SEATTLE – Sometimes, the last point you need is the hardest  point to get.
 
It was for the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
 
Looking to force a fifth and deciding set in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match against Alaska Anchorage, SPU had four tries at it, only to see the Seawolves fend off all of them. UAA then came up with back-to-back service aces and closed out a 3-1 victory in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Scores were 25-22,18-25, 25-23, 27-25.
 
 

Fifth-year opposite Erin Smith put down 12 kills for the Falcons (1-12, 1-4 GNAC), and junior outside hitter Anna Pelluer came through with double career highs of nine kills and 23 digs. Smith's dozen kills included the 500th of her career. Senior setter Emily Tulino had a double-double of 23 assists and 15 digs.
 
But in a match with 27 ties (11 of those in Set 4) and 13 lead changes (four in the final set), the last burst of momentum went Anchorage's way.
 
"I thought our team responded really to Thursday (a 3-0 loss to Alaska Fairbanks)," head coach Jason Rhine said. "We had a really good practice on Friday, and I thought we just brought really fresh energy and intensity to this match. We fought hard on defense and had some really extended rallies. I thought that showed the heart that we were playing with today, and that was fun to see."

Down 21-19 in the fourth, Seattle Pacific went on a 5-0 run. Smith started it with a kill for sideout, giving the serve to Allison Wilks. An Anchorage tip went just wide to tie it at 21-21, then Wilks delivered a service ace for 22-21. Hannah Hair had a solo block (her second of the day), then Smith had a kill that deflected off a Seawolves player for a 24-21 lead.
 
Anchorage (9-7, 3-3 GNAC) took its final timeout, then put the next three points on the board with a kill and two SPU attack errors to tie it at 24-24. A hard attack by Smith was dug way wide, giving the Falcons a 25-24 lead.
 
But UAA's Tia Allen accounted for the final three points: a kill for 25-25, an ace that kissed the baseline, and a final ace that dropped in on match point.
 
"I thought we had them," Rhine said. "We were in a good spot at the end of the set. It happens – they put a couple plays together right in a row."
 
The Falcons got off to a slow start and were down 19-10 in the opening set. But they came to life with a 7-0 run and eventually came as close as one point at 23-22 before the Seawolves closed it out.
 
A 6-0 surge in the middle of Set 2 took SPU from down 11-10 to up 16-11 as sophomore Christina Lopez had two aces and Wilks had two slam-dunk put-aways on overpassed service returns.
 
Seattle Pacific had leads of 13-9 and 17-15 in Set 3. The Seawolves eventually were up 20-17 and 23-21. SPU climbed back into a 23-23 tie but wasn't able to forge back in front.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Erin Smith's 12 kills were a season high. Her previous high was nine, getting that many in two matches.
-- Emily Tulino's 23 assists put her at 1,898 for her career.
-- SPU had three more kills than the Seawolves, 51-48. The Falcons hit .163 for the day (51 kills-24 errors-166 attacks), including .344 in the second set (14-3-32).
-- While Hannah Hair had two solo blocks, so did Allison Wilks.
-- Chistina Lopez had 19 digs, pushing her past 400 for her career. She now has 410.
-- Lopez tied her career high with four service aces.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons are on the road next week, visiting Western Washington in Bellingham on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Alaska Anchorage 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Set scores – 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 27-25.
 
Service aces – UAA 10 (Galloway 4), SPU 8 (Lopez 4).
Kills – UAA 48 (Allen 12, Birtcil 12), SPU w51 (Smith 12).
Assists – UAA 45 (Osborne 22), SPU 45 (Tulino 23, Chambers 15).
Digs – UAA 85 (Birtcil 21), SPU 89 (Pelluer 23, Lopez 19, Tulino 15).
Block assists / solo – UAA 18 / 1 solo (Burney 5 / 0 solo, Tuchardt 4 / 1 solo), SPU 6 / 5 solo (Wilks 2 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – UAA 48-21-172—157 (Tuchardt 11-1-27—370), SPU 51-24-166—163 (Hair 6-0-21—286).
Attendance – 105.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 1-12, 1-4 GNAC.
Alaska Anchorage 9-7, 3-3 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington


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