ELLENSBURG -- It wasn't just what they did on the volleyball court that had the Seattle Pacific Falcons in a much better mood on Friday.
It was how they did it.
One day after a disappointing five-game loss to Academy of Art and then a three-game stomping by nationally ranked Sonoma State, the Falcons put a pair of victories onto the winning side of the scoreboard to close out the Central Washington Tournament.
Jessica Bettencourt had 14 kills and hit a whopping .500 for the match, and Sarah Risser and Joelle Perez both posted double-doubles to help the Falcons down Brigham Young-Hawaii Nicholson Pavilion. Scores against the defending Pacific West Conference champions were 25-16, 19-25, 25-16, 25-17.
Seattle Pacific wound up the tournament on Friday night by routing The Evergreen State College of Olympia, 25-12, 25-11, 25-17.
With a four-match losing streak now behind them, the Falcons (4-5) find themselves on a two-match winning streak heading into next week's Western Washington Tournament in Bellingham.
“We had a good conversation after the five-set loss on Thursday,” Johnson said. “We don't have any big, glaring deficiencies. We just have to take care of the little things and put everything together all at once and have everyone on the same page.”
With the exception of the second game, Johnson found everyone on the same page Friday afternoon against BYU-Hawaii.
Senior middle blocker Bettencourt (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) took 24 swings against the Seasiders, hammered 14 of them home and had just two errors. Junior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) added 10 kills and 17 digs for her second double-double of the tournament. Junior setter Perez (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage HS) had 23 assists to go along with 10 digs, notching her second double-double of the season.
Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) tallied 11 kills, senior setter Cortney Weedman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and had 25, and sophomore libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) came up with a season-high 36 digs.
“Today, we had good passing and good hitting throughout the match. And we served them pretty tough,” Johnson said. “We dug well, we had good blocking, and we played good defense.”
The Falcons led all the way in Game 1 except for a 1-1 tie. BYU-Hawaii (3-3) turned the tables in the second game, leading from start to finish except for a 2-2 deadlock.
But the final two games were all Seattle Pacific, which jumped in front right away in both and never trailed. The Falcons, who hit .222 for the day after struggling with their hitting in both Thursday losses (.099 against Academy of Art and .157 against Sonoma State) closed out the match with a solid .306 hitting performance in the final game.
The Seasiders, defending champions of the Pacific West Conference, hit just .096 for the match.
“After we lost the second game, it was a big confidence booster to come back and get on top of them and see good statistics following it,” Johnson said. It's a good confidence builder for us against a good team. They're better than their record. They have good hitters, and they're a scrappy team.”
The Falcons had things their way most of the night against NAIA member Evergreen State (0-7). Seattle Pacific hit a season-high .386 as a team and limited the Geoducks to .072.
Two SPU freshman posted career highs in the final match: Outside hitter Hannah Bell (Canby, Ore.) nailed 11 kills, and setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) tallied 19 assists. Another freshman, middle blocker Angie Pricco (Briar, Wash./Blanchet HS) had five blocks.
Freshman Sophomore outside hitter Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) had eight kills and hit .438 for SPU, and junior middle blocker Kylie Johnson (Tucson, Ariz.) had seven kills and hit .667.
The Falcons face Notre Dame de Namur in their Western Washington Tournament opener next Thursday at 1 p.m. in WWU's Carver Gym. They'll play Grand Canyon on Friday at 1 p.m., then meet West Texas A&M, ranked No. 3 in the nation this week, on Saturday at 9 a.m. SPU closes the tournament at 3 p.m. Saturday against British Columbia.
NCAA Volleyball
Friday, September 4, 2009
Nicholson Pavilion/Ellensburg, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 3, Brigham Young-Hawaii 1
Game scores -- 25-16, 19-25, 25-16, 25-17.
Service aces -- SPU: Three tied with 1. BYUH: Four tied with 1.
Kills -- SPU: Jessica Bettencourt 14, Lindsey Wodrich 11, Sarah Risser 10. BYUH: Roseanne Vea 11.
Blocks -- SPU: Amber Johnson 4, Paige Hoffman 3, Angie Pricco 3. BYUH: Lacey Laycock 5, Tanza Buroker 3, Tara Huckvale 3.
Assists -- SPU: Cortney Weedman 25, Joelle Perez 23. BYUH: Laycock 36.
Digs -- SPU: Anna Herold 36. BYUH: Vea 19, Melanie Manutai 17.
Attendance -- 133.
Records
Seattle Pacific 3-5, 0-0.
Brigham Young-Hawaii 3-3, 0-0.
Seattle Pacific 3, Evergreen State 0
At Student Union & Recreation Center (CWU)
Game scores -- 25-12, 25-11, 25-17.
Service aces -- SPU: Three tied with 1. ES: One with 1
Kills -- SPU: Hannah Bell 11, Paige Hoffman 8, Kylie Johnson 7. ES: Kaylani Evans 6.
Blocks -- SPU: Angie Pricco 5. ES: Four with 1.
Assists -- SPU: Shelby Swanson 19. ES: Meghan De La Rosa 18.
Digs -- SPU: Anna Herold 11. ES: Chantal Pektus 9.
Attendance -- 38.
Records
Seattle Pacific 4-5, 0-0.
Evergreen State 0-7, 0-0.
Next match -- Seattle Pacific vs. Notre Dame de Namur, Sept 10, 1 p.m. at Western Washington Tournament (Bellingham).
