
"They always have good athletic kids, and they always find ways to score," Wright said of the Nighthawks. "To get a win against them is a good thing."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU had a solid hitting night, finishing at .284 and tying a season-high with 65 kills (65-23 errors-148 attacks. That final percentage included .281 in the first set, .324 in the second, .186 in the third, and an eye-popping .361 in the fourth (19-6-36).
-- Sophomore middle blocker Hannah Hair played an error-free match with nine kills on 18 swings for a .500 percentage. Allison Wilks finished at .300, Sydney Perry was at .278, Maddie Batiste at .256, and Sarah Brachvogel at .250..
-- Freshman setter Emily Tulino racked up 38 assists, easily beating her previous high of 27, which she reached twice on the opening weekend in Colorado. In addition, she had four of SPU's 12 service aces.
-- The Falcons are now 9-11 in GNAC openers.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays host to Central Washington Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Wildcats opened their GNAC schedule with a 3-1 victory at Montana State Billings on Thursday.