CONCORDIA ST. PAUL-ST. CLOUD STATE INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE 
Friday, Aug. 26                        Seattle Pacific vs. Winona State, 8:30 a.m. PDT 
                                             Seattle Pacific at Concordia St. Paul, 5:00 p.m. PDT 
                                             Gangelhoff Center / St. Paul, Minn. 
                                             Live Webcast        Live stats 
 
Saturday, Aug. 27                   Seattle Pacific at St. Cloud State, 10:00 a.m. PDT 
                                            Seattle Pacific vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1:30 p.m. PDT 
                                            Halenbeck Hall / St. Cloud, Minn. 
                                            Live Webcast        Live stats 
 
 
SEATTLE – A new volleyball season. And a new era. 
 
Both are awaiting the Seattle Pacific Falcons. 
 
SPU serves up the opening week of the 2022 schedule with a trip to Minnesota for the Concordia St. Paul-St. Cloud State Invitational tournament on Friday and Saturday for four matches against teams from the powerful Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. 
 
With new head coach Jason Rhine now at the helm, the Falcons will play two matches each day. On Friday, they'll be in St. Paul, going up first against preseason No. 15-ranked Winona State at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time, then tangling with nine-time NCAA Division II national champion and preseason No. 6 Concordia St. Paul at 5:00 p.m. 
 
Then it's 75 miles northwest to St. Cloud for Saturday's action. The host and No. 9 Huskies will be on the other side of the net at 10:00 a.m. PDT, then it's Minnesota Duluth at 1:30 p.m.

Seattle Pacific is coming off a 15-10 record in 2021, which included five victories against teams (one of which was St. Cloud State) that reached the NCAA Tournament. 
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE 
All four matches will have live Webcasts and live stats. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story. 
 
WELCOME ABOARD, COACH RHINE
Jason Rhine officially took charge of the Seattle Pacific program on April 8 when he was named the head coach. 
 
The 37-year-old Rhine comes to the Falcons after seven seasons as an assistant coach at Colorado Christian. He joined CCU in July 2015 and promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2020-21 season. He spent four years as the setting and offensive coordinator, and three years as the defensive coordinator. He also was the program's recruiting director. 
 
"I'm excited, because the team is at a good place, returning a lot of players who were starting last year with the strong finish they had in the regular season," Rhine said. "And I know they're looking to try to push into the playoffs." 
 
Rhine takes over from Abbie Wright, who resigned in February after five seasons to take the associate head coach job at Fresno State. In May, she was named interim head coach after former coach Jonathan Winder left to take the men's head coaching job at Pepperdine. 
 




FALCONS TABBED FOR 5TH IN GNAC 
For the second year in a row, Seattle Pacific has been picked for a fifth-place finish in the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference season. 
 
SPU received 61 points in voting by conference coaches. 
 
Western Washington, which went all the way to the NCAA Tournament final four last fall, is the overwhelming favorite to win the GNAC title, receiving nine of the 10 first-place votes and 98 points. Central Washington is tabbed for second with 89 points, and Alaska Anchorage third with 74. The Seawolves received the only first-place vote that did not go to Western. 
  
The Falcons tied for fourth last year in GNAC play, finishing at 11-7, along with Simon Fraser and Alaska Fairbanks.  
 
HAIR SNAGS PRESEASON HONORS 
Hannah Hair has been voted to the GNAC's Preseason All-Conference team for the second year in a row. 
 
 

A junior and a returning All-American, the 6-foot-1 middle blocker led the conference in hitting last fall with a .333 mark and was No. 2 in blocking at 1.35 per set.  
 
Her hitting percentage included a career-high .727 (8 kills-0 errors-11 attacks) in a home match against Western Oregon. Of the 25 matches she played, Hair hit .300 or better in 13 of them. 
 
She finished with 115 total blocks, including 13 solos. Twice, Hair came up with kill-block double-doubles: 12 kills and 11 blocks at home against Central Washington, then 11 kills and 10 blocks at home against Alaska Fairbanks. 
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK? 
-- This will be the 37^th season of Falcons volleyball. 
-- SPU starts the fall with exactly 600 all-time victories. The 600th came last Nov. 18 in a three-set sweep at Central Washington. 
--The current all-time record is 600-471 (.560 winning percentage). 
-- In season openers, the Falcons have a 20-16 record. Last year, the dropped a three-setter at Colorado Mines in the Oredigger Classic. 
-- The last opening victory in a full fall schedule was a sweep of Cal State East Bay in 2019 to start the Seaside Invitational in San Diego. During the abbreviated 2020-21 spring season, SPU swept Northwest University. 
-- Last year, the Falcons dropped their first three matches, then closed their trip to Colorado with a four-set victory against Midwestern State. 
-- Of their four matches in Minnesota, three of them – Winona State, Concordia St. Paul, and Minnesota Duluth – will be first-ever meetings between the teams. 
-- Seattle Pacific and St. Cloud State met last Sept.11 on the final day of the SPU-Central Washington Invitational on the Falcons' home court in Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons downed the then-No. 13 Huskies, 25-15, 25-22, 26-24. 
-- That was their first victory against a national top-25 team since 2013. 
-- Overall, SPU was 4-9 away from home last season: 3-7 in true road matches and 1-2 on neutral courts. 
-- Seattle Pacific was 14-3 when winning Set 1 last season and 11-0 when winning the first two sets. 
-- Defensively, the Falcons were 13-2 when keeping an opponent below .200 hitting. 
 
SCOUTING THE WINONA STATE WARRIORS: 28-5, 17-3 Northern Sun (2^nd) 
All-time series: First meeting. Warriors on the Web. 
Warriors in a nutshell: Winona reached the championship match of the Northern Sun Tournament last season, falling to St. Cloud, and qualified for the NCAA Central Region Tournament, falling to Washburn in the first round. The Warriors did graduate some key members of that team, including top front row player Megan Flom (457 kills, .410 hitting, 116 total blocks) and setter Bre Malone (1,248 assists 330 digs). But back for another season are junior opposite Sidney Paulson and senior middle blocker / outside hitter Madison Larson. Paulson slammed 310 kills, hit .205 and had 69 total blocks. Larson put 277 kills on the floor, hit .207, and got her hands into 55 blocks, including 13 solos. Also returning is outside hitter Lydia Lange, a junior, who had 105 kills and 26 total blocks. 
 
SCOUTING THE CONCORDIA ST. PAUL BEARS: 24-9, 16-4 Northern Sun (3^rd) 
All-time series: First meeting. Bears on the Web. 
Bears in a nutshell: A national championship contender every year, Concordia has nine NCAA Division II titles, most recently in 2017. The Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 last season falling to Washburn in the Central Region championship match. Of the 17 players on that team, 14 are back, led by outside hitter / opposite Jasmine Mulvihill, an honorable mention All-American. The 5-foot-11 junior slammed 385 kills, hit .243, delivered 33 service aces, and had 74 blocks along with 215 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Sophia Anderson racked up 333 kills on .224 hitting, and factored into 32 blocks. Senior 5-11 middle Kennedy Brady was big up front with 116 blocks (18 solo), 262 kills and .325 hitting. Sophomore 5-10 outside / opposite Emma Schmidt logged 278 kills and 39 service aces, also coming up with 275 digs. 
 
SCOUTING THE ST. CLOUD STATE HUSKIES: 27-5, 19-1 Northern Sun (1^st) 
All-time series: SPU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, SCS 0 (25-15, 25-22, 26-24; Sept. 11, 2021 at Seattle). Huskies on the Web. 
Huskies in a nutshell: St. Cloud returns some big offensive firepower along the front row. Kenzie Foley, a junior 6-foot-1 outside hitter, led the Huskies with 451 kills last fall, with a solid .295 hitting percentage. She also came up with 350 digs, the second-highest total on the team. Grad student Linsey Rachel, a 5-8 outside, was close behind Foley with 429 kills, 10 of which came in the preseason match against SPU. She hit .264 for the year, and led St. Cloud with 375 digs. Phebie Rossi, a senior 6-2 middle blocker, got her hands on 160 total blocks, with 28 solos. In addition, she put 282 kills onto the floor, hitting .340. 
 
SCOUTING THE MINNESOTA DULUTH BULLDOGS: 18-11, 10-10 Northern Sun (10^th) 
All-time series: First meeting. Bulldogs on the Web. 
Bulldogs in a nutshell: Duluth has three of its top players at the net returning. Cianna Selbitschka, a junior 5-foot-10 outside hitter, found the floor for a team-leading 391 kills. She also delivered 35 service aces, had 322 digs and 35 total blocks. Junior 6-3 middle blocker Grace Daak logged 124 total blocks to set the pace for the Bulldogs with 23 solos. She was just as much of a factor on offense, with 268 kills on .284 hitting. Senior 5-10 outside Grace Post recorded 164 kills and 45 total blocks. Distributing the ball to them is senior 5-8 setter Madison Gordon, who not only racked up 1,019 assists, but also served up 21 aces, had 231 digs and 41 total blocks. 
 
SCOUTING THE 2022 FALCONS 
Seattle Pacific begins its next chapter with Jason Rhine taking charge as the fifth head coach in the 37-year history of the program. 
 
He welcomes a roster of 15 returning players that went 15-10 in 2021, with five victories against teams that ultimately advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including nationally ranked St. Cloud State and Alaska Anchorage. 
 
Leading the way is All-American middle blocker Hannah Hair. The 6-foot-1 junior was an honorable mention All-American pick by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and also was a second-team All-West Region and first-team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference selection. She led the conference in hitting percentage at .333, and had the No. 2 blocking average of 1.35 per set with 115 total. Hair, who had seven matches of .300-plus hitting, two each of .400-plus and .500 plus, and one each of .600-plus and .700-plus, was SPU's first All-American since 2011.

 

Joining her as key returners on the front row are junior 6-3 outside hitter / opposite Sydney Perry, junior 6-foot opposite Maddie Pruden, and junior outside / middle Allison Wilks. Perry hammered 150 kills and had 58 blocks in 2021. Pruden recorded 136 kills and 51 total blocks. Wilks added 116 kills on .284 hitting while getting her hands on 85 blocks, the second-highest total on the team. She also delivered 20 service aces. 
 
 

The Falcons return a trio of top-quality setters. Sophomore Emily Tulino earned All-GNAC honorable mention recognition as a freshman playing in a 6-2 system. She wound up with 542 assists, 133 digs, and a team-high 36 aces. Senior Lindsey Lambert logged 431 assists, 162 digs, and 31 aces. At 5-10, she also can attack, as she has 21 kills on 54 swings, hitting .278. Senor Austin Ibale further solidifies the depth of that position. 

 

SPU has multiple options a libero, with sophomore Abigail Cunningham (204 digs, the second-highest total on the team, along with 13 service aces), senior Paige Dawson, junior Lindsay Rosenthal, and junior Zoe Shuckhart. Rosenthal also plays up front, but occasionally has donned the libero's jersey. 
 
Additional depth up front comes from junior outside / opposite Sarah Brachvogel, senior opposite Ashley Antoniak, junior middle blocker Erin Smith, and junior outside hitter Sarah Day. Smith (29) and Brachvogel (16) both finished with double-digit blocks last season. 
 
Looking to earn her share of the action is sophomore middle blocker Brianna Ingram, the only newcomer to this year's roster. She was a standout at Pierce College in 2021, tying for No. 2 in the Northwest Athletic Conference with 49 aces, and ranking No. 3 in blocks per set at 0.90. 
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS 
Among the 15 returners for the Falcons five have recorded at least one double-double during their careers. 
 
Senior setter Lindsey Lambert has the most on the 2022 roster, with 17. She got five of those last year, including 19 assists and 18 digs in the season finale at Northwest Nazarene. 
 
Sophomore setter Emily Tulino had three (all assist / dig), junior middle blocker Hannah Hair has two (both kill / block), while senior opposite Ashley Antoniak and junior outside hitter Lindsay Rosenthal have one each. 
 
A NEWBIE WITH SOME BIG NUMBERS 
SPU has just one newcomer on its roster this fall. But 6-foot middle blocker Brianna Ingram comes aboard with some noteworthy stats. 
 
 

Ingram played last season at Pierce College, a two-year school in Lakewood, just south of Tacoma. She was third on the Cardinals with 246 kills, an average of 2.00 per set, and her .296 hitting percentage was second-highest on the team. 
 
Ingram led Pierce with 49 service aces and with 111 total blocks, with 13 solos. Her aces total was tied for No. 2 in the Northwest Athletic Conference, and her 0.90 blocks per set average was the NWAC's No. 3 mark. 
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING 
Several Falcons are on the brink of reaching significant statistical milestones. 
 
100^th block     Maddie Pruden has 89 
                Lindsey Lambert has 78 
                Sydney Perry has 69 
100^th kill      Lindsey Lambert has 95 
                Erin Smith has 95 
                Lindsay Rosenthal has 96 
200^th kill      Brianna Ingram has 246 
                Sydney Perry has 180 
                Allison Wilks has 149 
300^th kill      Maddie Pruden has 293 
500^th kill      Hannah Hair has 387 
2,000^th assist  Lindsey Lambert has 1,852 
 
AROUND THE WEST 
Western Washington is clearly the team to beat in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the other two NCAA West Region conference have similar solid favorites. 
 
Cal State San Bernardino received 11 of the 12 first-place votes and 143 points in the California Collegiate Athletic Association poll. (Coaches cannot vote for their own team in the poll.) The other first-place vote went to Cal State Los Angeles, which finished with 124 points. SPU will play both teams next week in the Cal State L.A. Tournament. Cal Poly Pomona was picked third. 
 
Chaminade sits atop the Pacific West Conference list. The Silverswords received eight of the 11 first-place votes and 118 total points. The other three first-place votes were split among three teams with one each: Azusa Pacific (second overall with 100 points), Biola (third with 94) and Concordia Irvine (fourth with 92). Chaminade and Biola will be across the net from the Falcons in the CSULA tourney.
 
The West has three teams in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason top 25: No. 3 Western Washington, No. 7 San Bernardino, and No. 25 Chaminade. After that, eight others received votes, with four right at the top of that list: No. 26 Cal Poly Pomona, No. 27 Cal State Los Angeles, No. 29 Alaska Anchorage, and No. 30 Central Washington. Simon Fraser also received votes. 
 
UP NEXT 
The Falcons play the last of their two preseason tournaments next week at the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational. This one will be spread over three days in the CSULA Gymnasium, beginning Thursday, Sept. 1, against perennial national title contender Cal State San Bernardino at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, Sept. 2, it's Biola at noon and the host Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m. The last match is Saturday, Sept. 3, at noon against Chaminade.