THE SCHEDULE: Thursday, Nov. 12: SPU at Ak. Fairbanks, 8 p.m. PST
The Patty Center/Fairbanks, Alaska
Live Webcast and live stats on this link.
Saturday, Nov. 14: SPU at Ak. Anchorage, 8 p.m. PST
Wells Fargo Sports Complex/Anchorage, Alaska.
Live Webcast and live stats on this link.
Weekly release, with complete stats (PDF)
SEATTLE – They’ve played all fall for a chance at the conference title and a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Heading into the final two regular-season volleyball matches, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are still playing for both of those things.
The Falcons head north to Alaska this week to conclude their Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday night and at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.
SPU (10-4 GNAC), which is two matches behind Anchorage (12-2) with two left, will be looking to regain some momentum right away. The Falcons needed just 65 minutes last Saturday to sweep past Saint Martin’s, 25-14, 25-11, 25-18. Then, when play resumed on Monday against Central, it was the Wildcats who were on the verge of making quick work of things. But Seattle Pacific found its groove and got right back into it before ultimately falling short, 27-25, 25-12, 15-25, 15-25, 15-13.
By the time they take the court against Fairbanks on Thursday, the Falcons will know their status in the West Region race. They were No. 8 in the most recent rankings (Oct. 29). The regional tournament has eight available slots, with the GNAC, California Collegiate Athletic Association and Pacific West Conference champs each getting one, and the others going to the five highest-ranked teams among the non-champions.
The West rankings are due out Thursday. The selections for the NCAA tournament will be announced on Sunday at 6 p.m. PST on www.ncaa.com.
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
When SPU was on its game on Monday night against Central Washington, it was in complete control of the match. The Wildcats didn’t lead at all in Game 3, and their only lead in Game 4 was 1-0 before the Falcons ran off four straight points to move in front for good.
Simply put, that’s the way coach Chris Johnson says they must play this weekend in Alaska.
“We have to be proud of the things we did well tonight,” Johnson said. “Each of them has to figure out for themselves how to come out with that mentality that we had in Games 3 and 4 at the start of Game 1. … We told them at the break (after Game 2) that we had to stay aggressive and hit really hard. We came out and did that in Game 3 and Game 4 and most of Game 5.”
Just like Johnson, senior middle blocker Jessica Bettencourt said SPU has to be ready to go from the opening serve.
“Every game has to be that game where we put everything out there,” she said. “We can’t wait around. We have to know that every point means something, every game means something. We need to come out on our toes, and we need to have every single girl on her game.”
IF THIS, THEN THAT: GNAC TITLE SCENARIOS
The Falcons still can tie Alaska Anchorage for the best record in the conference at 12-4 if they win both matches in Alaska this week and if Anchorage also loses at home to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday while SPU is in Fairbanks.
If the Falcons and Seawolves do indeed both finish at 12-4, that would bring tiebreakers into play for the conference’s automatic NCAA qualifying berth. According to the GNAC office:
-- If Northwest Nazarene finishes ahead of Central Washington, then SPU wins the tiebreaker.
-- If NNU and Central tie, then the tiebreaker goes to the team ranked higher in this week’s final regional poll. Alaska Anchorage was No. 5 in the Oct. 29 poll; SPU was No. 8.
SCOUTING THE ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS
All-time series: SPU leads, 25-9. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 3, UAF 1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-11, 25-15 on Oct. 17 at Seattle). Alaska Fairbanks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: The up-and-down ride has continued for Alaska Fairbanks since its mid-October visit to Seattle. The Nanooks’ loss here was their fourth in a five-game skid. They strung together three straight victories after that, but since then have been swept at Anchorage last Wednesday and at Montana State Billings last Saturday. Megan Thigpen continues as one of the GNAC’s top hitting threats with 342 kills, an average of 3.89 per game that ranks No. 3 in the conference. She had a match-high 19 kills and hit .304 in Brougham Pavilion on Oct. 17. The Nanooks hit just .148 as a team that day, and are at .190 for the season, fifth in the conference.
SCOUTING THE ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES
All-time series: SPU leads, 25-11. Current series streak: UAA won 1. Last time: UAA 3, SPU 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-17 on Oct. 15 at Seattle). Alaska Anchorage on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: A team that was picked to finish seventh in the coaches preseason poll has beaten those expectations with plenty of room to spare. This match will pit the conference’s top two teams in hitting percentage (.225 for Anchorage, .210 for SPU), kills (13.34 per game for SPU, 13.06 per game for Anchorage), assists (12.50 for SPU, 12.06 for Anchorage) and toughest team to hit against (.153 for SPU, .159 for Anchorage). The Seawolves also are the top blocking team, averaging 2.27 per game. UAA had things mostly its way against the Falcons on Oct. 15 in Seattle, hitting .388 and making just five attack errors, while SPU was limited to .150 hitting with 21 attack errors. Anchorage’s Cortney Lundberg leads the GNAC in blocks (116.0, an average of 1.17 per game), and Calli Scott is No. 1 in assists (1,045 for 10.66 per game).
HOW TO THEY COMPARE?
(GNAC rank in parentheses)
Hitting percent SPU .210 (2) UAF .190 (5) UAA .225 (1)
Opponent hit percent SPU .153 (1) UAF .195 (7) UAA .159 (2)
Kills per game SPU 13.34 (1) UAF 12.75 (3) UAA 13.06 (2)
Assists per game SPU 12.50 (1) UAF 11.76 (4) UAA 12.06 (2)
Aces per game SPU 1.23 (9) UAF 1.59 (2) UAA 1.45 (6)
Digs per game SPU 16.76 (4) UAF 15.20 (7) UAA 14.56 (9)
Blocks per game SPU 1.91 (4) UAF 1.59 (7) UAA 2.27 (1)
MOST RECENT SPU STARTERS
Nov. 9 vs. Central Washington, L 2-3
Player Kills Pct. Asts. Aces Digs Blocks
Sarah Risser 14 .019 0 0 13 0
Paige Hoffman 8 .389 0 0 3 4
Amber Johnson 11 .250 0 0 0 2
Priscilla Collings 4 .000 0 1 6 0
Kylie Johnson 4 .571 0 0 1 10
Cortney Weedman 0 .000 24 0 2 0
Anna Herold 0 .000 6 0 41 0
SEATTLE PACIFIC 62 .144 59 1 87 25
DOUBLE-DOUBLES AND OTHER DELIGHTFUL DIGITS
-- Junior outside hitter Sarah Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) picked up a double-double of 14 kills and 13 digs on Monday against Central Washington. That was her 14th of the season,. That was the only double-double in either of SPU’s two most recent matches. The Falcons now have 34 this fall. Senior setter Cortney Weedman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) has five this year and seven for her career. Sophomore outside hitter Priscilla Collings (Chula Vista, Calif.) has five for her career, all of them this year. Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) with five (10 career), junior setter Joelle Perez (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage HS) has two (three career) and freshman setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) has two.
-- SPU remains atop the conference in kills per game (13.34), assists per game (12.50) and lowest opponent’s hitting percentage (.153). The Falcons have kept their opponents below .200 hitting in 19 of their 26 matches this season, including a stretch of 12 in a row from Sept. 4-Oct. 10.
-- Risser is No. 27 in all of NCAA Division II for kills per game at 3.79. She ranks fifth in the GNAC at 3.73 (GNAC stats include Monday’s match; the NCAA stats do not.) Leading the way nationally is Tatiana Kuhn of Henderson State at 4.87.
-- Sophomore libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) is No. 17 nationally in digs per game this week at 5.43. But if Monday’s career high-tying performance of 41 digs against Central Washington were part of this week’s NCAA stats, she would be at No. 12 with her 5.55 average. The national leader is Lauren Flynn of Texas A&M-Commerce at 6.29.
-- As a team, the Falcons rank No. 25 nationally in assists per game (12.5) and are No. 27 in kills per game (13.3). Concordia-St. Paul leads both at 14.55 assists and 15.4 kills.
Click on this link for a complete look at GNAC statistics. Click on this link for a look at SPU’s national rankings.
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
-- Anna Herold is almost there as far as her single-season school record for digs. She heads to Alaska this week with 573. She set the Falcon record of 579 last year on the way to winning GNAC Freshman of the Year honors.
-- Sophomore middle blocker Amber Johnson (Mount Vernon, Wash./Mount Vernon HS) is approaching her 100th career game as a Falcon. She now has 97 games and 93 blocks.
-- Cortney Weedman is now just 13 assists away from 1,000 as a Falcon after collecting 19 last Saturday against Saint Martin’s and 24 more on Monday against Central Washington.
-- Sophomore outside hitter Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) is just four kills shy of 300.
-- Joelle Perez, after racking up 1,718 assists in her first two seasons, needs 71 to reach 2,000. Now at 1,929, Perez has climbed into the GNAC’s all-time top 20 for assists.
MILESTONES MADE
-- By playing in all three games on Nov. 7 against Saint Martin’s, junior middle blocker Kylie Johnson (Tucson, Ariz.) reached the 100 mark as a Falcon. Sophomore outside hitter Priscilla Collings hit the 100-game mark on Monday when she played in two against Central.
-- Collings broke into the 300s in career points last Saturday against Saint Martin’s. Coupled with her performance on Monday, she now has 306.5.
-- Freshman setter Shelby Swanson picked up her 300th career assist on Monday, and now has 325.
-- Senior middle blocker Jessica Bettencourt (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) collected her 400th career kill during the Saint Martin’s match, then broke through the 500-point barrier on Monday against Central Washington. Bettencourt’s current totals are 408 kills and 508 points. She is the second Falcon this season to surpass 500 career points. Sarah Risser is the other.
-- Senior middle blocker Robin De Jong (Santa Barbara, Calif.), celebrated Senior Day on Nov. 7 with six kills against Saint Martin’s, putting her at exactly 200 for her career.
FALCON REPLAY
Seattle Pacific had to settle for a split of its most recent matches. Last Saturday, Robin De Jong had six kills and six blocks, and sophomore outside hitter Priscilla Collings led the way with 10 kills as SPU swept past Saint Martin’s in just 65 minutes, 25-14, 25-11, 25-18. It was the 16th straight time the Falcons have beaten the Saints. De Jong, a middle blocker who is close to winding up her Falcon career, hit .500 for the match, with those half-dozen kills and no errors on 12 total attacks. Collings hit a solid .318 and also came up with nine digs. Junior outside hitter Sarah Risser added nine kills and nine digs.
On Monday, SPU was slow out of the blocks as their suspended match against Central Washington resumed and fell into a two-game hole. The Falcons roared back with solid performances in Games 3 and 4, and got off to a quick lead in Game 5, only to see the Wildcats come back for the five-game victory, 27-25, 25-12, 15-25, 15-25, 15-13. Risser had a double-double of 14 kills and 13 digs. Anna Herold matched her career high with 41 digs, and Kylie Johnson set a career high with 10 blocks.
POLLING PLACE
Seattle Pacific is in the No. 8 spot in the latest NCAA West Regional rankings, which were released on Oct. 29. The next rankings are due out this Thursday, Nov. 12.
The Falcons were picked for a fourth-place finish in the GNAC in the preseason coaches poll. SPU received 43 points, including one first-place vote.
Alaska Anchorage, the current GNAC front runner, was picked for a seventh-place finish in the preseason poll.
ON THE HONOR ROLL
-- Junior outside hitter Sarah Risser was named the GNAC Player of the Week for Oct. 5-10, the first Falcon to be honored by the conference this season. Risser had a career-high 22 kills, along with 14 digs, in last Thursday’s four-game win at Central Washington, then had another 22 kills and 27 digs as SPU beat Northwest Nazarene in five games on Oct. 10.
-- Risser and sophomore middle blocker Amber Johnson were named to the all-tournament team at the Western Washington Invitational on Sept. 12. In the four tournament matches against Notre Dame de Namur, Grand Canyon, No. 7-ranked West Texas A&M and defending Canadian champion British Columbia, Risser led in kills per game (4.27), pounding 64 altogether. She double-doubled in kills and digs in the first three matches. Johnson set the pace in hitting percentage at .477, with 27 kills and just three errors on 51 attacks.
UP NEXT
They’ll play their matches in Alaska this week, then all the Falcons can do is wait for Sunday’s announcement of the NCAA Division II tournament field. The pairings will be announced at 6 p.m. on www.ncaasports.com.
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for a look at results, schedules and notes from the GNAC.
GNAC STANDINGS
Conference Overall
Alaska Anchorage 12-2 20-7
Seattle Pacific 10-4 16-10
Montana State Billings 9-5 16-10
Western Washington 9-6 16-10
Northwest Nazarene 8-6 15-12
Central Washington 7-7 15-10
Alaska Fairbanks 5-9 11-14
Western Oregon 4-11 7-19
Saint Martin’s 0-14 3-21