LOS ANGELES – Through four sets, the Seattle Pacific Falcons gave Cal State San Bernardino all it could handle.
 
But in the decisive Set 5, the Coyotes showed why they're ranked No. 7 on the NCAA Division II volleyball list and why they're perennially one of the teams to beat in the West Region.
 
San Bernardino went on a 7-0 scoring run to take command of the abbreviated fifth set and secured a victory against SPU on the opening night of the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational.
 
Scores inside University Gym were 25-23, 14-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-8.
 
For the night, the Falcons (1-4) actually put three more points on the board than did CSSB, 104-101.
 
The Coyotes (5-0) simply got their biggest ones when it mattered most.

 

"We battled really well throughout the match with a good opponent," head coach Jason Rhine said. "They were very scrappy on defense, they didn't give up, especially in Sets 4 and 5, they kind of played at another level. I thought we had our chances. In Set 1, we let that one get away from us. But I thought (San Bernardino) battled back well. We're excited to get back out there tomorrow."
 
 

Junior outside hitter Sarah Brachvogel, junior middle blocker Hannah Hair, and junior opposite Maddie Pruden hammered 12 kills apiece for Seattle Pacific. Brachvogel's total was a career high, eclipsing by one her previous high of 11 set just last Friday in a sweep against No. 15 Winona State.
 
The Falcons sent 15 service aces across the net, with senior opposite Ashley Antoniak delivering a career high of five – more than double her previous best of two.
 
"Our serving was really aggressive," Rhine said. "That's something we've been working on. We wanted to bounce back from the end of the Minnesota tournament and stay aggressive. Everyone was doing a good job of that. We went on some long, big serving runs. We had a bunch of servers serving aggressively and keeping our defense in the match for sure."
 
 

SPU was fast out of the blocks breaking to an 11-4 lead in the first set. Antoniak served up the first four points, and the first two of those were aces. San Bernardino climbed back in, using a 5-0 run to come from 16-14 down to take its first lead of the match at 19-16. It grew all the way to 22-18. The Falcons got within one at 22-21, 23-22 and 24-23 before the Coyotes closed it out.
 
Seattle Pacific led for almost the entirety of Set 2. Up 7-4, junior middle blocker Allison Wilks took over the serve and put three aces onto the court to spark a 6-0 run for a commanding 13-4 advantage. San Bernardino never got closer than five.
 
The Falcons led for most of Set 3, but eventually found themselves down 20-19. Tied at 21, they got three consecutive kills by Hair for 24-21. The Coyotes fought off one set point, but then sent a serve long to give SPU a lead of 2 sets to 1.
 
CSSB scored the first two points of the fourth set and never trailed – but never pulled away, either, as Seattle Pacific was within one at 19-18, 22-21, 23-22, and 24-23.
 
The Falcons had a brief 3-2 lead in the fifth. San Bernardino tallied four straight for a 6-3 advantage, then saw the Falcons pull within 6-5 on back-to-back kills by Brachvogel. That's when the Coyotes went on their 7-0 spurt, effectively putting the match away.
 
"We competed well, especially in Sets 2 and 3, but even in Set 4 when they were playing really well against us," Rhine said. "We just need to do it from Set 1. If we do that, we're a tough team to beat. Biola and Cal State L.A. are both looking good. We just have to start out from the beginning and play a consistent, confident game."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

--Sophomore setter Emily Tulino recorded SPU's first double-double of the season, logging 21 assists and 10 digs.
--Coming off a .550 hitting match (13 kills-2 errors-20 attacks) in a four-setter against Minnesota Duluth last Saturday, Hannah Hair hit .440 on Thursday (12-1-20).
-- The Falcons hit .183 for the match (53-18-191), with less than 10 percent errors on a season-high for attacks. That percentage included .333 (19-2-51) in the fourth set.
-- San Bernardino finished at .276 hitting (65-20-163), which included an eye-popping .488 in the fourth (21-1-41).
-- Along with Ashley Antoniak's five aces, Allison Wilks had four, Tulino had three, Sarah Brachvogel two, and Lindsey Lambert one.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays two matches as the tournament continues on Friday. Up first is Biola at noon, followed by Cal State Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m. Biola did not play on Thursday. CSULA fell to Central Washington, 3-1.


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Cal State Los Angeles Invitational
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022
University Gym / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
(No. 7) Cal State San Bernardino 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 25-23, 14-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-8.
 
Service aces – SPU 15 (Antoniak 5), CSSB 9 (4 players with 2).
Kills – SPU 53 (Hair 12, Brachvogel 12, Pruden 12), CSSB 65 (Morohunfola 16).
Assists – SPU 41 (Tulino 21, Lambert 13), CSSB 53 (Nunley 24).
Digs – SPU 58 (Cunningham 16, Antoniak 12, Tulino 10), CSSB 76 (Overbey 21).
Block assists / solo – SPU 12 / 0 solo (Perry 4 / 0 solo), CSSB 122 / 1 solo (Patton 3 / 0 solo, Robinson 2 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 53-18-191—183 (Hair 12-1-25—440), CSSB 65-20-163—276 (Morohunfola 16-1-22—682).
Attendance – 80.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 1-4.  Cal State San Bernardino 5-0.
 
Next matches
Seattle Pacific vs. Biola
Friday, Noon
 
Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State Los Angeles
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Both at University Gym / Los Angeles, Calif.