MONMOUTH, Ore. – Some nights, grinding it out is the only way to get a win.
 
Thursday was just such a night for the Seattle Pacific Falcons,
 
They ground it out ...

... and they won.
 
Sarah Brachvogel had 11 kills, and Hannah Hair came up with six kills and six blocks on Thursday as SPU opened its Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball schedule with a 3-0 sweep at Western Oregon.
 
Scores in WOU's New P.E. Building were 28-26, 25-22, 25-20.
 
The Falcons (7-2) won their sixth straight match. The last time they won that many in a row was in 2021.
 
But this one was as challenging as it gets, coming against a vastly improved Western Oregon team (6-3).
 
 

"It wasn't our prettiest, with some blocks from their side and some hitting errors (from us). But we found a way to get it done with tough defense, and both teams had to work to earn it," head coach Jason Rhine said. "Sometimes, you have to win when you feel you're still making some mistakes and not playing your best, but that's still the mark of a good team."
 
Thursday's contest was tied 38 times and had 15 lead changes. The largest advantage for either team was 25-20 to close out the match in the third set.
 
"I thought the team did a good job of figuring it out and not letting any one mistake override the scenario where we can play calm, high-level volleyball," Rhine said. "I thought we responded well, took our chances, and were able to come out with the victory. I'm excited for them to be able to work through that."
 
The Falcons were down by as many a three in Set 1 at 13-10. From there, they managed to tie it at 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 – but never moved back in front. Down 20-19, SPU put together a 4-0 run to make it 23-20, only to see the Wolves with three straight points to tie it up again at 23-23.
 
From there, Seattle Pacific had set points at 24-23, 25-24, and 26-25. WOU saved all of them. A combined block by Sophia Chambers and Allison Wilks gave the Falcons another set point at 27-26. A kill attempt by Brachvogel appeared to go just long, but it was ruled to have deflected off a Wolves player, giving the point and the set to the Falcons after 20 ties and five lead changes.
 
Western Oregon led by as many as four points in Set 2 at 14-10. Down 18-17, SPU ran off four straight points: a dunk at the net by Hair on a Wolves overpass, an Abigail Cunningham service ace, a kill by Maddie Pruden that deflected wide off a WOU blocker, and a tip by Wilks for a 21-18 edge.
 
SPU eventually had quadruple set point at 24-20. The Wolves fought off two of them for 24-22, then Erin Smith, playing on the right side, sent an attack off the fingers of a WOU blocker to close out the set. That one had 10 ties and six lead changes.
 
Another late run put Seattle Pacific in control of the third set, turning a 19-18 deficit into a 22-19 lead, thanks to three straight kills that went out off Western Oregon blockers. A Wilks service ace capped the run.
 
WOU got one more point for 22-20, then the Falcons put the last three of the match on the board, capped by a Brachvogel kill that the Wolves managed to dig up, but could not get back over the net.
 
That set had eight ties and four lead changes.
 
"We really kind of settled in during Sets 2 and 3 in terms of defense and kind of not letting easy things score on us," Rhine said. "We made them really have to work and take more risky swings, and that turned into some more blocks and more defensive plays. And I thought we served really aggressively, especially in Set 3.'
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The Falcons hit just .163. But they kept Western Oregon even lower at .142
-- Allison Wilks had a .600 hitting night with seven kills and just one error on 10 attacks. That was the second .600 match of the season for the GNAC's leading hitter. Her other one was .615 (9-1-13) against Cal State San Marcos on Sept. 2. Through nine matches, Wilks is at .468.
-- Hannah Hair continues to pile up the blocks. She had six more on Thursday, including two solos, giving her 46 total, with 12 solos, an average of 1.53 per set.
-- The 7-2 start is SPU's best since 2014, when it opened at 9-2.
-- The Falcons are now 10-12 all-time in GNAC openers.
-- Since the team hasn't played at home yet, all seven wins have come out of town. That ties the total SPU had all of last season, it went 7-10 away from Brougham Pavilion.
 
UP NEXT
SPU returns to action on Saturday in Lacey against Saint Martin's. The first serve in Marcus Pavilion is at 3:00 p.m. The Saints swept Montana State Billings at home in their GNAC opener on Thursday, 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-9).
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023
New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Western Oregon 0

Game scores – 28-26, 25-22, 25-20.

Service aces – SPU 3 (3 players with 1), WOU 2 (2 players with 1).
Kills – SPU 46 (Brachvogel 11), WOU 33 (Hartsook 8).
Assists – SPU 42 (Chambers 18, Tulino 17), WOU 30 (O'Neil 14).
Digs – SPU 48 (Cunningham 14), WOU 43 (O'Neil 11).
Block assists / solo – SPU 14 / 3 solo (Hair 4 / 2 solo), WOU 18 / 4 solo (MacLellan 5 / 1 solo, Asciutto 4 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 46-25-129—163 (Wilks 7-1-10—600), WOU 33-17-113—142 (Asciutto 6-1-121—455).
Attendance – 378.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 7-2, 1-0 GNAC.  Western Oregon 6-3, 0-1 GNAC.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
Saturday, Sept. 16     3:00 p.m.
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.