NAMPA, Idaho – The Seattle Pacific University women's volleyball team opened its stay at the Hampton Inn Nighthawks Classic with matches against Colorado Mines and Westminster on Thursday. The Falcons hung tough with the Orediggers but fell 3-1 (22-25, 25-12, 29-27, 25-19) before dropping their match against the Griffins 3-1 (25-22, 14-25, 25-17, 25-14).
AGAINST THE OREDIGGERS
FROM THE COACH
"I thought both teams came out a little tight, but we did a good job of pulling out a close first set," head coach
Jason Rhine said. "The rest of the match was a little up and down, and I think as a group we need to learn and grow from the match and handle adversity a little more evenly in the future. It's a quick turnaround to Westminster this afternoon, so we need to shift our focus quickly and be ready for that match."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The opening set between the Falcons and Orediggers featured two teams trading points early on.
- The set was tied at 10 when the Falcons erupted for a 9-5 run to give SPU a 19-15 lead.
- The Orediggers fought back into the match, but the Falcons used a short 4-2 run to close out the set 25-22.
- Megan Omlid led the Falcons with three kills during the final stretch of the first set.
- The Falcons and Orediggers were tied at six in the second set, when CSM used a 19-6 run to take set 25-12.
- SPU struggled offensively, hitting -.077 in the second set.
- The third set featured more back-and-forth point swapping between the two teams.
- Ultimately, the Falcons had two chances at set point, but the Orediggers got the clutch kills they needed to stay in it.
- A service error tied the match at 27, before CSM took the third set 29-27.
- The Falcons fell behind 12-5 in the fourth set before creating a run to get back into it.
- SPU went on a 12-7 run, led by three kills from Greff, to cut the CSM lead to three points.
- The Orediggers went on to take the fourth set 25-19, and the match 3-1.
FROM THE BOX SCORE
- Omlid recorded a double-double for the Falcons, with a game-high 19 kills and 14 digs.
- Sophia Chambers finished with a double-double as well, racking up 29 assists and 14 digs.
- Greff joined Omlid with double-digit kills, finishing the match with 11.
- As a team, the Falcons hit .104 for the match.
- Chistina Lopez led the Falcons with 23 digs.
- Audra Rose had four total blocks, three of which were assisted.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Orediggers entered the weekend receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association National Poll.
- Omlid set a new career-high in kills with 19 against the Orediggers.
- Omlid has had double-digit kills in four of her first five matches with the Falcons.
- Omlid also set a new career-high with 14 digs against the Orediggers.
AGAINST THE GRIFFINS
FROM THE COACH
"Credit to Westminster for playing hard and executing well," Rhine said. "There were some crazy long rallies, especially in the second set, and a lot of good defense on both sides. The difference this time around seemed to come down to more aggressive serving from Westminster and better passing from them as well. They were able to find their middles and hit at a much higher percentage this time around."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons fell behind the Griffins 15-9 to open the first set.
- Later in the set, the Falcons used a 7-2 run to cut the lead to one point.
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- Greff led the Falcons with two kills during that run.
- The Griffins took the opening set 25-22.
- SPU used an 11-6 run to open the second set.
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- The Falcons closed out the set with a 10-0 run to take it 25-14.
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- Omlid led the Falcons with three kills, while McCandless had two during the set-sealing stretch.
- The Falcons and Griffins traded runs until the third set was tied at 11.
- The Griffins used an 8-0 to create separation from the Falcons and went on to take the set 25-17.
- WC-UT took the final set 25-14 and the match 3-1.
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- The Falcons hit .063 in the final set against the Griffins.
FROM THE BOX SCORE
- Omlid recorded a double-double for the Falcons, with a team-high 10 kills and 11 digs.
- McCandless had nine kills on a .318 hitting percentage.
- Chambers led the Falcons with 31 assists.
- Lopez led SPU with 22 digs, while Makayla Hickman had 21 digs.
- Madeline Eggerth had 18 digs for the Falcons.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Falcons and the Griffins played each other for the second time in five days.
- McCandless was a kill away from matching her career best of 10, set against Westminster last Saturday.
- Eggerth set a career-high with 18 digs against the Griffins.
UP NEXT
The Falcons play their third game of the Hampton Inn Nighthawks Classic on Friday against Westmont at 1:00 p.m.
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