NAMPA, Idaho – Down two sets to none, down by three points late in Set 3, the Seattle Pacific Falcons fought their way back in and found a way to a deciding fifth set.
 
The just weren't able to find the final three points they needed in Thursday night's volleyball match at Northwest Nazarene.
 
Sydney Perry slammed a career-high 19 kills (including the 500th of her career), Hannah Hair had 11 along with eight blocks, but SPU's comeback ultimately fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Nighthawks.
 
Scores of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest in the Johnson Sports Center were 26-24, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12.
 
 

Freshman outside hitter Eva LaRochelle added a career-high 10 kills for the Falcons (1-9, 1-1 GNAC), and Allison Wilks had nine, along with five blocks. Both SPU setters double-doubled: 38 assists and 14 digs for senior Emily Tulino; 13 assists (the last of which was her career 500th) and 13 digs for sophomore Sophia Chambers.
 
"We thought we really started to settle down and played some good volleyball in Sets 3 to 5, and at times in Sets 1 and 2 as well," head coach Jason Rhine said. "But hats off to NNU – they really stepped up and set fire. At times, it seemed like we were able to put a couple points together and put some pressure on them, and they came up with big kills … They took some big shots at home and it just came down to a couple points."
 
Seattle Pacific had an 8-7 lead at the changeover in Set 5, thanks to a reversed call that put a point on its side of the board, turning the score around in its favor. But Northwest Nazarene (4-7, 1-2 GNAC) ran off the next five points for a 12-8 advantage – a tough margin to overcome in the first-to-15 abbreviated set.
 
But the Falcons weren't done yet. Twice, they got back within one: A Perry kill, an Emily Tulino service ace, and a combined block by Wilks and Coco Barnett cut it to 12-11 NNU made it 13-11, then Coco Barnett nailed a crosscourt kill for 13-12.
 
A Nighthawks kill gave them match point at 14-12, and they converted it with a block on the next point.
 
 

"There were some things we did really well," Rhine said. "We hit a good percentage in the first set (.303), and there were times when it looked like things were going our way. But there were a couple of stops and they found some big serves on us (13 aces). Every time we went on a little run, they were able to have a run back at us."
 
SPU had opportunities to get either of the first two sets. In the opener, the Falcons were up 14-11 midway through, and 21-20 late. Down 24-22, they stayed alive on a Barnett kill and an easy dunk put-away by Hair on an overpassed service return. But NNU answered with a kill and a service ace to take the set.
 
A 7-0 run took Seattle Pacific from 15-12 down to 19-15 ahead in Set 2. The lead was still 22-20 when the Nighthawks put three straight on the board. The Falcons tied it one more time on a kill down the line by Barnett before Northwest Nazarene took the final two points.
 
The Nighthawks then went from 13-9 down to 19-16 up in the third set. They were ahead 21-19 and just four points away from clinching it. SPU than tallied the next six to stay in business: a kill by Hair, two straight kills by Perry, another kill by Hair, a tip by Perry, and a combined block by Hair and Tulino.
 
Seattle Pacific led for most of Set 4, twice by as many as six points. NNU had closed within four at 23-19. But a Barnett kill and a Nighthawks attack error forced the fifth.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU had its best hitting night of the season, finishing at .211 (66 kills-30 errors-171 attacks). That included .303 in the first set (15-5-33) .261 in the third (18-6-46) and .211 in the fourth (13-5-38). But the Falcons hit just .048 in the fifth (8-7-21).
-- The 66 kills were 10 more than their previous season high of 56, and the 171 attacks was 21 more. Both of those were from the Sept 14 match against Missouri-St. Louis at the Colorado Premier Challenge.
 

-- Perry's 19 kills was six more than her previous high of 13, set last Nov. 4 at Western Washington. She now has 510. Her 53 attacks also was a career high. Her previous one was 36, which she had twice, most recently on Sept. 14 against Missouri-St. Louis. Perry finished with a .245 hitting mark on Thursday (19-6-53). "We ran her a lot, she took a lot of swings and came up with a couple big blocks and played a good match," Rhine said. "She came out and was really aggressive and was creative in her attacking, and that was great to see."
-- LaRochelle's 10 kills was her first college match in double digits, topping her previous high of seven. She had that many twice, most recently last Saturday at Montana State Billings.
-- While the Falcons had 14 more kills than Northwest Nazarene (66-52), the Nighthawks had a considerable advantage in service aces (13-7) and a slight edge in blocking (16.0-13.0).
-- Hair finished with eight blocks (one solo), tying her season high.
-- In addition to her assist-dig double-double, Tulino had a career-high three kills, and hit .600 with no errors on five attacks.
-- The 81 digs for the Falcons were easily a season high, topping the 65 they had in the opener at Cal State San Bernardino. Sophmore libero Christina Lopez led the way with 20.
-- Seattle Pacific is now 12-11 all-time in Nampa –and six of the losses have been in a fifth set.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons head to Ellensburg on Saturday to face Central Washington (5-4, 3-0 GNAC) at 1:00 p.m. in Nicholson Arena. The Wildcats swept Montana State Billings on Thursday, 3-0.
 
The last four matches between SPU and Central have gone to five sets, with the Falcons winning all of them.
 
"We have a lot of respect for what their program is and what they keep doing," Rhine said. "It's always a tough place to get a win. But we always enjoy playing them and  it'll be a tough match-up.
 

NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Northwest Nazarene 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Set scores – 26-24, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12.
 
Service aces – SPU 7 (Chambers 13), NNU 13 (Machado 7).
Kills – SPU 66 (Perry 19, Hair 11, LaRochelle 10), NNU 52 (Black 12).
Assists – SPU 61 (Tulino 38, Chambers 13), NNU 49 (Moore 22).
Digs – SPU 81 (Lopez 20, Tulino 14, Chambers 13), NNU 69 (Machado 16).
Block assists / solo – SPU 20 / 3 solo (Hair 7 / 1 solo), NNU 28 / 2 solo (Cheney 8 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 66-30-171—211 (Tulino 3-0-5—600, Hair 11-2-24—375), NNU 52-29-177—130 (Smith 5-1-15—267).
Attendance – 342.
 

Records
Seattle Pacific 1-9, 1-1 GNAC.
Northwest Nazarene 4-7, 1-2 GNAC.
 

Next match
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
Nicholson Arena / Ellensburg, Wash.


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