NCAA announcement, with pairings
SEATTLE – First, they were watching the clock. Then, they were watching the computer screen.
Watching – and waiting.
No more waiting now. For the first time since 2006, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are on their way to the NCAA Division II volleyball tournament.
The Falcons officially were selected for the tournament on Sunday, and will be the No. 8 seed in the West Regional. SPU will take on No. 1 seed Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday in San Bernardino’s Coussoulis Arena at a yet-to-be-announced time. The Coyotes (28-1) are the defending regional champion and last season’s national runner-up to Concordia-St. Paul.
“I’ve been chewing at the bit all day,” said sophomore outside hitter Priscilla Collings (Chula Vista, Calif.). “Right when 6 o’clock came, we were all around the computer.”
The release of the tournament bracket was delayed inexplicably for almost half an hour. But when it popped onto that screen, the wait turned out to be worth it.
“I’m so excited – I’m bouncing off the walls right now,” Collings said.
If not quite doing that, coach Chris Johnson clearly was delighted that the Falcons are still on the court.
“It’s well deserved by this team,” Johnson said. “We definitely thought we could make it. That certainly was one of our team’s intentions, even last spring.”
Seattle Pacific heads into the postseason with a 17-11 record. It includes an 11-5 mark that was good for second place behind Alaska Anchorage in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
“This year, we all understood how vital each match was, even in the preseason,” said sophomore libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS). “We’re still getting better, and a lot of teams aren’t. We’re peaking at the right time going into postseason.”
Also in SPU’s half of the eight-team regional bracket is a first-round match pitting No. 4 Hawaii Hilo against No. 5 Alaska Anchorage.
The other half of the bracket has first-round matches between No. 2 UC San Diego (28-2) against No. 7 San Francisco (20-10), and No. 3 Sonoma State (22-7) against No. 6 Cal State Los Angeles (21-8).
“San Bernardino is good, and they’ve been good for a number of years,” Johnson said. “We certainly have a challenge in front of us. But we’re ready for them.”
Added Herold, “They’re a good team, but it’s definitely do-able. All the teams in the region are going to be good. But I don’t think we’re more scared just because they’re No. 1.”
FIFTH TRIP TO TOURNEY
The bid to nationals caps a significant turnaround for the Falcons, who have played in four previous NCAA tourneys -- 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2006. SPU returned all but two players from last year’s 8-18 team, but got off to just a 2-5 start this fall.
From there, however, the Falcons found their stride. They won eight of their next nine matches, including their first four in GNAC play.
While Alaska Anchorage eventually took over the conference’s top spot, thanks to a 12-match winning streak, Seattle Pacific never fell below second place and never fell out of the top eight in the region from the time the first rankings were released in mid-October.
“It’s pretty amazing to do it after the season we had last year,” Johnson said. “To turn it around well enough to make the regionals is a good sign of things to come with a team that’s still relatively young.”
The regional tournament is a single-knockout format. After Thursday’s four quarterfinal matches, the semifinals are on Friday, and the championship match is Saturday. All times are yet to be announced.
“We’re the underdog,” Collings said, “(but) our heads are really in it, and we’re ready to go.”
The Elite Eight will be at the site of one of the eight regional champions (to be determined) Dec. 3-5 to decide the national crown.
SPU AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
2000 (Coach: Kellie Radloff)
Lost to Cal State San Bernardino, 3-0 (15-13, 15-5, 16-14)
2001 (Coach: Kellie Radloff)
Lost to Hawaii Pacific, 3-1 (26-30, 30-22, 30-22, 30-26)
2005 (Coach: Chris Johnson)
Lost to Cal State Los Angeles, 3-1 (28-30, 40-38, 30-23, 30-23)
2006 (Coach: Chris Johnson)
Lost to Chico State, 3-2 (29-31, 30-24, 26-30, 30-23, 15-9)