BELLINGHAM -- It took until almost the end of the season for the Seattle Pacific Falcons to string together four straight volleyball victories in 2008.
They're way ahead of that pace so far in 2009.
Sarah Risser put her third straight double-double into the books, racking up 18 kills and 12 digs on Friday as the Falcons extended their winning streak to four matches by sweeping past Grand Canyon of Phoenix in the Western Washington Invitational tournament.
Scores were 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 as SPU (6-5) handed the Antelopes (6-1) their first loss of the year.
For Falcons coach Chris Johnson, it's not hard to figure out why his team has started to get into a winning groove.
“They're doing a really good job of taking care of the ball on offense,” he said. “We're being much more mindful with our swings and not making the errors we were making last year and even the first few matches (this year).”
The Falcons conclude the tournament in WWU's Carver Gym with two matches on Saturday, facing No. 7-ranked West Texas A&M at 9 a.m. and two-time defending Canadian collegiate champion British Columbia at 3 p.m. (Live stats for both matches on this link.)
Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.), a junior outside hitter, now has four double-doubles in her last five matches. She hit .317 for the day and was a key part of 9-0 run that helped SPU close out the second game. She personally accounted for five of those final nine points with three service aces and two kills.
“It definitely has been fun, especially today,” Risser said. “But I always look at it from the team perspective. The passes were there and the sets were there, and I was able to put it away. Everything is just falling into place, personally and for the team.”
Seattle Pacific hit .231 as a team against Grand Canyon, and limited the Antelopes to just .037 hitting for the match.
A total of four Falcons hit .300 or better. In addition to Risser, senior middle blocker Jessica Bettencourt (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and sophomore outside hitter Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) each hit .308, and sophomore middle blocker Amber Johnson (Mount Vernon, Wash./Mount Vernon HS) hit .300. Bettencourt had six kills; Hoffman and Johnson tallied four apiece.
“They're starting to understand more and more that if we take care of the ball on the first contact and stay aggressive when we swing, good things will happen,” Johnson said. “We passed phenomenally today. A big part of that was Anna Herold -- 80 percent of her passes were perfect.”
Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) had eight kills, nine digs and three service aces for Seattle Pacific. She passed the 200-kill mark for her Falcon career, now having 206.
Junior setter Joelle Perez (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage HS) led the Falcons with 17 assists, sophomore libero Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS came up with 17 digs, and freshman middle blocker Angie Pricco (Briar, Wash./Blanchet HS) had five blocks, including two solos.
The Falcons went on a 5-0 run, turning a 7-5 deficit into a 10-7 lead in Game 1. They finished it with a 9-2 surge, which included four kills by Risser and the clinching kill by Wodrich.
SPU was down 13-8 in Game 2. It was 17-16 for Grand Canyon when the Falcons put together their string of nine straight points. Risser ended the game with her third service ace.
“Two of their players got subbed out (during that run) -- she was just giving them fits,” Johnson said of Risser.
The Antelopes raced to a 4-0 lead in the third game and were up 5-1 when Seattle Pacific put together a 7-1 scoring streak to take an 8-6 lead and never trailed again.
As Risser sees it, some of the tough experiences the Falcons had during last year's 8-18 campaign have started to benefit them this season -- erasing deficits being one such example.
“It's just a new mindset,” she said. “We have a lot of experience that we can take from last year, and we don't fear those situations anymore.”
NCAA Volleyball
Western Washington Invitational
Friday, September 11, 2009
Carver Gym/Bellingham, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 3, Grand Canyon 0
Game scores -- 25-16, 25-17, 25-18.
Service aces -- SPU: Sarah Risser 3, Lindsey Wodrich 3. GC: Two players with 1.
Kills -- SPU: Risser 18, Wodrich 8, Jessica Bettencourt 6. GC: Dana Eddington 8, Megan Toth 6, Jenna Skadeland 6.
Blocks -- SPU: Angie Pricco 5, Paige Hoffman 3, Amber Johnson 2. GC: Whitney Estes 4, Eddington 3, Skadeland 3.
Assists -- SPU: Joelle Perez 17, Cortney Weedman 11. GC: Kristen Preach 23.
Digs -- SPU: Anna Herold 17, Risser 12. GC: Toth 10, Laurann Durbin 10.
Attendance -- 48.
Records
Seattle Pacific 6-5, 0-0.
Grand Canyon 6-1, 0-0.
Next match -- Seattle Pacific vs (#7) West Texas A&M, Saturday at Western Washington Invitational (Bellingham), 9 a.m.; vs. British Columbia, Saturday at Western Washington Invitational, 3 p.m.
