Box score, play-by-play
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SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific freshmen won't start their classes until Monday. But on a Saturday night in Brougham Pavilion that was dedicated to them, they saw the Falcons volleyball team hammer home a few lessons on how the game is played.

Sarah Risser had 15 kills and hit .400, and freshman Nikki Lowell came up with another solid hitting night of .353, leading 17th-ranked Seattle Pacific to a sweep of Saint Martin's in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match on Saturday night.

Scores in were 25-10, 25-21, 25-7.




“We had a big, huge fan base, and that was a lot of fun. We just went out there and played our game,” Lowell said. We had a lot of kills and did really well on defense.”

Added coach Chris Johnson, who earned his 98th SPU coaching victory, “It was a lot of fun playing in front of that crowd. They were here and loud and having fun just when we were doing warm-ups. There were chills going through us like, 'Wow, we have 700 people here, or something like that.' It was great energy in the building, which was a lot of fun.”

The Falcons (12-0, 4-0 GNAC) continued their record-setting start heading into a three-match week – all in Brougham – that begins Monday night at 7 against Montana State Billings.

Senior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) had 15 kills and just three errors on 30 attempts. It's the second time in the last three matches she has hit for .400 or better, having hit at a career-high .484 clip in a sweep of Northwest Nazarene last Saturday.

Lowell (Claremont, Calif.), the GNAC's leading hitter at .364 coming into the match, had nine kills and just three errors on 17 attack. She also had five blocks, including a solo.




“That was great performances by both Sarah and Nikki,” Johnson said. “Nikki is a high-flying hitter. She's up quick and she has a lot of power. Tonight was a great night for her, but she's doing that for us every single night, and it's just awesome to see.”

Lowell handed off the credit elsewhere, especially to sophomore setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS), who set up 34 assists. Swanson ranks No. 5 in all of NCAA Division II for assists per game.

“Our setter is amazing. She's doing really well placing the ball exactly where we need it,” Lowell said. “I had a lot of opportunities to swing and had an open net.”

Junior libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) had 16 digs. That gives her 1,446, leaving her 107 away from breaking the SPU career record of 1,552.

Saint Martin's was kept to negative hitting by the Falcons' conference-leading defense. The Saints hit -.136 with 11 kills and 22 errors on 81 attacks. That is the third-lowest hitting percentage in GNAC history. The lowest is -.192 by Alaska Anchorage in a non-conference match against Ohio Valley in 2008.

It's the first time SPU has forced an opponent below .000 hitting this season. The Falcons have kept all 12 of their opponents below .200. They have kept five opponents below .100, including the last three in a row. Just last Saturday in Brougham, they limited Northwest Nazarene to .000 hitting.

While dominating Games 1 and 3, the Falcons had to come from behind in Game 2. Down 15-12, they put together an 8-2 run to take the lead and never trailed again.


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

(No. 17) Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 0

Game scores -- 25-10, 25-21, 25-7.

Service aces – SPU: Sarah Risser 2, Paige Hoffman 2, Anna Herold 2. StM: Two players with 1.
Kills – SPU: Risser 15, Nikki Lowell 9. StM: Teilissa Tua 4, Katy Ferguson 4.
Assists – SPU: Shelby Swanson 34. Stm: Kristeen Juarez 9.
Blocks – PU: Lowell 5, Risser 3. StM: Ferguson 2.
Digs – SPU: Herold 16, Risser 7. StM: Brianna Bautista 9, Kristin Okamura 9.
Hitting (kills-errors-total attacks) – SPU: Risser 15-3-30--.400, Lowell 9-3-17--.353, SPU 42-16-92--.283. Stm: Tua 4-3-12--.083, StM 11-22-81-- -.136.
Attendance – 587.

Records – Seattle Pacific 12-0, 4-0 GNAC. Saint Martin's 1-10, 1-5 GNAC.

Next match – Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, Monday, Sept. 27, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.