SEATTLE – Come up with .333 hitting, and that's usually going to be enough to win a volleyball match.
 
Come up with 23 total blocks, and that's usually going to be enough to win.
 
The Seattle Pacific Falcons won on Thursday night by coming up with both.
 
Sarah Brachvogel slammed 16 kills and hit a season-high.448, Allison Wilks and Hannah Hair each had six total blocks, the SPU put together a convincing 3-0 sweep of Northwest Nazarene in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Scores in the home opener were 25-20, 25-17, 25-17.
 
 

"They started out serving really aggressively, which we knew from film that they were doing," head coach Jason Rhine said. "That still took a second to adjust to as they found some aggressive serves throughout the match. But our team did really well kind of weathering that. Other than that, I thought we followed our game plan well. We served aggressively, set up a good block and played defense behind that and found a lot of chances to transition and swing."
 
At 3-0 in conference play, 9-2 overall and riding an eight-match winning streak, the Falcons now can turn their undivided attention to Saturday's showdown against GNAC preseason favorite Central Washington. The Wildcats are 8-3 overall, 2-1 in the conference after Thursday's 3-0 sweep at Montana State Billings.
 
Over the years (they've been playing since 1986 when SPU started its program), each team has won 42 matches in the series. Those 84 matches have totaled 314 sets, and that's almost dead-even, as well: 158 for Central, 156 for Seattle Pacific.
 
"They've had a great start to their season. They have a lot of the same returners back from last year, we have a lot of the same returners back from last year," Rhine said. "We know we played them two really close matches last year (the Falcons won both by scores of 3-2), so we're expecting a dogfight and a fun match. We're excited to have them here on Saturday."
 




TIGHT BATTLE AT THE START
Northwest Nazarene (5-6, 1-2 GNAC) led for most of the opening set, including 18-16 and 20-19.
 
That's when the Falcons went on a 6-0 run to close out the set – and half of those points came on blocks: a combined effort by Hair and Maddie Pruden to make it 21-20, a solo by Brachvogel for 22-20, and another combo by Hair and Pruden for set point at 24-20.
 
A crosscourt attack by Londyn Giles was initially called in, cutting the lead to 24-21. But Rhine used one of his challenge cards on it. After a video review, that call was overturned, giving the Falcons their 25^th point and the set.
 
SPU took command of Set 2 immediately, building leads of 7-1 and 11-3. Northwest Nazarene got as close as 14-8 before the Falcons ran off four in a row for a double-digit advantage a 18-8. Fittingly, on a night when most things were going their way, the fourth point of that surge was a serve by Sydney Perry that dribbled off the net cord and dropped onto the other side for an ace.
 
The Nighthawks were up 8-7 in the third  At 8-8, the teams went on a remarkably long rally, each of them digging up balls that seemed like a sure point for the other side. A combined block by Smith and Wilks finally ended it in Seattle Pacific's favor, and it stayed in front the rest of the way.
 
"The team played with a really fun energy and composure tonight, which is something we've been talking about and working on," Rhine said. "It was a fun response to play our first home match and come out with great energy and attitude and enjoy the process."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU outscored Northwest Nazarene on the block, 13-2.
-- On the way to their final mark of .333, the Falcons hit .267 in the first set, .394 in the second, and .333 in the third. They totaled 43 kills and just nine errors on 102 attacks, below the 10 percent mark that some regard as the gold standard for a solid hitting night.
-- SPU had three individual error-free hitting efforts: Erin Smith (8-0-26—320), Maddie Pruden (4-0-16—250), and Allison Wilks (3-0-4—750).
-- That was the fourth .300-plus hitting night of the year for the Falcons.
-- Thanks in part to their solid blocking and 59 digs (with four players in double digits), SPU limited Northwest Nazarene to just 057 hitting (28-21-123). The Nighthawks hit .071 in the first set, minus-029 in the second and .106 in the third. It's the second time the Falcons have kept a team below .100. (Colorado Mines hit ;083 in a 3-0 SPU sweep on Sept. 9).
-- Along with her 16 kills, Sarah Brachvogel made it a double-double with 10 digs. That was her fifth of the season and of her career.
-- Also double-doubling were both setters: junior Emily Tulino with 20 assists / 10 digs, and freshman Sophia Chambers with 11 assists and 16 digs.
-- Joining them in the double-digit dig department was junior libero Abigail Cunningham with 11.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons and Central Washington will serve it up at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday in Brougham Pavilion.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Northwest Nazarene 0
 
Game scores – 25-20, 25-17, 25-17.
 
Service aces – NNU 8 (Moore 3), SPU 4 (Brachvogel 2).
Kills – NNU 28 (Koch 11), SPU 43 (Brachvogel 16).
Assists – NNU 25 (Moore 14), SPU 38 (Tulino 20, Chambers 11).
Digs – NNU 48 (McMahon 17), SPU 59 (Chambers 16, Cunningham 11, Brachvogel 10, Tulino 10).
Block assists / solo – NNU 4 / 0 solo (Cheney 2 / 0 solo), SPU 20 / 3 solo (Wilks 5 / 1 solo, Hair 5 / 1 solo, Pruden 5 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – NNU 28-21-123—057 (Koch 11-4-29—241), SPU 43-9-102—333 (Brachvogel 16-3-29—448).
Attendance – 224.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 9-2, 3-0 GNAC.  Northwest Nazarene 5-6, 1-2 GNAC).
 
Next match
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.