ELLENSBURG, Wash. – From the very first serve, the Seattle Pacific Falcons were surrounded by loud, supportive Central Washington fans – to their left, to their right, and even ringed all the way around the second-floor track above them.
 
But on the very last point, it was SPU players who had plenty to shout about.
 
Maddie Pruden, Ashley Antoniak, and Sarah Brachvogel all had double-digit kills, and Seattle Pacific put 10 of the last 13 points on the board in the deciding fifth set to defeat the Wildcats in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match on Saturday night.
 
Scores inside the CWU Recreation Center were 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 17-25, 15-11.
 
The Falcons (5-9, 3-3 GNAC) thus completed a sweep of their weekend road trip in two of the toughest places to play in the conference. On Thursday, they scored a 3-1 victory at Northwest Nazarene.
 
Then on Saturday, they pulled out the win inside the raucous CWU Rec Center that is Central's temporary home this fall while major renovations are completed at Nicholson Pavilion.
 
"It was unique – it was loud and intense, and I think our girls had a hard time adjusting to it at first and just hearing each other," said head coach Jason Rhine, whose team now has won two straight for the first time this season. "But it was kind of fun. It felt like you were playing a little more big-time, a loud environment, but we kind of adjusted and learned to enjoy it."
 




Central Washington (8-5, 3-2 GNAC) carried some momentum into Set 5. Needing to win the fourth to stay alive, the Wildcats burst to an 11-2 lead and never let SPU get closer than six. So for the third time in GNAC play and the fifth time overall this season, the Falcons found themselves in a deciding set.
 
"Central played well in that fourth set, and we struggled a little bit offensively," Rhine said. "We knew they had a good defense, so it's not a surprise that there were times when we had a hard time scoring.
 
 

"I just told them if you would have told us before we got here that we would play a Set 5 at their place – new gym, good team – if we get a chance to play to 15 on the road to win it, then we should be excited to be here, and we played well in that Set 5."
 
The teams split the first eight points. Up 6-5, Central got back-to-back kills from setter / outside hitter Tia Andaya for an 8-5 lead as they switched sides.
 
That also switched the momentum. Seattle Pacific scored the next four points to take a 9-8 lead: a Wildcats service error, a kill by Pruden, a net violation by Central (taking a kill of their side and putting the point on SPU's side), and a combined block by Pruden and Allison Wilks.
 
Andaya had another kill to tie it at 9-9. Then a CWU attack error and a tip by Brachvogel gave Seattle Pacific an 11-9 lead.
 
The Falcons were up 12-11 when Hair got a kill for sideout and a 13-11 edge. With Brachvogel taking over the serve, Hair and Sydney Perry teamed up on a block, giving the Falcons a shot at match point.
 
After a Wildcats timeout and Brachvogel still on the serve, Central dug up two SPU attacks, and the Falcons dug up two CWU attacks. Finally, Hair got just enough of her fingers onto the ball to block it back over to Central Washington's side. The 'Cats got one more swing., but it went into the net, sealing it for Seattle Pacific.
 
"I thought the first 15 points or so (of the fifth set), other than maybe one or two, they were close points back and forth," Rhine said "Both sides were just kind of siding out really well. We felt that we were maybe outplaying them a little bit on those last two rotations."
 
Central Washington scored the first four points of the match, and except for a 5-5 tie, led for the entirety of the first set. SPU turned that around in the second, scoring three straight to snap a 3-3 tie and gradually extending the lead to as many as nine.
 
The Falcons were up 17-14 in the third when CWU ran off five in a row to take a 19-17 edge. Then it was the Falcons stringing together five in a row for a 22-19 advantage. The Wildcats got within one at 22-21 before two straight kills by Pruden and one by Hair polished off the set.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU hit .193 for the match (57 kills-28 errors-150 attacks), led by Hannah Hair's .438 (9-2-16). Madden Pruden hit .346 (13-4-26). The final percentage included .353 in the fifth set (7-1-17).
-- Central Washington hit .185 (53-26-146).
--As they did on Thursday at Northwest Nazarene, the Falcons came back to win after dropping the first set. They now have done that three times this season.
 

-- Sophomore setter Emily Tulino now has three straight double-doubles. On Saturday, she logged 24 assists and 10 digs. She now has four for the season. She also served three aces.
-- Senior setter Lindsey Lambert joined her in the double-double department with 20 assists and 10 digs. That was her second of the year.
-- Central Washington is one of the best blocking teams in the GNAC, and proved on Saturday with 18 points: 30 block assists (11 of those by Shaunessy Fisk) and three solos. SPU had 16 block assists (five by Allison Wilks) for eight points.


 
UP NEXT
After spending most of the season on the road so far, the Falcons get to play their next three at home. The first of those is on Thursday, Sept. 29, when Western Oregon comes to Brougham Pavilion. The first serve is at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022
Central Washington Recreation Center / Ellensburg, Wash
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Central Washington 2
 
Game scores – 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 17-25, 15-11.
 
Service aces – SPU 5 (Tulino 3), CWU 5 (5 players with 1).
Kills – SPU 57 (Pruden 13, Antoniak 11, Brachvogel 10), CWU 53 (Andaya 15, Kaufman 14).
Assists – SPU 53 (Tulino 24, Lambert 20), CWU 49 (Andaya 24, Remsberg 19).
Digs – SPU 55 (Cunningham 15, Tulino 10, Lambert 10), CWU 52 (Stires 18).
Block assists / solo – SPU 16 / 0 solo (Wilks 5 / 0 solo), CWU 30 / 3 solo (Daoud-Hebert 11 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 57-28-150—193 (Hair 9-2-15—438), CWU 53-26-145—185 (Daoud-Hebert 7-0-17—412).
Attendance – 444.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 5-9, 3-3 GNAC    Central Washington 8-5, 3-2 GNAC.
 
Next match
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Sept. 29     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.