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So Far Away. The United States spans six time zones and by the end of this month the Seattle Pacific University volleyball program will have played in all of them during the past 13 months. The Falcons, coming off their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance last season, open the 2001 schedule next weekend, Aug. 24-25, at the Barry University Invitational in Miami Shores. They face New York Tech and Florida Tech on the first day and Edinboro (Pa.) and host Barry, the No. 14-ranked team in the nation, to complete the tourney. Once the 5,400-mile round trip is complete, SPU hosts the Seattle Pacific Invitational Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Brougham Pavilion, facing No. 6-ranked Cal State L.A. in the home opener.

Squad Strengthened. Coach Kellie Radloff lost two starters, including multiple record-holder Stephanie Huffman, to graduation but could have an even stronger squad this fall. For starters, Radloff returns her top two attackers, blockers and setters, plus she added a couple of recruits capable of making the first six. The Falcons were 24-6 last year and won the West Division of the Pacific West Conference for the second time in three years. Five of their six losses were to nationally-ranked teams.

So Many, Many Changes. This will be a season of profound change, with Seattle Pacific entering a new conference and collegiate volleyball undergoing a radical departure in scoring. New rules feature rally scoring (no sideouts) to 30 points in games 1-4 and to 15 points in a fifth game (if necessary). A best-of-five format still determines the match winner. As for their affiliation, the Falcons and nine other schools left the PacWest to form the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The implications of that move will be particularly evident in volleyball since the PacWest produced the NCAA champion (Hawaii Pacific twice, BYU Hawaii once) each of the past three years. Seattle Pacific has been installed as the favorite to claim the first GNAC crown. Another significant change is the expansion of the NCAA bracket from 48 to 64 teams, with eight teams in each of the eight regions receiving berths.

Mo, Leah & Leilani Lead the Way. Proof of Seattle Pacific¹s pedigree is the fact that three of the four returning starters earned all-conference honors in 2000. Middle blocker Leah Wiiest (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Deer Park) became the first Falcon to lead the team in both kills (3.34) and blocks (1.11) since 1992 and was both a unanimous first team pick and runner-up for newcomer of the year. Left-side hitter Leilani Kamahoahoa (Sr., Canby, Or./Oregon City), another first team pick, led the conference in digs (4.02) and had the team¹s top hitting percentage (.236) and finished No. 2 in kills (3.32). She will likely become the school¹s career leader in both kills and digs by the end of the season. Monica Abrahamson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Rogers), the team¹s other middle, was second in blocks (1.03) and third in kills (2.84).

Roles to Relish. Setting-up those hitters at the net will be two sophomores who survived a trial by fire as freshmen. Katy Higgins (So., Redmond, Wa./Redmond) became only the third frosh in team history to top the Falcons in assists (8.11) and was voted the most improved player on the squad. Andrea Dettorre (So., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) saw plenty of action and sometimes split setting chores with Higgins, averaging 4.68 assists. Of the recruits signed by Radloff, Cathleen Price (Fr., Gresham, Or./Gresham) has been very impressive in the middle and could earn a starting roles. Price was second team all-Oregon as a senior. Another hitter whose stock is rising is Lesley Kamphouse (Sr., Sumas, Wa./Nooksack Valley). Last season Kamphouse averaged 1.43 kills in 14 matches. The versatility on both front and back rows should earn Carri Colvin (Jr., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) more time on the court. In 2000 she averaged 0.28 aces and 1.69 digs.

Records and Such. Three of the four opponents in Florida are coming off winning seasons but Saturday shapes up as the toughest of the days with Edinboro coming off a 20-8 record while Barry made the playoffs and finished 24-10. The Buccaneers won a national title in 1995 and were runners-up in Œ97. New York Tech was 21-17 and Florida Tech 10-15 a year ago. This is the first meeting with all four teams...SPU is 6-9 in season-opening matches and last year¹s 0-3 start in Omaha matched 1997 and Œ88 for the slowest.

Quick Sets. Radloff has made special mention of her personnel¹s versatility not only in skills but ability to play different positions effectively. Of the recruits, Katy Kravitz (So., Olympia, Wa./Olympia), a transfer from Northern Colorado, possesses the ability to both set and hit on the right...Vying for time on the outside will be returnee Beth Untz (So., West Covina, Ca./Covina) and Yashmeen Knox (Fr., Coupeville, Wa./Coupeville). Untz appeared in 16 matches as a rookie. Knox, a relative newcomer to the sport, showed perhaps the most improvement during the first week of preseason drills...Andra Taylor (Jr., Camas, Wa./Camas/Mt. Hood CC), a middle the past two years at the junior college level, is training to become a an outside hitter...Last season the Falcons played in five different time zones from Hawaii to Nebraska. This season they will again play in five, missing only Hawaii...Kamahoahoa needs 72 more kills to overtake Danielle Dettorre (1996-99) as the career leader. She trails Huffman by 203 in digs and could conceivably break the aces record, needing 48 in her final season.

SPU Coaches. In her first season as a head coach, Kellie Radloff¹s team earned its first trip to the NCAA tournament, won its division in the Pacific West Conference and advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time. It set a school record with 20 consecutive wins and equaled the marks for most wins (24) and fewest losses (6) in a season. Radloff, whose past collegiate experience included two years under JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner at SPU (1994-95) and one year at Syracuse, was the Falcons¹ starting setter from 1989-91, earning all-conference as a senior. She remains the SPU record-holder for service aces (142) in a career and single match assists (83). Hannah (Bradford) Walker is in her first season as an assistant coach. She was an assistant at Whitworth College for two seasons and owns the SPU career record for kills average (3.5). Antonela Secer, a native of Croatia, also joins the staff along with Jim Woolace, formerly a high school coach in Fairbanks.