SEATTLE – Taking aim at another season series sweep, the Seattle Pacific Falcons found their path blocked by Northwest Nazarene.
 
The Nighthawks came up with 28 total blocks, netting them 15 points on the way to a 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball victory on Saturday afternoon
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-21, 15-25, 25-20, 25-23.
 
The Falcons (9-12, 7-6 GNAC) completed a season sweep of Central Washington on Thursday with a dramatic 3-2 victory.
 
But after beating the Nighthawks 3-1 in Nampa last month and then fighting off three match points on Saturday, Seattle Pacific ultimately wasn't quite able to climb all the way back.
 
"It was a weird one. It felt like there were times when both teams were playing well and other times when both teams made some random errors," Falcons coach Jason Rhine said. "It wasn't the cleanest match on either side."
 
 

Maddie Pruden led the Falcons with 10 kills. Allison Wilks had another solid performance with nine kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and seven total blocks.
 
Northwest Nazarene (16-5, 9-4 GNAC) scored the first four points of the match. SPU caught up three times, the last one at 15-15. The Nighthawks then put tallied three in a row to go ahead for good.
 
Again in the second set, NNU got the first four points. But the Falcons not only pulled even, they eventually went in front, using a 5-1 scoring run to take an 18-14 lead. The Nighthawks closed to 18-15, but that was it. Seattle Pacific had the final seven points of the set, two of them coming on combined blocks by Wilks and Ashley Antoniak, leveling the match at 1-1.
 
 

"In the first set, we had some good opportunities. We actually had some more points we could have scored on," Rhine said. "In the second set, we just calmed down a little and were able to execute on those easier plays, and it added up for us."
 
The third set had 14 ties and seven lead changes. A 4-0 Northwest Nazarene scoring run turned a 15-15 tie into a 19-15 lead.
 
The Nighthawks took charge of Set 4 with string of five straight points, taking a 17-12 lead. Caroline McMahon was on the serve for that run, and three of those five points came on aces – two of which dribbled over the cord and dropped onto the court.
 
NNU eventually had quadruple match point at 24-20. Wilks saved the first one with a kill off a NIghthawks blocker. Pruden then tipped one over the net to make it 24-22, and Wilks got another kill to bring SPU within 24-23. Helen Sullivan's kill on the next point sealed the win.
 
"The third and fourth sets, they did a good job of coming out with a little more aggressive mindset on the Northwest Nazarene side," Rhine said. "They tend to play a little bit safer, but in those sets, they were taking more risks and attacking a little bit more aggressively, and that kind of got us."

BY THE NUMBERS
-- The Falcons hit just .120 for the day (43 kills-26 errors-142 attacks). Northwest Nazarene finished at .201 (51-22-144).
-- Allison Wilks finished the week with 17 blocks. She had a career-high 10 on Thursday against Central Washington.
-- Sophomore setter Emily Tulino double-doubled for the third straight match, this time with 19 assists and 13 digs. She now has nine for the season and 12 for her career.
-- Along with seven kills, Hannah Hair had three blocks, including a solo. She has logged a solo in three straight matches, including five last Saturday at Alaska Fairbanks.
-- Ashley Antoniak tied her career high with four blocks. She previously reached that total on Sept. 2 against Biola.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays its next three contests on the road. The first of those is this coming Thursday, Oct. 27, at Saint Martin's, with a 7:00 p.m. first serve.

 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Northwest Nazarene 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-21, 15-25, 25-20, 25-23.
 
Service aces – NNU 8 (McMahon 4), SPU 7 (Tulino 2).
Kills – NNU 51 (N. Sullivan 13), SPU 43 (Pruden 10).
Assists – NNU 46 (Lee 38), SPU 40 (Tulino19, Lambert 15).
Digs – NNU 65 (McMahon 17), SPU 61 (Cunningham 18, Tulino 13).
Block assists / solo – NNU 26 / 2 solo (Wright 8 / 1 solo), SPU 16 / 2 solo (Wilks 6 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – NNU 51-22-144—201 (Wright 10-2-24—333), SPU 43-26-142—120 (Wilks 9-1-18—500)
Attendance –123.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 9-12, 7-6 GNAC.
Northwest Nazarene 16-5, 9-4 GNAC.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
Thursday, Oct. 27     7:00 p.m.
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.