SEATTLE (Sept. 1) -- Leah Wiiest (Sr., Spokane, Wa../Deer Park/Cornell) was named the tournament Most Valuable Player Saturday and three Falcons were named to the All-Tournament Team as Seattle Pacific completed a four-game sweep of the SPU Invitational at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (7-1) routed Cal Poly Pomona (2-6) in the first match of the day. Cathleen Price (Fr., Gresham, Or./Sam Barlow) recorded a team-high 12 kills on 26 attempts for a .385 hitting percentage. Leilani Kamahoahoa (Sr., Oregon City, Or./Canby) led the Falcons in service aces and digs with four and 17, respectively.

The tournament's most exciting and competitive match was the last, pitting SPU and Ferris State (6-2) head-to-head with identical 6-1 records. SPU started slow, dropping the first game, but rallied to take control of the match at 2-1.

The Bulldogs rallied right back to force a stalemate and a deciding third game to 15. The Falcons wasted no time in finishing the Bulldogs, running up a 6-1 lead before eventually closing the game at 15-7.

The Falcons came at Ferris State with a balanced attack, highlighted by three players in double figures. Kamahoahoa and Wiiest led the Falcons with 15 kills apiece. Price also notched a double-figure kill total with 13 and chipped in a team-high 17 digs and seven service aces. Katy Higgins (So., Kirkland, Wa./Redmond) served up her attackers with perfect sets all tournament, finishing the final match with a team-high 44 assists.

Kamahoahoa and Higgins both joined tournament MVP Wiiest on the 6-player All Tournament Team. The Falcons were the only undefeated team in the tournament and added four matches to their home win streak which now stands at 16.

The Falcons begin their GNAC conference schedule on the road versus Western Oregon this Thursday, September 6, at 7 p.m.

SPU def. Cal Poly Pomona, 31-29, 30-11, 30-17

Kills-SPU 46 (Price 12), CPP 28 (Nusinov 7)

Digs-SPU 52 (Kamahoahoa 17), CPP 48 (Van Beek 9)

Blocks-SPU 8 (Wiiest 2.5), CPP 4.5 (Bullock 1.5)

Assists-SPU 44 (Higgins 38), CPP 26 (Keller 17)

SPU def. Ferris State, 27-30, 30-28, 30-27, 26-30, 15-7

Kills-SPU 61 (Wiiest/Kamahoahoa 15), FSU 48 (Minnis/Pickvet 11)

Digs-SPU 72 (Price 17), FSU 77 (Speed 20)

Blocks-SPU 10 (Abrahamson 3), FSU 16 (Olds/Pickvet 4)

Assists-SPU 49 (Higgins 44), FSU 46 (Green 24, Williams 22)

2001 SPU INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT RECAP Brougham Pavilion, Seattle, Wa.
Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2001

Results
Thursday
Seattle Pacific def. Cal State L.A., 22-30, 30-14, 30-23, 30-20
Friday
Ferris State def. Cal Poly Pomona, 30-22, 30-17, 30-24
Western Washington def. Cal State L.A., 30-18, 30-13, 30-23
Western Ore. def. Cal Poly Pomona, 28-30, 30-22, 28-30, 30-27, 15-8
Western Washington def. Ferris State, 28-30, 30-24, 30-19, 30-20
Seattle Pacific def. Grand Canyon, 30-23, 30-24, 30-27
Cal State L.A. def. Western Oregon, 31-29, 30-27, 26-30, 30-18
Saturday
Western Washington def. Cal Poly Pomona, 30-21, 30-25, 30-25
Ferris State def. Grand Canyon, 30-27, 30-24, 30-26
Seattle Pacific def. Cal Poly Pomona, 31-29, 30-11, 30-17
Grand Canyon def. Western Oregon, 20-30, 28-30, 30-23, 30-23, 15-4
Seattle Pacific def. Ferris State, 27-30, 30-27, 30-27, 26-30, 15-7

Standings

All-Tournament Selections
Tournament MVP -- Leah Wiiest, Seattle Pacific
All-Tournament Team: Leah Wiiest, Seattle Pacific; Alaina Olds, Ferris State; Leilani Kamahoahoa, Seattle Pacific; Shannon Rowland, Western Washington; Erin Minnis, Ferris State; Katy Higgins, Seattle Pacific -END-