SEATTLE – All right, let's just cut to the chase:
 
The Seattle Pacific Falcons are still alive.
 
Hannah Hair had 12 kills and 10 blocks for her third career kill-block double-double, and Erin Smith added 10 kills on Thursday night as SPU got past Simon Fraser in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match, 3-1.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-14, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23.
 
The Falcons (13-12, 11-6 GNAC), who this week are in the NCAA West Region rankings for the first time this year, gave themselves a big lift to stay in contention for a postseason berth. Teams must have at least a .500 record to be considered, and SPU now is guaranteed of that heading into Saturday's regular-season finale against Western Washington. It also is guaranteed at least a tie for third place in the GNAC.
 
Only the final top eight in the West Region rankings, which will be determined after the weekend, make the NCAA Tournament: the three conference champions (GNAC, California Collegiate Athletic Association, and Pacific West Conference), plus five at-large teams.
 
So Seattle Pacific is far from guaranteed a spot. But having won its last four in a row, it is very much part of the conversation.

"We've been talking a lot about it in practice and in pre-game and post-game. It's kind of a privilege to be in this spot and be able to play like this at the end of the season," head coach Jason Rhine. "Keep fighting against some good teams and see if we can keep winning and hopefully make a little push for the national tournament."
 




The Falcons essentially have been in playoff mode for the past three weeks, and have put together a four-match winning streak to climb from three matches below .500 (9-12) to one match above that mark.
 
"It's fun to see them respond well and see them playing at a high level," Rhine said.
 
QUICK START, THEN IT GOT CLOSE
SPU was in control of the first set from the get-go, building an 11-4 lead. Simon Fraser came back as close as 13-9, but then a 6-0 Falcons run, the last five of those points with Allison Wilks on the serve, put it out of reach at 19-9.
 
Simon Fraser (12-14, 9-8 GNAC) went ahead early Set 2, and stretched it out to as many as five on multiple occasions, including 23-18. The Red Leafs even had quadruple set point at 24-20.
 
But the Falcons weren't finished. A quick kill by Hair, a combined block by Hair and Erin Smith, and a Lindsey Lambert service ace cut it to 24-23. Then a kill by Jocelyn Sherman closed it out and leveled the match at 1-1.
 
 

In front for most of the third set, Seattle Pacific fell behind by a 21-18 count on a 5-0 Simon Fraser scoring burst. The Leafs were still ahead 22-19 when the Falcons rang up five straight. A Hair kill, a Simon attack error and a crosscourt kill by Smith tied it at 22-22. Then a Lambert ace and another Leafs attack error put SPU up, 24-22.
 
The Red Leafs fought off both set points for a 24-24 tie. A kill by Sarah Brachvogel and a Simon Fraser attack error finally put the set into Seattle Pacific's pocket.
 
The fourth set was almost a carbon copy of the third. The Falcons led early, Simon Fraser came back, leading by as many as four at 20-16. It was three points away from forcing a deciding fifth set, up 22-20. Kills by Brachvogel and Pruden knotted it at 22-22, A Wilks serve that kissed the baseline for an ace gave SPU a 23-22 edge.
 
A long rally – one of many throughout the match – ended with a kill by Sophie Lachapelle that lifted the Leafs back into a tie at 23-23. Another rally on the very next point ended with a kill by Hair that deflected out off a Simon Fraser player, setting up match point.
 
Sherman, playing on the outside, tried a tip to tie it, but Hair and Smith went up for the block, The ball rolled down the net and off of Sherman, dropping to the floor to clinch it.
 
"It was fun for Hannah to not just have an important match offensively for us, but also able to come out firing with blocks," Rhine said. "We had kind of a game plan where she knew she was going to get attacks, and she was able to put some of those down."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Sophomore setter Emily Tulino had 25 assists to surpass 1,000 for her career. She now has 1,002. Tulino also had 13 assists for her 11th double-double of the season.
-- The Falcons hit .160 for the match (49 kills-23 errors-163 attacks). They kept Simon Fraser to .103 hitting (46-30-156), which included negative in the first set (minus-.061) and sub-.100 in the third (.070).
-- That block on match point was Hannah Hair's 10th, giving her the double-double. Her previous two double-doubles were both last season: 12 kills-11 blocks vs. Central Washington, and 11 kills-10 blocks vs. Alaska Fairbanks, both in Brougham.
-- Those 10 blocks pushed Hair past .300 for her career. She now has 307.
-- When the teams played in Burnaby on Sept. 10, they combined for 45 blocks. On Thursday, they combined for 53. SPU had 23 of those. In addition to Hair's 10, Sarah Brachvogel had six, and Erin Smith had four. Simon Fraser had 30 total blocks.
-- Allison Wilks had a solid overall stat line of eight kills, .300 hitting, two aces, six digs, and two blocks.
 
UP NEXT
The regular season wraps up on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against No. 8-ranked Western Washington. The Vikings swept Montana State Billings on Thursday night, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-11).


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Simon Fraser 1
 
Game scores – 25-14, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23.
 
Service aces – Simon 3 (Vosloh 3), SPU 8 (Wilks 2, Lambert 2).
Kills – Simon 46 (Sherman 12), SPU 49 (Hair 12, Smith 10).
Assists – Simon 43 (Person 28), SPU 48 (Tulino 25, Lambert 18).
Digs – Simon 76 (Person 19), SPU 66 (Cunningham 14, Antoniak 14, Tulino 13).
Block assists / solo – Simon 28 / 2 solo (Jaiuhiainen 7 / 2 solo), SPU 20 / 3 solo (Hair 9 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – Simon 46-30-156—103 (Lachapelle 11-2-25—400), SPU 49-23-163—160 (Hair 12-3-25—360).
Attendance – 165.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 13-12, 11-6 GNAC.
Simon Fraser 12-14, 9-8 GNAC.
 
Next match
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.