NAMPA, Idaho – The first set got away from them.
 
But not the last one – and that's the one that ultimately mattered the most.
 
Ashley Antoniak hammered 15 kills and then was on the serve for the final four points of the match as the Seattle Pacific Falcons shook off an opening-set loss, then went on a 5-0 run to finish off a 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball victory at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday night.
 
Scores inside the Johnson Sports Center were 20-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-23.
 
SPU (4-9, 2-3 GNAC), which has been playing tough against some top-caliber teams but not getting the results to show for it, got a big result this time. The Falcons handed the Nighthawks their first conference loss, just their second loss of the season, and snapped their eight-match winning streak.
 
 

"I thought we just stayed calm, kept with the game plan, we were serving aggressively, and it worked out," head coach Jason Rhine said. "It was fun to come back here and win. It's a tough place, a good crowd, and a good team. To be able to play our game and know that it was enough to win, at least tonight, it's exciting for us going forward."
 
Junior opposite Maddie Pruden added 12 kills on .370 hitting and had three block assists for the Falcons. Junior middle blocker Hannah Hair had one of her best nights of the season with nine kills on .538 hitting and two block assists.
 
"Maddie had a big match. She started out really well in Sets 1 and 2, and was a steady presence for us when we needed a big swing," Rhine said. "Our middles came alive in that second and third set, and Hannah came alive."
 
The fourth set had multiple momentum shifts, with nine ties and five lead changes. The Nighthawks bolted to a 6-1 advantage, then SPU answered with a 6-0 run, senior setter Lindsey Lambert serving up aces for two of those points.
 
NNU eventually went up 20-16. The Falcons notched four straight to tie it, only to see the Nighthawks come back from a timeout and immediately make it 23-20.
 
But on the brink of going to the five-set maximum for the fifth time this season and the third time in GNAC play, Seattle Pacific found its way back.
 
Antoniak slammed a kill that a Northwest Nazarene player got under, but wasn't able to dig up. Then with Antoniak taking over the serve, junior outside hitter Sarah Brachvogel got a kill for 23-22. Antoniak's next serve was dug all the way up to the basketball backboard and went for an ace, tying it at 23-23.
 
 

Brachvogel got a kill off the Nighthawks block, giving the Falcons a try at match point. NNU then was called for a net violation on an attack by Olivia Wright, thereby clinching the win.
 
Seattle Pacific was in control of the first set, up 19-15, when Northwest Nazarene ran off nine straight points – part of a 10-1 run to finish it. The Falcons then took a 5-1 lead in Set 2, never letting the Nighthawks get closer 7-6, and gradually pulled away.
 
And, just as they wrapped up the match with a string of five points, the Falcons did exactly the same in Set 3, this time with a 20-19 lead: with a tip by Brachvogel that NNU dug into the net, a dunk at the net by Allison Wilks on a service return, an ace off the net cord by Antoniak, a combined block by Pruden and Wilks, and a final kill by Brachvogel.
 
"The first set was a little choppy for both sides, with some fast sideouts and a couple of missed serves, and they got on a run near the end," Rhine said. "In Sets 2 and 3, we stayed calm, addressing what they were doing, and followed the game plan a little bit better. Our serve receive was better in Sets 2 and 3, we had some good passes, and got some quick sideouts that put a lot of pressure on them."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The Falcons put 11 more kills onto the court than did Northwest Nazarene (53-42), had 22 more attacks (151-129) and finished with a .205 hitting mark. The Nighthawks hit .171.
 

-- One of SPU's kills was by Lindsey Lambert, a dump over the net to tie the third set at 7-7. That was the 100th kill of her career, coming exactly one week after she recorded her 2,000th assist.
-- Sophomore setter Emily Tulino recorded her second straight double-double, this one with 26 assists and 17 digs. She now has four this season and seven for her career.
-- For the second time this season, the Falcons came back to win after dropping the first set. They also did it on Sept. 2 against Biola.
-- Heading into the 2019 season, SPU had lost 11 straight to Northwest Nazarene and eight straight in Nampa. They now have won five of the last six and two of the last three in the Johnson Sports Center.
-- Hannah Hair's .538 hitting mark (9 kills-2 errors-13 attacks) was her second-highest of the season, trailing only her .550 (13-2-20) against Minnesota Duluth on Aug. 27.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific travels to Ellensburg on Saturday to take on Central Washington at 7:00 p.m. That match will be in the CWU Recreation Center, 400 E. University Way. Nicholson Pavilion is undergoing a major renovation and is not available. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-1 victory at home against Montana State Billings on Thursday (25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 27-25).
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Northwest Nazarene 1
 
Game scores – 20-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-23.
 
Service aces – SPU 10 (Brachvogel 3), NNU 5 (Koch 2, Dent 2).
Kills – SPU 53 (Antoniak 15, Pruden 12), NNU 42 (Wright 13).
Assists – SPU 51 (Tulino 26, Lambert 17), NNU 41 (Lee 36)./
Digs – SPU 62 (Tulino 17, Cunningham 12), NNU 62 (McMahon 19).
Block assists / solo – SPU 14 / 0 solo (Wilks 5 / 0 solo), NNU 18 / 0 solo (Gable 6 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 53-22-151—205 (Hair 9-2-15—538, Pruden 12-2-27—370), NNU 42-20-129—171 (Gable 8-1-17—412).
Attendance – 327.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 4-9, 2-3 GNAC.   Northwest Nazarene 10-2, 3-1 GNAC.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
CWU Recreation Center / Ellensburg, Wash.