NAMPA, Idaho – Whether from the front row or the back row, Sarah Brachvogel found a way to find the floor.
 
And she had plenty of help from her teammates.
 
Brachvogel hammered 21 kills on Saturday afternoon, Erin Smith added 13, and Hannah Hair had nine more blocks – giving her 20 for the week – as No. 22 Seattle Pacific downed Northwest Nazarene in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match, 3-1.
 
Scores in the Johnson Sports Center were 26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 25-16.
 
The Falcons (16-3, 10-1 GNAC), coming off their 3-2 victory at No. 18 Central Washington on Thursday, thus kept a firm grip on first pace in the GNAC. They now have a three-match lead on Simon Fraser, Central Washington, and Western Washington (all 7-4) with seven matches remaining.
 
"Both (Central and NNU) are tough places to play. Both have fans who tried to get into our heads, and it was fun to respond well," head coach Jason Rhine said. "Both environments are tough places to get wins, so it was exciting to do that."
 
 

Senior outside hitter Brachvogel not only swung at the ball, she did it with accuracy, finishing the day with a .348 hitting percentage (21 kills-5 errors-46 attacks). Her only higher kills total was the career-high 23 she had in a preseason match against Concordia Irvine on Sept. 8.
 
Senior opposite Smith's 13 kills was just one shy of her career high 14, which also came against CUI. She hit a solid .400 (13-3-25).
 
 

"It was really fun to see Brach have a big day with a different kind of defense. She took advantage of it and was playing really aggressively and finding a lot of ways to score," Rhine said. "Erin continues to be consistent for us and continues to hit at a high percentage and be a big presence on the block. She has been a big part of our success."
 
 

Hair, who leads all of NCAA Division II in blocks per set, had eight blocks assists and one solo. That performance came on the heels of her career high-tying 11 total blocks on Thursday night at Central, which moved her up to No. 6 on the program's all-time career list with 414. On Saturday, she jumped two more spots, passing No. 5 Nikki Lowell (419 from 2010-13) and No. 4 Ali Lindberg (422 from 1991-94). Hair now has 423.
 
EARLY COMEBACK SET THE TONE
In winning 15 of their last 16 matches, the Falcons have made a habit of getting off to a good start by winning the opening set. They did that again on Saturday, but not without a timely comeback.
 
Northwest Nazarene (9-10, 5-6 GNAC) had triple set point with a 24-21 lead. A kill by Allison Wilks made it 24-22, Smith then had a kill that kissed the baseline. It was ruled good, making it 24-23. NNU challenged the call, saying the ball was out, but after a video review, it was upheld and the point stayed with the Falcons.
 
A Brachvogel kill off a Nighthawks blocker tied the set at 24-24. NNU had an attack error, giving Seattle Pacific a set point at 25-24. A combined block by Wilks and Brachvogel closed out the set in the Falcons' favor.
 
 

"It was a good sign of maturity for the team that they were able to stay poised and go on aggressive runs right at the end," Rhine said. "It was fun to finish off that set." (SPU is 11-0 this season when winning the opener and has won its last 18 matches, dating back to last season, when taking Set 1.)
 
Northwest Nazarene went on an 8-1 run in the middle of Set 2, turning a 15-12 deficit into a 20-16 lead. Once again, the Nighthawks gained triple set point at 24-21, and once again, SPU tried to come back. A Wilks kill and a Brachvogel kill cut it to 24-23, but NNU got the clincher on a kill by Sarah Lyons, leveling it at one set each.
 
Seattle Pacific led for most of Set 3, then found itself in a 21-21 tie. The Falcons ran off the last four points on a kill by Maddie Pruden, a combined block by Pruden and Hair, a Brachvogel service ace, and another Pruden / Hair block.
 
SPU never trailed in Set 4 after putting the first five points on the board with Emily Tulino on the serve. Tulino also had the serve for a 6-0 run later in the set as the Falcons expanded their lead to 19-11, and took it in from there.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Seattle Pacific hit .242 for the day (59 kills-21 errors-157 attacks.) That included .359 in the fourth set (16-2-39).
-- Junior setter Emily Tulino earned a season-high 31 assists.
 

-- Freshman libero Christina Lopez came up with a career-high 21 digs.
-- For the second straight match, Lopez was credited with a kill when she dug up a ball and it floated just over the net and dropped in before the Nighthawks could respond.
-- Freshman setter Sophia Chambers double-doubled for the second straight match, this time with 14 assists and 10 digs. She now has nine for the season.
-- The Falcons had 23 total blocks. Along with Hannah Hair's nine, Maddie Pruden had four; Allison Wilks and Erin Smith had three each.



UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific returns home this coming week to take on the Alaska schools. Anchorage comes to Brougham Pavilion on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., followed by Fairbanks on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
(No. 22) Seattle Pacific 3, Northwest Nazarene 1
 
Game scores – 26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 25-16.
 
Service aces – SPU 5 (Lopez 2), NNU 12 (McMahon 4, Dent 4).
Kills – SPU 59 (Brachvogel 21, Smith 13), NNU 46 (Black 11).
Assists – SPU 56 (Tulino 31, Chambers 14), NNU 43 (Wilding 20).
Digs – SPU 64 (Lopez 21, Chambers 10), NNU 59 (McMahon 18).
Block assists / solo – SPU 22 / 1 solo (Hair 8 / 1 solo), NNU 10 / 1 solo (Cheney 4 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 59-21-157—242 (Smith 13-3-25—400, Brachvogel 21-4-46—348), NNU 46-27-146—130 (Cheney 6-1-14—357).
Attendance – 345.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 16-3, 10-1 GNAC.
Northwest Nazarene 9-10, 5-6 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 26     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.