Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – Turnabout is fair play. On Saturday afternoon, that worked in favor of Seattle Pacific.
 
Lindsey Wodrich had a season-high 22 kills, Nikki Lowell came up with nine block assists, and Angie Pricco had seven block assists as the 24^th-ranked Falconstook the inside track toward the Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball title with a 3-1 victory against Alaska Anchorage.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 18-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-23.
                                          
The Falcons (19-5, 13-2 GNAC) now have a 1½-match lead on the second-place Seawolves (15-6, 11-3 GNAC) and are two full matches ahead of Western Washington (10-3). SPU has three regular-season matches remaining, beginning next Thursday in Bellingham against Western.
 
Seattle Pacific extended its season-high winning streak to six matches.
 





The Falcons came up big on defense with 33 block assists for the day (16.5 total blocks), while Anchorage had just eight block assists and three solos for a total of 7.0 blocks. On Sept. 29 in Anchorage when the Seawolves won in four games, it was UAA which came up big on the block with four solos and 18 assists.
 
“That was just a good job by our blockers,” SPU coach Chris Johnson said. “It was using good eyework, being disciplined, waiting on a lot of their sets to make sure they're up on time, and having strong hands.
 
“It was just a lot of fundamentals done very well.”
 
Senior outside hitter Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) added 12 digs for her 13^th double-double of the season and the 32^nd of her career. She also moved closer to 1,000 career kills, now at 964 after Saturday's performance.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) had nine kills to go along with her career-high nine block assists. Senior middle blocker Pricco (Brier, Wash./Blanchet HS) had seven block assists and three service acesk.
 
SPU's other two seniors also had reason to celebrate on Senior Day. Outside hitter Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) played error-free volleyball with nine kills, nine digs and five block assists, and libero Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) came up with 31 digs.
 
“Your last game in this gym, you're going to come out going hard,” Herold said. “You're excited to play your last (home) match individually, but you play for your other teammates who are playing next to you. Both teams came out firing tonight – you could see that in the first game, both sides hitting the ball hard and digging balls left and right. We love playing Anchorage. They're a really good team and really fun to play, and we came out on top tonight.”
 





After losing Game 1, SPU trailed on just two other occasions the rest of the day: 2-1 and 3-2 at the outset of Game 2. The Falcons later were up up 22-19 in that second game, saw UAA get within one at 22-21, then put the last three points on the board, securing the game on a combined block by Wodrich and Pricco.
 
An 8-1 surge midway through Game 3 helped the Falcons turn a 13-13 tie into a 21-14 lead. Once again, SPU got the game-clinching point on a block, this one by Lowell and junior setter Shelby Swanson.
 
Seattle Pacific took a five-point lead in the fourth game at 19-14, then saw the Seawolves rally into a 22-22 tie. Anchorage fought off one match point at 24-22, but Wodrich sealed it on the next try, hammering a crosscourt kill.
 
“Our defense got better and better throughout the match, which was really good to see,” Johnson said. “We were able to take away what Anchorage was trying to do and slow their offense and still remain successful on our own attack.”

Jackie Matthisen wound up with 27 kills for Anchorage. But Robyn Burton, who started the week ranked No. 5 in all of NCAA Division II in hitting percentage at .418, was limited to 12 kills and .259 hitting.

Swanson's 47 assists on Saturday moved her career total to 2,468 and she climbed into 14^th place on the all-time GNAC list in that statistical department. She started the week in 18^th place. Swanson also had a career-high five block assists. Junior outside hitter Cailin Fellows had eight kills to move past 500 for her career. She's now at 506. And Pricco's seven blocks pushed her past 200 for her career, now with 203.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 24) Seattle Pacific 3, Alaska Anchorage 1
 
Game scores – 18-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-23.
 
Service aces – UAA 2 (2 players with 1), SPU 7 (Angie Pricco 3, Lindsey Wodrich 2).
Kills – UAA 59 (Jackie Matthisen 27), SPU 51 (Wodrich 22).
Assists – UAA 55 (Siobhan Johansen 15), SPU 48 (Shelby Swanson 47).
Digs – UAA 75 (Quincy Haught 24), SPU 75 (Anna Herold 31).
Blocks (total / solo) – UAA 11 / 3 solo (Robyn Burton 3 / 1 solo, Ariel Austin 3 / 0 solo), SPU 33 / 0 solo (Lowell 9 / 0 solo, Angie Pricco 7 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – UAA 59-26-172--.192 (Matthisen 27-7-68—.294), SPU 51-20-153--.203 (Hoffman 9-0-27--.333, Wodrich 22-8-60--.233).
Attendance – 204.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 19-5, 13-2 GNAC. Alaska Anchorage 15-7, 11-3 GNAC).
 
Next match – Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, Thursday, 7:00 p.m.