Box score, play-by-play
 
SEATTLE – Being alone in first place won't really matter until the end of the season. But the Seattle Pacific Falcons certainly don't mind being there right now.

Lindsey Wodrich had 12 kills and tied her career high with five service aces – including her 100th in a Seattle Pacific volleyball uniform – as the 24th-ranked Falcons took over sole possession of the top spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference by beating Montana State Billings on Monday night, 3-0.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-23, 25-15, 25-22.
 





The victory put the Falcons (17-5, 11-2 GNAC) at the head of the conference pack by half a match over Alaska Anchorage (10-2) after starting the night tied with the Seawolves. Western Washington is right behind both teams at 10-3.
 
SPU and Anchorage will square off on Saturday afternoon in Brougham, but the Falcons first have to take on Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday night at 7.
 
“We've gotta be ready for both of them sure sure,” Seattle Pacific coach Chris Johnson said. “Saturday is obviously the bigger match against a team were fighting with for the top spot in the conference. But we have to be ready for both teams, playing hard all week, and practicing hard all week and making sure we're prepared.”
 
Senior outside hitter Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) tied her previous career high of five aces, which she set at Alaska Anchorage as a freshman in 2008. On Monday, she got three of them during a decisive stretch in Game 3 when she sent her booming jump serve across the net seven straight times to help the Falcons go from three points behind to two points ahead. (Billings wound up getting the point on her last serve.)
 
Wodrich now has 102 career aces. In the past two weeks, she has topped career milestones of 1,000 points, 100 blocks, and now 100 aces.
 
“Lindsey served seven jumpers in a row at them that they were really having a hard time handling,” Johnson said. “When she got back there and started hammering the jumper at them, that helped us a lot.”
 
Sophomore middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) enjoyed another solid hitting night with eight kills and a .333 percentage. She now has hit .300 or better in four of her last five matches.
 
Sophomore setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) racked up 33 assists to stay right near her per-game average of 11.16 that ranks 13^th in all of NCAA Division II.
 
Senior libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) came up with 22 digs, well above her per-game average of 5.55 that is No. 14 in the latest D-2 national stats that were released on Monday.
 
The Falcons were in control of Game 1, up 24-17 before Billings (9-13, 3-10 GNAC) rang up six straight points to make it 24-23. A kill by junior outside hitter Cailin Fellows (Edmonds, Wash./Edmonds-Woodway HS) finally clinched it. SPU never trailed and was never tied in the second game.
                                                           
But it was all Yellowjackets at the outset of Game 3 as they scored the first three points and eventually built a 19-12 lead.
 
The Falcons then stormed back with an 11-1 run. Wodrich got the serve at with Seattle Pacific down 20-17 and immediately dropped in an ace – the 100th of her career – to make it 20-18. She aced again two points later to tie it at 20-20, then hammered another one that a Billings defender got to, but couldn't return, for a 23-20 SPU lead.

 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Monday, October 24, 2011
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 24) Seattle Pacific 3, Montana State Billings 0
 
Game scores – 25-23, 25-15, 25-22.
 
Service aces – MSUB 1 (Walter 1), SPU 9 (Lindsey Wodrich 5).
Kills – MSUB 33 (Monica Grimsrud 15), SPU 38 (Wodrich 12).
Assists – MSUB 31 (Brooke Tolman 27), SPU 37 (Shelby Swanson 33).
Digs – MSUB 58 (Erin Compton 28), SPU 53 (Anna Herold 22, Brianna Leenders 10).
Blocks (total / solo) – MSUB 5 / 1 solo (Melissa Porter 2 / 1 solo), SPU 7 / 3 solo (Nikki Lowell 3 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – MSUB 33-21-117--.103 (Chelsey Walter 4-0-17--.235, Grimsrud 15-9-39--.154), SPU 38-18-121--.165 (Lowell 8-3-15--.333).
Attendance – 103.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 17-5, 11-2 GNAC. Montana State Billings 9-13, 3-10 GNAC.
 
Next match – Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, Thursday, Brougham Pavilion, 7:00 p.m.