SEATTLE – In the moments after they wrapped up the Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball title on Thursday, one of the Seattle Pacific players asked with a smile, "Where's the confetti?'
 
Well … maybe that's the only thing that wasn't part of an otherwise momentous night in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons had the championship hats. They had the championship shirts. And most of all …
 
… they had the championship trophy.
 
Just five days after they became NCAA Tournament qualifiers, they became queens of the conference.
 
Sarah Brachvogel had 19 kills on .441 hitting, Emily Tulino accumulated 32 assists, and SPU clinched it first volleyball crown since 2011, sealing the deal with a 3-1 victory against Saint Martin's.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22.
 
Coming in, the Falcons (21-4, 15-2 GNAC, No. 19 nationally and No. 6 in the West Region) were guaranteed at least a tie for the top spot with Central Washington, needing just one win in either of their final two regular-season matches to take it outright. SPU was picked third in the preseason coaches poll; Central was the unanimous favorite.
 
They got that win with a solid .339 hitting performance. Not only did senior outside hitter / opposite Brachvogel top the .400 mark, so did senior middle blocker / opposite Erin Smith. She finished at .474, putting 11 kills onto the court.
 
After the final point – a kill by Hannah Hair that a Saints defender dug up but sent sailing into the stands – the Falcons celebrated on their side of the net, receiving shirts and hats, and then were presented with the trophy by SPU President Dr. Deana Porterfield.
 




"It was a fun way to seal it at home and really exciting to celebrate with the players and the fans and their families and friends," said head coach Jason Rhine, still somewhat damp from a post-match locker room celebration. "Talent-wise, we've known that we have a great team. But every championship team has to get there, and that's not an easy task.
 
"It takes a lot of things going well, and sometimes a little bit of luck, too," Rhine added. "But I think our team has done everything they can do to put themselves in good position to utilize that talent. We knew we had a good opportunity in front of us, but we still have to do it."
 
TANGLING WITH A TOUGH OPPONENT
On Thursday, that meant doing it against a solid Saint Martin's team (16-11, 9-8 GNAC) that is on the way to its best season since moving up to Division II in 1998.
 
 

The Falcons led for the entirety of Set 1, once by as many as nine points at 19-10. Saint Martin's got as close as four at 20-16 before SPU pulled away, hitting .333 in that set (12 kills-2 errors-30 attacks).
 
Seattle Pacific forged a 15-12 lead in Set 2. The Saints caught up and edged in front. Tied at 20-20, the subsequently put five of the last seven points on the board to level the match at 1-1.
 
A 5-0 run, with Tulino on the serve for the last four of those points, gave SPU an 11-5 lead in Set 3. It grew to as many as nine points at 16-7, and Saint Martin's never came closer than four.
 
Except for a 6-6 tie, the Falcons led for all of Set 4. Seemingly ready to put it away at 24-18, the saw the Saints come all the way back to 24-22, thanks largely to freshman outside hitter Emily Garten and her hard-hitting jump serve. She had a kill to make it 24-19, then back-to-back aces, cutting the margin to 24-21. A Saints block made it 24-22 before Hair put the hammer down on the match and the crown.
 
"It was a good match against a good team that challenged us," Rhine said. "We had to play well throughout, and we did. It was fun to seal it with a good match."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
--SPU's .339 hitting (56-14-124) was its third-highest percentage of the season. The only better marks were .407 against Colorado Mines on Sept. 9 and .357 against Cal State San Marcos on Sept. 2.
-- Sarah Brachvogel's 19 kills was her third-highest total. She had 23 against Concordia Irvine on Sept. 8, and 21 at Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 21.
--While Erin Smith and Brachvogel both topped .400 hitting Allison Wilks and Hannah Hair were both north of .300. Hair was at .353 (7-1-17) and Wilks hit .308 (6-2-13).
-- Freshman setter Sophia Chambers double-doubled with 14 assists and 11 digs. That was her team-leading 11th of the year.
-- The Falcons now have seven season series sweeps against GNAC opponents. The record-setting 2010 team (26-3 and a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16) also swept seven teams, but split against two others.
-- It was a double-milestone night for Smith. Her 11 kills pushed her past 400 for her career (now 403), and her 11.5 points pushed her past 500 (now 501.5).
-- Emily Tulino's 32 assists was a season high, one more than she had at NNU on Oct. 21.
--The Falcons had assists on 55 of their 56 kills. That comes on the heels of having assists on all 43 kills at Montana State Billings last Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
The regular season wraps up on Saturday against Western Oregon at 1:00 p.m. in Brougham. The Wolves swept Montana State Billings on Thursday, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17. Saturday will be Senior Day in honor of Sarah Day, Brianna Ingram, and Erin Smith.
 
The NCAA West Region bracket will be announced on Monday at 4:30 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 19) Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 1
 
Gane scores – 25-17, 22-25, 25-18 25-22.
 
Service aces – STM 12 (Garten 6), SPU 11 (Lopez 3, Shuckhart 3).
Kills – STM 40 (Garten 14), SPU 56 (Brachvogel 19, Smith 11).
Assists – STM 40 (Soto 36), SPU 55 (Tulino 32, Chambers 14).
Digs – STM 45 (Peredo 12), SPU 55 (Lopez 15, Chambers 11).
Block assists / solo – STM 12 / 0 solo (3 players with 3 / 0 solo), SPU 18 / 0 solo (Wilks 5 / 0 solo, Pruden 5 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – STM 40-20-119—168 (Gooding 8-1-17—412), SPU 56-14-125—339 (Smith 11-2-19—474, Brachvogel 19-4-34—441).
Attendance – 126.
 

Records
Seattle Pacific 21-4, 15-2 GNAC.
Saint Martin's 16-11, 9-8 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.