Box score, play-by-play

BURNABY, B.C. – Eager as they are to step onto the volleyball court at Western Washington on Saturday night, the Seattle Pacific Falcons knew they first had to take care of some business at Simon Fraser on Thursday.

They took care of it.

Sarah Risser and Paige Hoffman each had 11 kills, and Shelby Swanson logged a career-high four service aces as 12th-ranked SPU came from behind in Game 1 and then polished off a Great Northwest Athletic Conference sweep of Simon Fraser.

Scores in SFU's West Gym were 26-24, 25-13, 25-18. The sweep was Seattle Pacific's seventh straight and 11th in 16 matches.

Now, the Falcons (16-0, 8-0 GNAC) head to Bellingham for a showdown at Western on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Vikings (10-2, 7-1 GNAC), ranked 17th in NCAA Division II, sit one match behind SPU in the standings after their homecourt sweep of Montana State Billings on Thursday.

“It's going to be a fun one. They're a good team, and it's a good atmosphere,” Seattle Pacific coach Chris Johnson said, adding that he's confident his players will keep their collective mindset on an even keel heading into it.

“They understand where they need to be,” he said. “It just makes it that much more exciting because of the rivalry and because of the importance of the match.”

Junior outside hitter Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.), coming off a career-high hitting performance of .500 in last Saturday's homecourt sweep of Alaska Fairbanks, was solid again on Thursday night, finishing at .450. She got her 11 kills on 20 total attacks, with just two errors.

Sophomore setter Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS), whose previous career high for service aces was three, also had 32 assists on Thursday. That puts her on the cusp of 1,000 for her career. She now has 990.

Junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) added seven kills, with three of those coming during a decisive 5-0 run in Game 3 as the Falcons turned a 13-13 tie into an 18-13 lead and never let Simon Fraser (1-8, 1-12 GNAC) get closer than four the rest of the way. Junior libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) came up with 12 digs.

The Falcons were down 23-19 and 24-21 in Game 1 and on the brink of having their string of six straight three-game sweeps come to an end. But they put together a 7-1 run, including the last five points. A Clan serving error made it 24-22, and back-to-back Wodrich kills tied it at 24-24. A bad set by Simon Fraser put SPU up, 25-24, then Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) finished the game with a service ace.

“The first game, it just took us awhile to get used to what they were doing,” Johnson said. “They were making kills, and they were just beating us. It was just a combination of things and us not quite being at our best right away. (But) it's nice to know that we're not giving up and we're showing great resolve.”

Seattle Pacific put together a 10-2 surge in the second game to go from 3-2 down to 12-5 up, and the Clan never got closer than six after that.

The teams traded scoring runs in Game 3. The Falcons, down 3-2, tallied nine of the next 11 points for an 11-4 lead. Then, it was Simon Fraser's turn, as it went on an 8-1 run to climb into a 12-12 tie. The teams traded the next two points, then SPU racked up the next five with Hoffman serving to take permanent command.

Risser, having finished Game 1 with an ace, delivered another one on match point.

Although Seattle Pacific hit just .153 for the match, its GNAC-leading defense came through again by limiting Simon Fraser to just .024. The Clan hit .242 in Game 1, but then fell to -.269 in the second game and came back to just .042 in the third. They had just 21 kills for the night to SPU's 35.

“It was a good win, and we played good defense again after that first game,” Johnson said.

This is the first time the teams have met since the 2000 season – when sideout scoring in college was in its final year and games were played to 15.



NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, October 7, 2010
West Gym/Burnaby, B.C.

(No. 12) Seattle Pacific 3, Simon Fraser 0

Game scores – 26-24, 25-13, 25-18.

Service aces – SPU: Shelby Swanson 4, Sarah Risser 3. SFU: Three players with 1.
Kills – SPU: Risser 11, Paige Hoffman 11. SFU: Jennifer Neilson 6, Cheryl Windhorst 4.
Assists – SPU: Shelby Swanson 32. SFJ: Jordan Drezet 18.
Blocks – SPU: Nikki Lowell 3, Hoffman 3. SFU: Windhorst 5.
Digs – SPU: Anna Herold 12. SFU: Brianna Kellough 16.
Hitting (kills-errors-total attacks) – SPU: Hoffman 11-2-20--.450, Lowell 4-1-10--.300, SPU 35-20-98--.153. SFU: Neilson 6-2-18--.222, Marina Liarsky 4-1-5--.200, SFU 21-19-83--.024.
Attendance – 55.

Records – Seattle Pacific 16-0,8-0 GNAC. Simon Fraser 1-8, 1-12 GNAC.

Next match – Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, Saturday, 7:00 p.m.