THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 8                   Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7:00 p.m.
                                         Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
                                         Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Sept. 10                  Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser, 5:00 p.m.
                                         West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
                                         Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – The matches that matter the most have arrived on Seattle Pacific's volleyball calendar.
 
After two weeks of preseason competition against a slew of national-caliber opponents, the Falcons head into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of their schedule this week.
 
And right off the bat is another national-caliber opponent in No. 11-ranked Western Washington. The Falcons and Vikings serve it up on Thursday night at Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham with a 7:00 p.m. start time.
 
On Saturday, SPU heads even farther north, crossing the border into Canada to take on Simon Fraser at West Gym in Burnaby, British Columbia. The first serve of that one is at 5:00 p.m.
 
The Falcons went 2-6 in their two preseason tournaments, including a 1-3 mark at last week's Cal State Los Angeles Invitational.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both of this week's matches and all remaining GNAC matches will have free live Webcasts and live stats. The Webcasts are available through YouTube. The appropriate links for both the Webcasts and live stats can be found at the top of this page.
 
FALCONS TABBED FOR 5TH IN GNAC
For the second year in a row, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have been picked for a fifth-place finish in the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball 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 other team picked ahead of Seattle Pacific is Simon Fraser, fourth with 70 points.
 
The Falcons tied for fourth last year in GNAC play, finishing at 11-7, along with Simon Fraser and Alaska Fairbanks.

IT'LL BE SPU VS. THE RED LEAFS
When the Falcons head into West Gym on Saturday to take on Simon Fraser, they will be facing a team that now will be known as the Red Leafs.

The new nickname was announced on Tuesday, and will take effect this week.

Simon Fraser retired its former Clan nickname in 2020.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--The Falcons have a 9-11 record in GNAC openers.
-- Of their 20 previous openers, 13 have been on the road, with a 5-8 record.
-- Last year, SPU opened at home and won both matches, defeating Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington by identical 3-1 scores.
-- Of SPU's eight preseason matches, five ended in three-set sweeps, and two went to the five-set limit. Only one went four sets, that being against Minnesota Duluth on Aug. 27 at the Concordia St. Paul-St. Cloud State Invitational.
-- Seattle Pacific and Western Washington had two common preseason opponents. Both faced Cal State Los Angeles, with the Vikings winning in a sweep at home on Aug. 27 and the Falcons getting swept at CSULA on Sept. 2. The other common opponent was Concordia St. Paul. The Bears, playing on their home court, swept SPU on Aug. 26, then got past Western Washington at the Colorado Premier Challenge on Sept. 2.
-- Simon Fraser also played Cal State L.A., falling in five on Aug. 27 at the Western Washington Invitational.
-- WWU swept the Falcons last year in Bellingham, then won the rematch in Seattle, 3-1, although SPU got the first set in the rematch.
-- Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser split their two-match series, each winning a four-setter at home..
-- While the Falcons played a tough slate of preseason competition (four ranked in the top 25, the other four receiving votes), so too did Western Washington (five ranked, including all four opponents last week in Colorado, plus two others receiving votes from Week 1) and Simon Fraser (one ranked, three receiving votes).
-- Senior setter Lindsey Lambert has a chance to reach a milestone this week with her 2,000th career assist. She comes in with 1,961.
-- The first set has been a sore spot for SPU so far. The only time it has taken Set 1 was on Aug. 26 in an eventual sweep of then-No. 15 Winona State.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 5-3, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: WWU Leads, 56-28. Current series streak: WWU won 4. Last time: WWU 3, SPU 1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-19, 25-23; Nov. 13, 2021 at Seattle). Last SPU series win: SPU 3, WWU 0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22; May 14, 2021 at Seattle). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: The Vikings have three returning All-Americans. Leading that group is 5-foot-10 outside hitter Gabby Gunterman, an AVCA first-teamer. She was last season's GNAC Player of the Year, and was voted as the conference's 2022 Presesaon Player of the Year. Through the preseason, she leads WWU with 83 kills (2.77 per set, No. 8 in the GNAC). Senior 6-1 outside Calley Heilborn and senior middle blocker Olivia Fairchild were honorable-mention All-Americans in 2021. Heilborn has 81 blocks (2.53) and Fairchild averages nearly a block per set (28 total / 0.93). Another big weapon for Western is senior 6-foot middle Chloe Roetcisoender. She also has 81 kills on .363 hitting and a team-high 43 blocks (1.34 per set), with six solos. Directing it all is senior setter Malia Aleaga.
 
SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER RED LEAFS: 3-6, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 30-19. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, Simon 1 (25-23, 25-16, 21-25, 25-20; Nov. 11, 2021 at Seattle). Last Simon Fraser series win: Simon 3, SPU 1 (25-23, 25-16, 21-25, 25-17; Oct. 16, 2021 at Burnaby, B.C.). Red Leafs on the Web.
Red Leafs in a nutshell: Although Simon Fraser is 3-6, four of those losses went into a fifth set, including three of them last weekend at the Point Loma Nazarene Seaside Invitational. As expected, sophomore 6-foot-2 opposite Brooke Dexter has been Simon's go-to on offense. She was the 2021 GNAC and AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year and a third-team All-American, She has 106 kills through nine matches (2.65) and his hitting .280. Jocelyn Sherman, a sophomore 5-10 outside, has 90 kills (2.27). The Canadian side also has one of the GNAC's top blockers in junior 6-2 middle  Kalyn Hartmann. She has logged 44 so far (1.13), ranking No. 5 on the conference list. Junior 6-foot outside Camryn Vosloh and sophomore 6-2 setter Serena Gentile each have delivered 14 service aces.
 
COACH JASON RHINE SAYS …
(On what he saw in preseason play)
"I think it was a lot of what we expected, a lot of really good competition and a chance to work what we've been doing in the gym. Obviously, we had a few tight situations that didn't go our way, which was unfortunate, but that's also a learning experience about how to put way good teams and take advantage of little things when we can find them."
 

(On differences between the first and second tournaments)
"We kind of came back from the first weekend and put a couple of things as high priorities during the couple of practices that we had in between. We definitely saw some of that transfer over to the second weekend, which was exciting. If we can keep that up, then hopefully we'll see a more polished team as time goes on."
 
(On playing Western Washington and Simon Fraser)
"Western played a good preseason schedule and has a lot of good experience on their team, kind of similar to what they were last year. Simon Fraser has a few new faces and different lineups, so it will be kind of interesting to see what they've been putting together the last couple weeks."
 
BREAKOUT YEAR FOR BRACHVOGEL
Through her first two seasons with the Falcons, Sarah Brachvogel saw just limited action: 47 sets spread over matches, with three starts.
 
 

Different story in 2022 as Brachvogel has become a significant contributing presence at outside hitter. She has started all eight matches, played 28 of the 29 sets. She already has more kills in the first two weeks (72) than she had in her first two years combined (49). She put a career-high 19 of those kills onto the floor last Friday in a five-set come-from-behind victory against Biola.
 
That was the fourth time this season Brachvogel has been in career-high territory. She started off with 11 in a three-set sweep of then-No. 15 Winona State on Aug. 26, beating her previous high of nine. Brachvogel had another 11 the next day against Minnesota Duluth, then topped that with 12 last Thursday in a five-setter against No. 7 Cal State San Bernardino.
 
With two matches of .200-plus hitting and a .321 performance against Winona, Brachvogel is hitting 169 for the season –107 points higher than her career mark of .062 coming into the year.
 
UPWARD FOR WILKS, TOO
Allison Wilks became a regular presence in the SPU rotation last fall, playing in 23 of the 25 matches with 19 starts. She definitely made the most of her opportunities. Wilks ranked No. 2 among the Falcon regulars with her .284 hitting mark (the only one higher was fellow middle blocker Hannah Hair's .333) and also ranking No. 2 with 85 total blocks (behind Hair's 115).
 
 

The 6-foot-1 junior is continuing to deliver solid efforts so far in 2022. In starting all eight matches, she is hitting at a .299 clip and tied her career high of .714 in last Saturday's three-setter against Chaminade (6 kills-1 error-7 attacks). Wilks also has had marks of .500, .455, .308, and .250.
 
She also has gotten her hands on at least one block in all eight matches, and multiple blocks in six of them. That total includes six in last Friday's epic five-setter against Biola and five in a three-setter against No. 6 Concordia St. Paul on Aug. 26. Her average of 0.93 per set is tied with Western Washington's Olivia Fairchild for No. 8 in the GNAC.
 
In addition, Wilks has a team-leading 12 service aces.
 
FINALLY, SOME DOUBLE-DOUBLES
After going through the first weekend of the season without any double-doubles, SPU player recorded three such performances last weekend in Los Angeles.
 
Sophomore setter Emily Tulino had two of those, with 21 assists and 10 digs against Cal State San Bernardino, then 12 assists and 10 digs against Chaminade.
 
Senior opposite Ashley Antoniak logged the other one with 12 kills and 11 digs against Biola.
 
AROUND THE WEST
The West Region is down to just one unbeaten team, and it is … Saint Martin's. The Saints won all nine of their preseason matches heading into GNAC play. That includes a trio of three-set sweeps in four matches at their home tournament last weekend in Lacey. Both Alaska schools have reached double-digit victories, as Anchorage is 10-1 and Fairbanks is 10-2. The Seawolves and Nanooks both host Saint Martin's this week.
 
Cal State East Bay and Sonoma State leads a pack of five California Collegiate Athletic Association teams with just one loss. Both of them are 7-1 heading into conference play. Cal State San Bernardino and Stanislaus State are 6-1; Cal Poly Pomona has a 5-1 record.
 
Holy Names and Point Loma Nazarene are the only two Pacific West Conference teams that finished the preseason with winning records, both at 5-3. Azusa Pacific wound up at 3-3, while Chaminade, which was ranked No. 25 in the AVCA preseason poll, went 5-6.
 
UP NEXT
After what will be a season-opening stretch of 10 straight matches out of town, the Falcons finally get to play at home in Brougham Pavilion next week when the Alaskas come to town. Fairbanks is here on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7:00 p.m.. Then on Saturday the 17th, it's Anchorage at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
STANDINGS
                                                     GNAC                Overall
Saint Martin's           0-0          9-0
Alaska Anchorage         0-0         10-1
Northwest Nazarene       0-0          7-1
Montana State Billings   0-0          6-1
Alaska Fairbanks         0-0         10-2
Central Washington       0-0          5-3
Western Washington       0-0          5-3
Western Oregon           0-0          4-4
Simon Fraser             0-0          3-6
Seattle Pacific          0-0          2-6