THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 26              Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 6;00 p.m. PDT
                                                Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Sept. 28               Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 1:00 p.m.
                                                Nicholson Arena / Ellensburg, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – They have their first win. And now, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are finally down to their last two September volleyball road matches.
 
SPU heads into the second week of its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule by visiting Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington this week. The Falcons and Nighthawks serve it up on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho.
 
After flying back home on Friday, they'll get into the vans on Saturday morning for a drive to Ellensburg and a showdown with the Wildcats. That one inside Nicholson Arena gets gong at 1:00 p.m.

That will be the 11th and final match on a September schedule that was played entirely out of town.
 
Seattle Pacific (1-8, 1-0 GNAC) started conference play last Saturday with a 3-1 win against a much-improved Montana State Billings team, 25-12, 20-25, 25-12, 25-22. That has the Falcons in third place behind conference co-leaders CWU (4-4, 2-0) and Simon Fraser (6-3, 2-0).
 
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 for this weeks' matches are at the top of this story.
 
THOSE MILES WENT FLYIN' BY
When their flight from Idaho arrives back at Sea-Tac Airport on Friday, the Falcons won't have to set foot on an airplane again for another whole month – and that'll be fine with them.
 
During their September road trips, the logged approximately 6,500 air miles round trip: 1,158 to Ontario (Calif.) for the Yotes Classic Showcase in San Bernardino, 1,024 to Denver for the Colorado Premier Challenge, 664 to Billings for last weekend's GNAC opener, and 399 to Boise for Thursday's match at Northwest Nazarene.
 
On Saturday, they'll tack on another 230 round-trip miles, albeit on the highway as they go to and from Ellensburg to tangle with Central Washington.

 



SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--The Falcons have gone back-and-forth with Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, having a slight edge at 12-10. Of those t0 losses, five of them were in a deciding fifth set.
-- In last year's 3-0 sweep at home, SPU won its 100th all-time set against the Nighthawks. It was the last GNAC opponent against whom the Falcons hadn't yet won 100 sets. They now have a 104-84 all-time advantage.
-- Central Washington and SPU were almost dead even in the GNAC preseason coaches poll. The Wildcats had 91 points with two of the 10 first-place votes, and the Falcons had 90 points with six first-place votes.
-- Once again, Seattle Pacific is the top blocking team in the GNAC, averaging 2.43 per set (No. 28 in D2). Alaska Fairbanks is next at 2.29.
 

-- As expected, at the forefront of that effort is fifth-year middle Hannah Hair. She is the conference leader at 1.37 blocks per set (No. 16 nationally). Fellow fifth-year middle Allison Wilks is tied for seventh at 0.94, same as Central Washington star Emma Daoud-Hebert.
-- In fact, the Falcons have four of the GNAC's top 20 blockers. Fifth-year opposite Erin Smith is tied for No. 14 at 0.86 per set, and sophomore opposite Coco Barnett is 18th at 0.83.
-- Also on the defensive side of things, the Falcons are No. 4 in the conference for lowest opponent's hitting percentage at .181. Simon Fraser is the leader at .136.
--Continuing with that theme, sophomore libero Christina Lopez ranks No. 4 in digs at 4.39 per set.
--Saturday's contest against Central will feature three of the GNAC's top 10 hitters. Daoud-Hebert of the Wildcats is No. 1 at .465, while Hair (.308) and Wilks (.302) are 6-7.
--During preseason play, SPU and Central were ranked with the second- and third-toughest schedules in all of Division II on the masseyratings.com Website. Heading into this week, the Falcons are now ranked as having the toughest schedule in the country, with Central at No. 5. Western Washington is No. 2.
-- Coach Jason Rhine is 3-1 all-time against Northwest Nazarene and 4-0 against Central Washington.
 
SCOUTING THE NORTHWEST NAZARENE NIGHTHAWKS: 3-7, 0-2 GNAC (tie 9th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 27-20.  Current series streak: SPU won 2.  Last time: SPU 3, NNU 1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 25-16; Oct. 21, 2023 at Nampa, Idaho).  Last NNU series win: NNU 3, SPU 1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-20, 25-23; Oct. 22, 2022 at Seattle).  Nighthawks on the Web.
Nighthawks in a nutshell: NNU was right in the thick of its first two GNAC contests last week, dropping 3-2 decisions at Saint Martin's and at Western Oregon. The Nighthawks were up 2-1 I sets in Lacey and had a 12-7 lead in Set 5 before the Saints finished on an 8-1 run. They won the first two sets in Monmouth before the Wolves stormed back. Altogether, five of their last six matches have gone to a fifth (winning two, losing three). Redshirt freshman 6-foot outside hitter Lily Kinloch already has 100 kills, averaging 2.56 per set. Maren Macado, a senior 5-10 outside, is close behind with 96. She also has dropped in a team-leading 15 service aces and has a team-high 151 digs. Senior 5-11 opposite Maya Koch and redshirt sophomore 6-foot middle blocker Hailey Cheney are getting the job done on the block with 26 each.
 
SCOUTING THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDCATS: 4-4, 2-0 GNAC (tie 1st)
All-time series: SPU leads, 44-42.  Current series streak: SPU won 9.  Last time: SPU 3, CWU 2 (25-14, 14-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7; Oct. 19, 2023 at Ellensburg).  Last CWU series win: CWU 3, SPU 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-12; Sept 26, 2019 at Ellensburg).  Wildcats on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: Central Washington wound up preseason play with a home tournament featuring three of the leading teams from the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Wildcats went five sets with all three of them, handing Cal Poly Pomona its first (and so far, only) loss of the season, but falling just short against Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State San Bernardino. Last week, they swept Western Oregon (25-22, 26-14 and 25-21) and Saint Martin's (25-18, 25-18, 25-23). Central is loaded with talent and experience. Fifth-year 6-foot middle blocker Emma Daoud-Hebert leads the GNAC in hitting at a stunning .465 with 69 kills and just nine errors on 12 attacks. Corinne Westby is just outside the top 10 at .277. Sophomore 6-foot outside hitter Ellie Marble has 95 kills (2.88), and fifth-year 6-foot outside Marianne Payne is right behind with 92. Daoud-Hebert and senior 6-2 middle Morgan Halady have 31blocks each (0.94). Daoud-Hebert was No. 2 in D2 in blocks per set behind SPU's Hannah Hair last year. Fifth-year libero Hannah Stires has 115 digs, setting the GNAC pace at 5.48 per set.
 
LAKERS-CELTICS ... SEAHAWKS-49ERS ... CUBS-CARDS ... FALCONS-WILDCATS
The basketball, football and baseball rivalries might be more widely known. But the SPU-Central Washington volleyball match-up is every bit as intense – and every bit as close.
 
Heading into Saturday's contest in Ellensburg, the Falcons lead the all-time series, 44-42, thanks to a series-record nine-match winning streak. Prior to that, it was the Wildcats who were dominating, having won 12 of 14, including seven straight from 2013-16.
 
The teams have been playing since the SPU program started in 1986. Through those first 38 seasons and 86 matches, the sets between them are dead even at 162-162. Of those 86 matches, 24 of them – including the last four in a row – have gone to a decisive fifth set, with SPU owning a 14-10 advantage.
 
In of those last four consecutive five-setters, the teams played a total of 799 points. Central won 400, SPU won 399.
 
Close enough for you?
 
FIVE TIMES 500
Last Saturday in Billings, fifth-year middle blocker Allison Wilks put the 500th kill of her career onto the other side of the net. She has 501 as the Falcons prepare for this week's two matches.
 

But that particular club soon could have a couple more members. Fifth-year outside hitter Sydney Perry come in with 491, so is well within reach to get there either Thursday in Nampa or Saturday in Ellensburg. Fifth-year opposite Erin Smith has 480 kills. Sophomore setter Sophia Chambers is approaching her own 500 milestone, albeit in a different category. She currently has 487 career assists.
 
At the Colorado Premier Challenge on Sept. 13-14, fifth-year middle Hannah Hair recorded her 500th career block. She is up to 519.
 
COACH JASON RHINE SAYS …
(On getting the first win)
"It's fun for them. They have been battling a lot and been in some close matches. It obviously feels different when you win. You can tell it's a relief and it was something that was nice."
 
 

(On some of the individual standouts)
"Alli (Wilks) did a great job of scoring and also had some big serving runs. Sydney (Perry) definitely was finding some transition kills and some kills on the right side. And Hannah (Hair) was her normal self with two blocks per set."
 
(On this week's matches)
"I was able to watch a little bit of the NNU and Central matches (last week), and they're both doing some good things. Central has most of the pieces back from last year, and we know that's going to be tough. NNU is always a tough place to get out to and play well. We're excited for the challenge."
 
FALCON REPLAY
Sydney Perry had 10 kills, Allison Wilks added nine on .389 hitting, and Hannah Hair had eight blocks as Seattle Pacific opened GNAC play last Saturday with a 3-1 victory at Montana State Billings, 25-12, 20-25, 25-12, 25-22.
 
MARCH TO A MILESTONE
In the making
200th dig         Zoe Shuckhart (has 191)
300th dig         Sarah Brachvogel (has 293)
400th dig         Christina Lopez (has 348)
500th assist      Sophia Chambers (has 487)
500th kill        Sydney Perry (has 491)
                  Erin Smith (has 480)
600th kill        Sarah Brachvogel (has 564)
1,000th dig       Abigail Cunningham (has 846)
2,000th assist    Emily Tulino (has 1,778)
 
Made last week
500th kill        Allison Wilks (has 501)
 
AROUND THE WEST
Simon Fraser and Central Washington not only started their GNAC schedules at 2-0, each team swept both of its matches – the Red Leafs at home against Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks, the Wildcats on the road at Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. Simon hit a stunning .430 (48-3-93) against UAA. On Thursday, Fairbanks, which had never won in 27 previous visits to Western Washington's Carver Gymnasium, pulling out a 3-2 decision. WWU and Simon Fraser clash on Friday in Bellingham.
 
Nationally-ranked squads Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino squared off on the opening night of the California Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule in Pomona. Bernardino took the first set before Pomona got going to win, 24-26, 25-12, 25-16, 25-18. Stanislaus State also won its two matches to join Pomona atop the standings at 2-0. Stanislaus is 9-1 overall, with Pomona at 8-1. CPP visits defending conference and national champion Cal State Los Angeles (6-3, 1-1 CCAA) on Saturday.
 
A total of five Pacific West Conference teams all went 2-0. Point Loma Nazarene (8-0) remains the West Region's only undefeated team. Chaminade (9-3 overall), Azusa Pacific (6-3), Fresno Pacific (6-3) and Academy of Art (3-7) also won their first two conference contests. Point Loma visits Fresno on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
Home at last! That's where the Falcons finally will be next week when they welcome the Alaska schools to Brougham Pavilion. Fairbanks comes in on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7:00 p.m., followed by Anchorage on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                    GNAC             Overall
Simon Fraser             2-0        6-3
Central Washington       2-0        4-4
Seattle Pacific          1-0        1-8
Western Oregon           1-1        8-2
Alaska Fairbanks         1-1        9-3
Saint Martin's           1-1        3-7
Western Washington       1-1        2-6
Montana State Billings   0-1        6-4
Alaska Anchorage         0-2        6-6
Northwest Nazarene       0-2        3-7
 

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