THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 14                Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 16                Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, 1:00 p.m.
                                                New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – During a season when they will have traveled more than 10,000 miles to play volleyball, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are down to the final 600.
 
SPU will take its final two road trips of 2024 this week when they play Saint Martin's in Lacey on Thursday and Western Oregon in Monmouth on Saturday.
 
First serve against the Saints is set for 7:00 p.m. The match at WOU starts at 1:00 p.m.
 
The Falcons (7-16, 7-8 GNAC) came up with a split in a pair of home contests last week, sweeping first-place Simon Fraser on Thursday, 3-0, then going wire-to-wire with Western Washington on Saturday before falling short, 3-2.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
This week's matches and all remaining GNAC contests will have free live Webcasts on YouTube and free live stats. The appropriate links are at the top of this story.
 
THE ULTIMATE ROAD WARRIORS
Once this week's schedule is complete, the Falcons will have played 25 matches, with 17 of those out of town.
 
It started in Ontario, California, then went to Denver, then to Billings, Boise, and Ellensburg – and that was just in September, adding up to more than 6,300 miles.
 
October was much closer to home, with six of that month's nine matches in Brougham Pavilion.
 
By the time they get back from Monmouth on Saturday evening – a trek of about 475 miles – SPU players and coaches will have logged nearly 10,600 miles.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
- -SPU is looking for its first series sweeps of the season, having defeated Saint Martin's 3-1 and Western Oregon 3-2 last month in Seattle.
-- The Falcons have split four series (Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene, Simon Fraser, and Western Washington). They were swept by both Alaska schools.
-- Senior setter Emily Tulino hit the 2,000-assist milestone in the WOU match on Oct. 17. She had a then-career high 45 that night, putting her at 2,021.
-- Since then, she hasn't stopped, having recorded another 289 to push her total to 2,310.
-- The last two sets between SPU and Saint Martin's on Oct. 19 were the ultimate back-and-forth battle. Up 2 sets to 0, the Falcons had six tries at match point in the third set: 24-23, 26-25, 28-27, 29-28, 30-29, and 31-30. The Saints had set point opportunities at 25-24 and 27-26. Then at 32-32, Saint Martin's tallied two in a row to take the set.
-- That 66-point set was Seattle Pacific's longest of the season and is one of eight sets to have gone beyond 25 points.
-- In the fourth set, Seattle Pacific was down 23-21, got three in a row to earn their seventh try at match point, 24-23, and converted that one on a kill by freshman outside hitter Eva LaRochelle.
-- At one point early in the season, the Falcons weren't averaging 10 kills per set. Now they're up to 11.64 and are No. 7 in the GNAC.
 

-- Hannah Hair is the Division II national leader for both total blocks (147) and blocks per set (1.60). Closest to her for total blocks is Bella Ray of Lewis (Illinois) with 135. Closest in blocks per set is Jada Suguturaga of Augusta (Georgia) at 1.48.
-- SPU had a season-high 32 total blocks last Saturday against Western Washington. That topped the previous high of 31 against Western Oregon on Oct. 17.
-- That first match against the Wolves was one of six in which the Falcons have gone the maximum five sets. They won that one and are 2-4 overall in such matches.
-- Allison Wilks is up to No. 2 on the GNAC hitting list at .360. Hannah Hair is No. 5 at .313. Except for an off-night at Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 31 (.000), Wilks has hit between .318 and .706 in nine of the last 10 matches. Her percentage in those 10 is .448 (93 kills-16 errors-172 attacks).
-- Coach Jason Rhine in undefeated against both Saint Martin's and Western Oregon, with a 5-0 record vs. both teams.

SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 5-17,3-11 GNAC (9th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 66-6.  Current series streak: SPU won 8.  Last time: SPU 3, STM1 (25-13,25-19; 32-24, 25-23; Oct. 19, 2024 at Seattle). Last STM series win: STM 3, SPU 2 (17-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-12; March 2, 2021 at Lacey).  Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's is still looking to give interim head coach Tracie Lindeblom her first win after when after she was named to her position on Oct. 22 to take over the program for the rest of the season. The past two weeks have been a tough stretch, as the Saints have been swept in four straight matches. Junior 5-foot-11 outside hitter Emmy Hansen and sophomore 5-10 outside Emily Garten both topped the season 200-kill mark last week, as Hansen now has 207 and Garten has 204. While they are the biggest threats on offense, they aren't the only ones. Senior 6-1 middle blocker Jennifer Soha hit an error-free .600 against SPU last month (12 kills on 20 attacks), and junior 5-9 opposite Kinglsey Mason hit .345 (11-4-20).
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 14-9, 6-8 GNAC (7th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 41-19.  Current series streak: SPU won 5. Last time: SPU 3, WOU 2 (25-14, 22-25, 25-19,19-25, 15-7; Oct. 17, 2024 at Seattle).  Last WOU series win: WOU 3, SPU 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-22; Oct. 28, 2021 at Monmouth, Ore.).  Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: Western Oregon comes in off a 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin's last Thursday to snap a three-match losing streak. Senior 5-foot-10 outside hitter Madison Hornback and freshman 5-9 outside Maela Honma get the job done at the net for the Wolves. Hornback has 285 kills, a 3.13 per-set average that ranks No. 4 in the GNAC, and she hits .204. Honma has 237 kills, a 2.52 average and hits .222. She also has 40 service aces. Both went for double-doubles in Seattle last month: 16 kills / 11 digs for Homna, and 11 kills / 17 digs for Hornback. When It comes to defense, the Wolves turn to junior 6-1 middle blocker Claire Asciutto and sophomore 6-foot middle Finley Buman. Asciutto has 76 total blocks with 10 solos. Buman is with 70 total, and has six solos.
 

A GREAT 8 SET FOR SENIOR DAY
A group of eight players will be honor prior to their final match in SPU colors next Saturday, Nov. 23 when Montana State Billings is in Brougham Pavilion to wrap up the season.
 
Of those eight, half a dozen are fifth-year Falcons who came back for an extra year of eligibility by he NCAA because of the pandemic shutdown in the fall of 2020. That includes (photo back row, L-R) Allison Wilks, Hannah Hair, Sydney Perry, Erin Smith and Sarah Brachvogel and (front, 22) Zoe Shuckhart.
 
Rounding out the honorees are true seniors Emily Tulino (front, 15) and Abigail Cunningham (front, 1)..
 
999 DOWN, 1 TO GO
At some point on Thursday night – possibly in the first set, maybe later – either Hannah Hair or Allison Wilks will get her hands on a block. Maybe it will be a solo. Maybe it will be with a teammate and go as a block assist.
 
Whoever gets will thereby account for the 1,000th career block between the two of them. Heading into Thursday, they have 999.
 
Hair comes into the week with 618 career blocks. On Nov. 2 in Fairbanks, she recorded her 598th, giving her the GNAC career record. Last Saturday against Western Washington, she had a career-high 14 (four solos), part of a 20-block week.
 
Wilks has 381 blocks on her career stat sheet. She has 90 of those this fall and is just seven away from her single-season high of 97, set in 2022.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DEIGHTS
 

Emily Tulino had another pair of assist / dig double-doubles last week. That gave her 10 in the last 11 matches, pushing her season total to 12 and her career mark to 36. While there is no school record for double-doubles, Symone Tran – also a setter and owner of the SPU record for career assists – had 61 in her four years.
 
Freshman outside Eva LaRochelle recorded her third of the season and of her career on Saturday against Western Washington with 11 kills and 13 digs.

Even Hannah Hair got in on it with her second of the season and fifth of her career. All of hers have been kill / block. This latest one in the WWU match was 10 kills and 14 blocks.
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Sydney Perry had 11 kills, Hannah Hair had nine – including her career 900th – to go along with six more blocks – including her career 600th – and SPU swept aside Simon Fraser last Thursday, 3-0. Scores were 25-23, 25-16, 25-15.
-- Hannah Hair had a career-high 14 blocks to go along with 10 kills, Allison Wilks slammed 14 kills for Seattle Pacific, but Western Washington went on a 10-0 scoring run in the fifth set and closed out a 3-2 volleyball victory on Saturday. Scores were 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 20-25, 15-7.
 
MARCH TO A MILESTONE
In the making
300th dig      Allison Wilks (has 294)
400th block    Allison Wilks (has 381)
600th assist   Sarah Chambers (has 532)
1,000th dig    Abigail Cunningham (has 931)
 
Made last week
900th kill     Hannah Hair (has 915)
 
AROUND THE WEST
The GNAC title is still up for grabs between Simon Fraser and Central Washington, both of whom are now 12-2 after last week when the Red Leafs had to settle for a split at Seattle Pacific (loss) and Montana State Billings (win) while Central swept Alaska Anchorage, then came from 13-9 behind in the fifth to beat Alaska Fairbanks. This week could go a long way toward settling it, as the Wildcats (14-6 overall) visit Western Washington (11-9, 12-4) on Thursday, and Simon Fraser (16-5 overall) on Saturday.
 
Cal Poly Pomona is one win away from clinching the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship. The Broncos (22-1, 16-0) have won their last 18 in a row and are two games ahead of second-place San Francisco State (20-4, 14-2). Those two wrap up the regular season against each other on Saturday in San Francisco. Pomona visits Cal State San Bernardino (14-9, 10-6 CCAA) on Thursday.
 
This is the week the Pacific West Conference has been waiting for. Co-leaders Chaminade (22-4, 15-0), winner of 12 straight, and Point Loma Nazarene (21-0, 15-0) finally square off on Friday in San Diego. But first, both of them have Wednesday matches to deal with, as Chaminade visits Azusa Pacific (13-9, 9-6) while Point Loma is home against Hawaii Hilo (15-12, 10-7). The Pac West season extends into next week, so both teams will have two more matches to go.
 
UP NEXT
The 2024 season winds up next Saturday in Brougham Pavilion when Montana State Billings comes to town. It will be Senior Day in honor of the eight Falcons who will be moving on. The first serve is set for approximately 2:05 p.m. after the Senior Day ceremony.
 

GNAC STANDINGS
                                                       GNAC        Overall
Simon Fraser              12-2     16-5
Central Washington        12-2     14-6
Western Washington        10-4     11-9
Alaska Fairbanks          10-5     16-7
Alaska Anchorage           8-7     14-11
Seattle Pacific            7-8      7-16
Western Oregon             6-8     14-9
Northwest Nazarene         4-10     7-15
Saint Martin's             3-11     5-17
Montana State Billings     0-15     7-18
 

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