SEATTLE – The right side was right on for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
Sydney Perry and
Maddie Pruden, who share duties on that side of the net, combined for 17 kills and four blocks, and senior outside hitter
Erin Gould added 10 kills as SPU swept Saint Martin's in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match on Thursday night in Brougham Pavilion.
Scores were 25-17, 25-18, 30-28.
Perry and Pruden, both sophomores, hit a combined .333. The tallest Falcon on the floor at 6-foot-3, Perry, had 11 kills and hit .417 to go along with two block assists and one solo. Pruden, a 6-footer who missed two matches with an injury and saw limited action on last week's road trip to Alaska, chipped in six kills on .200 hitting with one solo block.
"They were hitting with range," head coach
Abbie Wright said. "Saint Martin's got them a couple times, but they stayed resilient, and they really don't take their foot off the gas – they have one speed, hitting it hard, and letting it fall where it may."
The Falcons (7-5, 3-2 GNAC) got back on the winning track after dropping last week's matches at Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage. SPU is now 6-0 at home for the season.
Abbie Wright
"They're very improved – they're digging a lot more than a lot of other teams," Wright said of the Saints (7-6, 1-3 GNAC). "We were telling (our players) that to set the tone of this match, we have to play fast to run our tempo, try to beat the block, and see what we can do with our arms.
"I thought our players did a good job, and our setters were kind of spreading our offense along the net, so we could pick apart some holes here and there."
The Falcons took command of the opening set with a 6-0 run sparked by three service aces from senior outside hitter
Maddie Batiste. That extended an 18-16 lead to 24-16, and a split of the next two points finished it off for SPU.
A 7-0 run in Set 2, with Batiste on the serve for the last six of those points, turned a 9-6 deficit into a 13-9 lead. Saint Martin's got within one on four occasions, the last time at 16-15. Seattle Pacific rang up the next four points for a 20-15 advantage and stayed comfortably in front.
The Saints led for a good portion of the third set, which had 14 ties and seven lead changes. They were up 23-20 when SPU went on a 3-0 run to tie it, then had a set point at 24-23. Pruden saved it with a kill that bounced off a Saint Martin's blocker and went out.
SPU had a match point at 25-24, then subsequently fought off two more set points at 26-25 and 27-26. Another match point opportunity at 28-27 was denied by a Saints block.
A kill by Gould gave the Falcons a 29-28 lead and a third try at match point. A Saint Martin's attack on the next rally bounced off the antenna, giving SPU the clinching point.
"I knew we wanted to avoid a fourth game," Wright ssaid, "because at that point, a lot can happen. I was proud of our girls for finishing it off."
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The last time Seattle Pacific put up 30 points was Sept. 14, 2019 in the final set of a four-set victory against Chaminade. That one also was 30-28. The Falcons actually played an even longer set that season, falling 31-29 in the third of a four-set win at Northwest Nazarene.
-- SPU hit .248 for the match (45 kills-19 errors-105 attacks). That included a .303 performance in the opening set (14-4-33). The Falcons wound with 11 more kills than Saint Martin's (34-20-102—.137).
-- Sophomore
Erin Smith, who started in the middle, tied her career high with five block assists.
UP NEXT
Western Oregon comes to Brougham Pavilion to face the Falcons on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Wolves dropped a five-setter at Montana State Billings on Thursday,
25-21, 23-25, 17-25, 25-17, 15-6.
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 0
Game scores – 25-17, 25-18, 30-28.
Service aces – STM 4 (Alos 3), SPU 6 (Batiste 4).
Kills – STM 34 (Allen 8, E. Gooding 8), SPU 45 (Perry 11, Gould 10).
Assists – STM 31 (Hitchcock 18), SPU 43 (Lambert 22, Tulino 15).
Digs – STM 35 (Benetti 10), SPU 42 (Cunningham 11).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – STM 34-20-102—137 (Soha 5-0-8—625), SPU 45-19-105—248 (Perry 11-1-24—417).
Attendance – 108.
Records
Seattle Pacific 7-5, 3-2 GNAC. Saint Martin's 7-6, 1-3 GNAC.
Next match
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
