Box Score 1 | Box Score 2  GOLDEN, Colo. – It wasn't the kind of opening day that the Seattle Pacific volleyball team had in mind.
 
The Falcons came up short in both of their matches at the Oredigger Classic on Friday. Colorado School of Mines, ranked No. 12 nationally and playing on its home court in Lockridge Arena, swept the opener, 25-16, 25-16, 25-17. In the nightcap, SPU dropped the first two sets to Colorado Christian, then roared back to force a deciding fifth before the Cougars prevailed, 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 22-20.
 
 

"Starting out, we were playing a veteran team, and it kind of showed," head coach Abbie Wright said of the match against Mines. "They were dominant and they're a really good program – a lot of experience versus not (a lot)."
 
The Falcons had multiple opportunities against Colorado Christian. That included a pair of match points in the fifth set, which wound up going way beyond the 15-point minimum.
 
"I saw some growth between the first and second matches," Wright said. "They're just finding how to play with their own kind of confidence and playing to our strengths – and trying to find our strengths.
 
Colorado Mines 3, SPU 0
(25-16, 25-16, 25-17)
Except for one early tie in Set 1 and four early ties in Set 2, the Orediggers led both of those all the way.
 
The Falcons finally edged in front twice during the third set, first at 9-8, and then at 10-9. But from there, Mines ran off five straight points to go up 14-10 and stayed in front the rest of the way.
 
Colorado Mines hit exceptionally well from start to finish: .435 in the first set, .360 in the second, and .455 in the third, winding up the day at .414 with 41 kills and just 12 errors on 70 attacks. Seattle Pacific finished at just .076 hitting (24 kills-19 errors-66 attacks) and scored just 10 points off its own serve.
 
Maddie Batiste led the Falcons with eight kills. Hannah Hair had six to go along with four total blocks.
 
Colorado Christian 3, SPU 2
(26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 22-20)
The Falcons scored the first four points of the match and had a 20-14 lead late in Set 1. But Colorado Christian scored eight of the next nine points and finished on a 12-4 run to close it out.
 
An 8-2 scoring burst snapped an 8-8 tie and gave the Cougars a 16-10 advantage in Set 2, and Seattle Pacific never got closer than four.
 
But in Set 3, it was SPU's turn to stage a comeback. Down 16-14, the Falcons ran off five in a row, going up 19-16 and maintaining the upper hand to keep the match alive. They never trailed and were never tied in Set 4, bringing on the decisive fifth.
 
Seattle Pacific had a match point at 14-13, but Colorado Christian saved it when Lizzy Jones dumped the ball over the net. Then, it was the Falcons who fought off match points – five of them at 15-14, 16-15, 17-16, 18-17, and 19-18.
 
A Cougars attack errors gave SPU a match point at 20-19. CCU then ran off the last three, scoring on a tip, a block, and a Falcons attack error. On that final attack by Sydney Perry, the line judge indicated that it had been touched by a Colorado Christian player before it subsequently was ruled out and not touched, with the point going to Colorado Christian.
 
Seattle Pacific got 14 kills and six block assists from middle blocker Hannah Hair. Middle blocker Erin Smith and opposite Sydney Perry had 10 kills apiece, career-high totals for both.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
--Hannah Hair had 10 total blocks (including one solo) in the two matches combined. That gives her exactly 100 for her career.
-- In the CCU match, setter Lindsey Lambert served a career-high seven aces. Her previous high was four.
--After some less-than-stellar hitting against Colorado Mines (.076) and in the first two sets against Colorado Christian (.091 and .190), the Falcons stepped it up considerably. They hit .345 in Set 3, .333 in Set 4, and .241 in Set 5, finishing at .239. Leading the way was Erin Smith at .563 (10 kills-1 error-16 attacks). Lindsay Rosenthal, who played three sets in reserve, hit .438 (8-1-16), and opposite Maddie Pruden was at .375 (8-2-16).
--Along with her career-high 10 kills, Sydney Perry had a career-high five blocks.
 
UP NEXT
SPU takes on No. 10-ranked Colorado Mesa at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, then winds up the tournament at 1:30 p.m. against Midwestern State. Mesa split its two matches, and Midwestern lost both on Friday.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Oredigger Classic
Friday, Sept. 3, 2021
Lockridge Arena / Golden, Colo.
 
Colorado School of Mines 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-16, 25-16, 25-17.
 
Service aces – SPU 2 (Antoniak 1, Lambert 1), Mines 10 (Duis 4).
Kills – SPU 24 (Batiste 8), Mines 41 (Donais 10, Eiken 10)
Assists – SPU 24 (Tulino 11, Lambert 10), Mines 41 (Stokes 39).
Digs – SPU 15 (Cunningham 4, Lambert 4), Mines 23 (Duis 7).
Block assists / solo – SPU 12 / 1 solo (Hair 3 / 1 solo), Mines 10 / 0 solo (Eiken 3 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 24-19-66—076 (Hair 6-1-15—333, Perry 4-2-6—333), Mines 41-12-70—414 (Donais 10-2-15—533).
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 0-1, Colorado Mines 1-0.
 
 
Colorado Christian 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 22-20.
 
Service aces – SPU 9 (Lambert 7), CCU 10 (Debenedetto 4).
Kills – SPU 65 (Hair 14, Perry 10, Smith 10), CCU 57 (Goodman 15).
Assists – SPU 63 (Lambert 29, Tulino 27), CCU 48 (Jones 45).
Digs – SPU 49 (Cunningham 15), CCU 36 (Piton 8, Long 8).
Block assists / solo – SPU 20 / 0 solo (Hair 6 / 0 solo), CCU 16 / 2 solo (Woods 5 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 65-31-142—239 (Smith 10-1-16—563), CCU 57-26-144—215 (Dick 8-0-13—615).
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 0-2, Colorado Christian 2-0.
 
 
Next matches
Seattle Pacific vs. Colorado Mesa, Saturday, 8:30 a.m. PDT.
Seattle Pacific vs. Midwestern State, Saturday, 1:30 p.m. PDT.