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SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Doubling her pleasure wasn't enough for Sara Biondi on Thursday night.
 
The Seattle Pacific senior setter tripled it.
 
Biondi posted a rare volleyball triple-double, racking up 41 assists, coming up with 18 digs, and putting down 12 kills – including the match-clincher – as the Falcons fought off Academy of Art in their opening contest of the Pacific West-Great Northwest Athletic Conference Crossover tournament.
 
Scores in Dominican University's Conlan Center were 25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-6.

The triple-double by Biond (she had two double-doubles last week) was the first for Seattle Pacific since Angie Wodrich had 12 kills, 15 digs, and 10 blocks in a 3-2 victory against UC San Diego on Aug. 24, 2007. The last kills-digs-assists triple-double for the Falcons was by Jenna VonMoos (10-18-48) against Western Washington on Oct. 1, 2005.
 
Michelle Terpstra of Northwest Nazarene was the most recent GNAC player with a triple-double. She had 10 kills, 13 digs, and 52 assists against Central Washington on Oct. 6, 2012.
 
The Falcons (4-1) scored the first two points of the deciding fifth game (both on kills by Madi Cavell) and never trailed. It was 8-2 when the teams changed sides.
 
Academy of Art (3-2) never got closer than six points, the last time at 12-6, before SPU scored the last three points: a kill by Cavell (her fifth of that game), a combined block by Biondi and Maddi Hommes, and then Biondi's final kill.
 
"They were a good team, it was scrappy, and we really had to dig deep," SPU coach Chris Johnson said. "We were tired – we've had such a busy schedule lately, so it took everything we had today to pull out that win."
 
Senior outside hitter Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) slammed a season-high 20 kills and hit .224, also a season-best. Her kills total included SPU's first four points of the final game.
 
Senior opposite Jessica Miller (Fife, Wash. / Fife HS) added 11 kills; junior outside hitter Ellie Britt (Orange, Calif.) tied her career high with 14 digs and had 11 kills; sophomore middle blocker Maddi Hommes (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden HS) logged a career-high seven kills, and senior libero Brianna Leenders (Gresham, Ore.) led the way with 24 digs.

 

Biondi's 12 kills was exactly double her previous best of six, reached three times, most recently in last Saturday's four-game victory against Dixie State. The 18 digs also was a career-best, exceeding her previous mark of 12, set in a five-game win at Western Oregon last Nov. 16. She hit .526 on Thursday, and also had a team-high five blocks. The 41 assists pushed her past 1,500 for her career, now totaling 1,528.
 
The 10^th kill to give her the triple-double (she was already into double digits for assists and digs) came in the middle of Game 4.
 
"I love being able to attack and being part of the offense when the time is right," Biondi said. "If the situation is there where the blockers aren't really paying attention to me and there's an opening, Chris has given me a green light when it's there."
 
Added Johnson, "That was an awesome, fantastic performance from her all night long. And she had our team hitting .261 tonight. It was everything you could want from a setter."

The Falcons play two matches on Friday, facing Chaminade at 1:30 p.m. and host Dominican at 6:30 p.m.
 
Seattle Pacific led for all but the opening moments of Thursday's first game, stretching it to as many as 10 points. The Urban Knights dominated Game 2.
 
Art also led throughout the second half of Game 3, and was up 23-22 when Cavell got a kill for sideout and a 23-23 tie. She then put down another kill for 24-23, and a bad set by the Knights gave SPU game point and a 2 games to 1  lead.
 
An early 5-2 lead in the fourth game vanished as Academy of Art went on a 9-1 run and kept command the rest of the way, forcing the fifth game.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Pacific West-GNAC Crossover
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Conlan Center / San Rafael, Calif.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Academy of Art 2
 
Game scores – 25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 18-25- 15-6.
 
Service aces – AA 7 (Kanoe Irvine 4), SPU 4 (Kentall Carver 2).
Kills – AA 52 (Emily Papale 16), SPU 62 (Madi Cavell 20, Sara Biondi 12, Jessica Miller 11).
Assists – AA 51 (Rachael Smith 47), SPU 56 (Biondi 41).
Digs – AA 73 (Irvine 18), SPU 71 (Brianna Leenders 24, Biondi 18, Ellie Britt 14).
Block assists / solo – AA 12 / 4 solo (Margaret Winkler 4 / 1 solo), SPU 12 / 1 solo (Biondi 4 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks)—AA 52-18-159--.214 (Brittany Ulmer 10-1-31--.290), SPU 62-19-165--.261 (Biondi 12-2-19--.526, Maddi Hommes 7-1-14--.429.
Attendance – 60.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-1, 0-0 GNAC. Academy of Art 3-2, 0-0 Pacific West.
 
Next matches – Seattle Pacific vs. Chaminade, 1:30 p.m.; Seattle Pacific vs. Dominican, 6:30 p.m., both Friday at the Conlan Center.