Road warriors. Much in need of a turnaround to boost its conference and postseason prospects, the Seattle Pacific University volleyball team faces the tough task of stemming the tide away from home. The Falcons (1-2, 8-3), whose schedule was reshuffled in the wake of last week's tragedies in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., play their next four Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches on the road. That batch begins Thursday night (Sept. 20) at Seattle University (0-3, 4-6) and continues Saturday (Sept. 22) at Northwest Nazarene (2-1, 5-2). Next week they head north to Alaska before returning to host Saint Martin's in a rescheduled date Oct. 3.

Banding together. Traveling together on the road can help build camaraderie. So, too, can a commonly shared experience. Like most Americans, the team and Coach Kellie Radloff gathered around the television Sept. 11 to watch the events unfold and to grieve­as a team. Later there was a light practice which served to divert their minds, if only for a few moments. Once Seattle Pacific and the GNAC membership acted to suspend play out of respect to the victims, Radloff sent her players home to be with their families. In a display of patriotism, the team and coaches wore red, white and blue ribbon in their hair during the rescheduled match with Central Washington earlier this week.

Falcons grounded. If Seattle Pacific intends to rebound from losses in two of its first three GNAC matches, it must not only do so on the road but without two of its top players. Both Leilani Kamahoahoa (Sr., Oregon City, Or./Canby) and Cathleen Price (Fr., Gresham, Or./Sam Barlow) will miss this week's matches and are doubtful for next week due to injuries. Price sprained her left ankle at practice last week. She had been averaging 3.00 kills, 0.51 aces and hitting .236 through the first 10 matches. Kamahoahoa was helped off the court during the second game versus Central Washington after suffering a sprained left knee and ankle. She was the team leader in digs (3.21) and aces (0.56) and No. 2 in kills (3.26).

Reality bites. Radloff thought her team's Sept. 6 loss at Western Oregon served as ³a reality check.² Then reality paid the team another visit this week with the five-game setback against Central. Despite missing Price and Kamahoahoa, the Falcons battled back from a two-game deficit and held four match points in the fifth game against the Wildcats before seeing their 16-match home win streak broken. The two SPU conference losses already doubles the number from the 2000 season.

Into the fore. With two of her primary attackers out of action, Radloff has called upon Carri Colvin (Jr., Brush Prairie, Wa./Prairie), Lesley Kamphouse (Sr., Sumas, Wa./Nooksack Valley) and Yashmeen Knox (Fr., Coupeville, Wa./Coupeville) to help fill the void. Colvin and Kamphouse each hit a career-high 12 kills while Knox, playing in just her second collegiate match, had five kills and 15 digs versus the Wildcats. Leah Wiiest (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Deer Park) led all players with 21 kills while Monica Abrahamson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Rogers) finished with a career-high 20.

Quick Sets. By the time they arrive home from Alaska the Falcons will have played six of their first seven GNAC matches on the road. Their final five, beginning Oct. 25, will be in the pavilion...Seattle Pacific ranks second among GNAC teams in hitting percentage (.225) and fourth in services aces per game (2.12). Individually, Wiiest is fifth in blocks (1.14) and seventh in kills (3.41), and Kamahoahoa is fifth in aces (0.56), fifth in digs (3.21) and 10th in kills (3.26). Katy Higgins (So., Redmond, Wa./Redmond) is fifth in assists (10.39) and Price is seventh in aces (0.51)...Kamphouse, Wiiest and Abrahamson each had six blocks vs. Central.

Opponent & series notes. SPU swept Seattle University it each of its four previous meetings. The Redhawks have lost their first 21 GNAC matches...Seattle Pacific leads the Northwest Nazarene series 2-0.

SPU Coaches. In her first season as a head coach, Kellie Radloff's 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 Falcons' 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.