Seattle Pacific University Athletics

HONOLULU – They started their week with a five-setter and finished it with a sweep.
 
Both felt equally satisfying to the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
Megan Omlid had 14 kills, the last of which set up a second opportunity at match point, and Amaya Evans converted that chance, capping a come-from-behind effort in the third set as SPU polished off a 3-0 victory against Hawaii Pacific on the final day of the Hawaii Challenge volleyball tournament.
 
Scores in HPU's Shark Tank on Saturday afternoon were 25-10, 25-15, 28-26.
 
That gave the Falcons (5-3) three victories in four matches to conclude their final preseason tournament. They opened with a 3-2 win against Emmanuel on Thursday, beat Hawaii Hilo by a 3-1 margin on Friday before dropping a 3-1 decision to Chaminade, then took down the Sharks.
 
FROM COACH JASON RHINE
"It was really hot, kind of humid inside, and the floor was a little slippery, so we were a little hesitant starting out," head coach Jason Rhine said. "But the team figured out a way to stay aggressive and deal with different lineups that the other team was trying out.

"We had talked about serving aggressively, and I thought we did a good job from the start putting some pressure on them from the service line and getting some aces."
 
Rhine credited that aspect of the game with helping the Falcons come back from five points down late in the third set.
 
"Hawaii Pacific was able to put together some kills in a row and some sideouts multiple times that allowed the score to creep away a little," he said. "But our team did a good job of having some servers step up at the end and get some transition."
 
Rhine was delighted to come out of the tournament with a 3-1 record against NCAA West Region teams while also getting to enjoy some of the pluses that come with a trip to Hawaii..
 
"We were excited to come away with three wins against some good teams," he said. "I felt like we were able to put some solid performances together and compete hard every match. It was a fun way to come here and experience a lot of the fun stuff, but also to minimize those distractions and play some good volleyball."

HOW IT HAPPENED
-- The third set was the closest of the day, and the Falcons trailed for a good portion of it.
-- SPU was down 21-16 when it climbed back into a 21-all tie with five straight points: back-to-back Sharks attack errors, a service ace by Christina Lopez, a kill by Audra Rose, and another HPU attack error.
-- Hawaii Pacific subsequently went back on top 22-21, 23-22, and 24-23.
-- Omlid, who was the only Falcon named to the All-Tournament team, saved that set point with a kill for 24-24. The Sharks got another try at 25-24, but sophomore outside hitter Grace Holstrom's kill tied it at 25-25.
-- A Hawaii Pacific error gave the Falcons a match point at 26-25. The Sharks responded with a kill to tie it at 26-26.
-- Then a kill by Omlid set up a second match point for SPU at 27-26. Omlid took over the serve on the sideout, and Evans put down the kill to clinch it.
-- The Falcons had three big scoring runs in the opening set: a six-pointer to make it 6-1, a five-pointer to make it 11-2, and a seven-pointer for 21-6. In that last one, freshman outside hitter Charlotte Hastings served three aces.
-- As expected, the second set was more competitive. SPU was up by just one point at 10-9 when it strung together six straight points to take charge.
 
FROM SENIOR LIBERO CHRISTINA LOPEZ
"I think we had really great energy throughout all three days," Lopez said. "We really just trusted each other and kept our composure and tried to stay calm as much as we could. We tried to keep our style of play as much as possible and not play the other team's game."

Lopez even saw some positives in Friday's 3-1 loss to Chaminade when the Falcons survived three match points in the third set to win it an force a fourth before falling short.
 
"We held our own, we didn't get swept. We fought through the third set and almost fought for a fifth," she said. "We had really good intention, really good kills and good defense and aggressive serving."
 
Lopez is already looking forward to next week's start of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule.
 
"I think we're getting comfortable with each other. We're starting to really jell and find our comfort out there," she said. "Our trust has really grown. Off the court, we're such close friends, and that shows on the court."

FROM THE BOX SCORE
--Seattle Pacific finished with a .345 hitting percentage wit 44 kills and 12 errors on 105 attacks.
--The defense limited Hawaii Pacific to just .088 hitting, including minus-.114 in the first set.
 

--Omlid's 14 kills made her the only Falcon in double digits. She had just two errors on 35 attacks for a .343 hitting percentage.
--Junior outside hitter Joslyn Greff hit at a .545 clip with seven kills and one error on 11 swings.
--Senior setter Avery Veenendall racked up 21 assists, delivered two service aces, and came up with five digs. Sophomore Peyton Ensign had 16.
--Sophomore middle blocker Audra Rose had four blocks and two aces along with four kills.
--Junior middle blocker Brooke Williams had two more blocks, giving her 14 for the tournament.
--Lopez had 15 digs, and junior libero Makayla Hickman also was in double digits with 10.
--The three aces by Hastings was part of SPU's season-high total of 12. Teamwise, that also was a single-match high for the tournament.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
-- Omlid had 54 kills for the tournament, ranking No. 5 overall. Her total included a tourney-high 19 against Emmanuel on Thursday.
-- Lopez' 71 digs tied for the tournament lead. Her career-high 28 vs. Emmanuel was a single-match high for the tournament.
 

-- Ensign finished with 96 assists, a 6.00 per-set average to rank No. 6.
-- SPU was the tourney's top hitting team at .264. Its .347 against Hawaii Hilo on Friday and .305 against Hawaii Pacific on Saturday were the only .300-plus performances among the eight schools.
-- The Falcons made just 62 attack errors, by far the lowest total. The next-lowest was 73 by Western Colorado.
-- They had the second-highest kill total with 211 (Chaminade had 232), and the third-highest per-set average at 13.19 (Chaminade 14.50, Hawaii Hilo 14.00).
-- Thanks to that five-set opener against Emmanuel, SPU had the tourney's single-match high for kills (74) and total attempts (198).
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons open GNAC action on Thursday when they visit Alaska Anchorage. First serve is at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time. They visit No. 16-ranked Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Pacific.