Northern exposure. With their road jerseys barely back from the laundry, the Seattle Pacific University volleyball team packs it bags again and travels to Alaska this weekend for their fifth and sixth Great Northwest Athletic Conference road matches in the last seven outings. Friday night (Sept. 28) the Falcons (3-2, 10-3) take a modest two-match win streak into Alaska Anchorage (1-2, 8-5) and Saturday night (Sept. 29) it's a visit to Alaska Fairbanks (3-0, 6-2). SPU returns home to host Saint Martin's in a rescheduled match Oct. 3.

True colors. Sometimes it takes a dose of adversity to see what a team is truly made of. That is precisely what occurred last week. After losing two of the team's top attackers to injuries and dropping its first home match in two years the previous week, the Falcons' panic button undoubtedly began to flash. However, they didn't push it; instead they persevered. First, SPU fended off an improved Seattle University in four games and then rallied from 2-1 deficit to finally claim a five-set victory at Northwest Nazarene. The matches were the first back-to-back conference wins for the Falcons this season and a much-needed momentum boost.

Career-high happy. When it rains it pours, and for Lesley Kamphouse (Sr., Sumas, Wa./Nooksack Valley) and Carri Colvin (Jr., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) that is not necessarily a bad thing. Both attackers have taken advantage of added playing time to set and then break personal career-highs. After both Colvin and Kamphouse hit a career-high 12 kills versus Central Washington, they raised the bar and each for 17 kills in the win at Seattle U., with Colvin also adding a career-high five service aces.

Team effort. With Leilani Kamahoahoa (Sr., Oregon City, Or./Canby) and Cathleen Price (Fr., Gresham, Or./Sam Barlow) sidelined by injuries last week, the remaining starters were forced to pick up the pieces. By the end of the week, those pieces completed a perfect picture featuring two consecutive GNAC victories. Leah Wiiest's (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Deer Park-Cornell) 51 kills, 38 digs and 15 blocks in three matches last week earned her consideration for GNAC player of the week while setter Katy Higgins (So., Kirkland, Wa./Redmond) recorded 177 assists in 14 total games for an average of 12.6 per game. On defense, Monica Abrahamson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Rogers) led the Falcons in digs versus Seattle U. (18) and Northwest Nazarene (20).

Quick sets. Price is listed as probable for this week's Alaska matches while Kamahoahoa remains questionable. Price sprained an ankle in practice Sept. 14 and Kamahoahoa suffered a sprained knee and ankle during the Central match Sept. 17...By the time they return home Sunday, the Falcons will have traveled a total of over 11,000 miles in the first five weeks of the season, including trips to Florida, Oregon, California, Idaho and Alaska... Back-to-back conference wins have helped the Falcons move from seventh to fourth place in the GNAC standings... SPU ranks third in kills (14.29) and service aces (2.18) and fourth in hitting percentage (.208). Individually, Higgins is third in assists (10.76). Wiiest is fifth in blocks (1.14) and sixth in kills (3.43). Kamahoahoa is fifth in aces (0.56) and digs (3.21). Price is sixth in aces (0.51)...Higgins' 66 assists versus Central Washington was the most for any GNAC player this season...Wiiest, Kamphouse and Colvin each had double-figure kill totals in all three matches last week.

Opponent & series notes. SPU has the edge in both series versus the Alaska schools. The Falcons hold a 12-5 series lead over UAA and have won the last three meetings, including a conference tournament matchup in 1998. The last time the Seawolves beat the Falcons was in 1997...SPU has a 13-2 record versus UAF and has won the last 10 meetings between the two teams, including a PacWest tourney match in 1999. The last time UAF beat the Falcons was in 1993.

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.