SEATTLE – Give the Western Washington Vikings any kind of a lead on the volleyball court, and they're usually not going to give it back.
 
They certainly didn't on Saturday against Seattle Pacific.
 
The Falcons found themselves in a hole early in each set and weren't able to climb out of any of them as No. 8-ranked WWU swept to a 3-0 victory in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season finale.
 
Scores on Senior Day in Brougham Pavilion were 25-18, 25-18, 25-16.
 
Western Washington (21-5, 16-2 GNAC) scored the first three points of the match, the first six points of Set 2, and eight of the first nine in Set 3. Seattle Pacific (13-13, 11-7 GNAC) pulled into just one tie, that at 6-6 in the opening set, and never was able to forge ahead.
 
"Western's a good program, and they showed why they've been able to secure second place in the conference," Falcons head coach Jason Rhine said. "They played well on both sides of the ball."
 
Maddie Pruden and Hannah Hair had seven kills apiece to lead Seattle Pacific. Hair also had four blocks.
 
The Falcons will have to wait until Sunday to find out if they will be selected for the NCAA West Regional tournament. With their .500 record, they are eligible for consideration, and in fact are No. 10 in this week's final regular-season rankings, their first time this season on that elite list.
 
The final rankings will be determined on Sunday morning. They will include the champions of the GNAC (Alaska Anchorage), the Pacific West Conference (Chaminade) and the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament (either Cal Poly Pomona or Sonoma State). Then, the five at-large spots will be filled. It will be a climb for the Falcons to make it, but they are at least part of the discussion.

The toournament brcket will be announced at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
 
 

"The team got a little taste of that last year, being on the edge," Rhine said. "That was another goal this year was to kind of push forward and give themselves another shot. It's fun to see them even after a tough (3-9) start to push through and do enough at the end of the season to be in that conversation."
 
After Seattle Pacific tied the first set at 6-6 on a service ace by Sarah Brachvogel. Western then ran off four points in a row, going ahead to stay.
 
The Vikings went up 6-0 in the second set. SPU cut that in half to 6-3, but Western Washington answered with a 6-1 run to make it 12-4. The Falcons eventually put together a 4-0 run to come within 15-12, but it never got closer than that
 
Western zipped to an 8-1 lead in Set 3. It was 16-10 when Seattle Pacific cut it to 16-14 on a WWU service error, back-to-back kills by Maddie Pruden, and a combined block by Pruden and Hannah Hair. The set was still within reach at 19-16. That was all the Falcons would get, however, as the Vikings ran off the final six points of the match.
 
"Early on, they sided out at 72 percent in the first set, which is very high. Then in Sets 2 and 3, it was 57 and 50 percent, numbers we felt were pretty good to put some runs together and maybe score some on our serve," Rhine said. "But right when that was happening, it felt like they stepped up their defense, and then we had a hard time scoring."

Prior to Saturday's first serve, the Falcons saluted seniors Ashley Antoniak, Paige Dawson, Austin Ibale, Lindsey Lambert, Maddie Pruden, and Lindsay Rosenthal.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU hit just  .143 for the day (35 kills-18 errors-119 attacks).
-- Western Washington finished at .319 (47-10-116). That included .273 in the first set, .325 in the second and .349 in the third.
-- The Vikings had 15 points on blocks (26 block assist / 2 solo). Chloe Roetcisoender had 10 of those, including one solo. The Falcons had seven blocking points (12 / 1 solo).
-- After starting the year 3-9, Seattle Pacific went 10-4 the rest of the way, with one winning streak of five and another of four.
-- At 11-7 in GNAC play, the Falcons tied for third with Central Washington. They were picked for fifth in the preseason coaches poll..
-- Sophomore setter Emily Tulino recorded her third consecutive double-double, this one with 18 assists and 11 digs. She had 12 for the season and now has 15 for her career.
-- The Falcons went 6-3 on their home court.
 
UP NEXT
The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 p.m. The link will be available at www.ncaasports.com
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 8) Western Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-18, 25-18, 25-16.
 
Service aces – WWU 4 (May 2), SPU 3 (3 players with 1).
Kills – WWU 47 (Gunterman 13, Roetcisoender 13), SPU 35 (Hair 7, Pruden 7).
Assists – WWU 44 (Aleaga 39), SPU 33 (Tulino 18, Lambert 12).
Digs – WWU 58 (Woodruff 16), SPU 53 (Antoniak 12, Tulino 11).
Block assists / solo – WWU 26 / 2 solo (Roetcisoender 9 / 1 solo), SPU 12 / 1 solo (Hair 4 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – WWU 47-10-116—319 (Roetcisoender 13-1-24—500), SPU 35-18-119—143 (Wilks 4-1-7—429).
Attendance – 378.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 13-13, 11-7 GNAC.
Western Washington 21-5, 16-2 GNAC.
 
Next match
Regular season complete.