The final push. There's plenty at stake in the final week of the volleyball regular season this week as Seattle Pacific University goes after a benchmark, an arch-rival and­most important of all­an NCAA postseason tournament berth. The Falcons (12-5, 19-6), winners of four in a row and now second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, travel north of the border to Burnaby, British Columbia, Wednesday (Nov. 7) for an non-conference matchup with Simon Fraser (17-14), the recently-crowned NAIA regional champion. Then comes the regular season finale´ Saturday night (Nov. 10) versus GNAC champion and 23rd-ranked Western Washington (17-0, 22-4). A victory in that match will likely assure SPU a trip to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

On the bubble. Heading into the final two matches the Falcons find themselves on the bubble with regard to the postseason. They stood at No. 5 in the most recent Pacific Region rankings. Two conference champions receive automatic berths and the next four teams in the rankings earn at-large berths. Because Hawaii Pacific, the defending national champion and Pacific West Conference champion, is No. 8 in the region, SPU currently holds the fourth and final at-large spot. The 48-team NCAA tournament bracket will be announced Sunday (Nov. 11). Seattle Pacific reached the playoffs for the first time in 2000.

Further spoils. Beyond the playoffs, Seattle Pacific is also seeking its fourth straight 20-win season. It has won 24 matches each of the past two seasons. A win over Western Washington would also be notable since the Vikings have gone unbeaten through their first 17 GNAC matches and have won 22 of the last 23 overall. The Falcons, who lost in four games at Bellingham Oct. 6, are 11-1 at home this year and have won 23 of their last 24 at the pavilion.

Clutch wins. Some teams fold under pressure while others seem to flourish. The Falcons demonstrated the latter last week with a pair of must-win victories at home. Seattle Pacific overtook both Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage in the standings with back-to-back four-game wins. The first match featured a balanced performance which included four players in double-figures. Monica Abrahamson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Rogers) led the charge with team-highs of 12 kills, 15 digs and three blocks. The following night against UAA, Cathleen Price (Fr., Gresham, Or./Sam Barlow) matched her own season-high with 23 kills. Leah Wiiest (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Cornell-Deer Park) led the defensive effort with a career high 22-dig performance.

Dig this. Along the way, Leilani Kamahoahoa (Sr., Oregon City, Or./Canby) broke a second school career record. Kamahoahoa's 33 digs pushed her past Stephanie Huffman (1997-2000) in all-time digs. Her total now stands at 1,340. Earlier in the season Kamahoahoa claimed the SPU record for the most career kills and currently stands at No. 3 in career service aces. She trails Coach Kellie Radloff (1988-91) by 13. In addition, Kamahoahoa stands No. 4 in kills and digs career average and No. 5 in service aces average.

Senior moment. Kamahoahoa, Abrahamson, Wiiest and Lesley Kamphouse (Sr., Sumas, Wa./Nooksack Valley), the team's four seniors, will be honored in pre-match ceremonies Saturday. All four start and have been key figures in the program's transformation into a regional power the past three years. Wiiest, who leads the team in kills and blocks again this season, is within striking distance of assistant coach Hannah Walker's (1995-96) career kills average at a current clip 3.48. Abrahamson is No. 4 in career digs. Kamphouse is among the team leaders in kills (2.25) and blocks (0.67) this season.

It's academic. Five players earned a place on the academic all-GNAC team this week. Abrahamson made the selection for the third year in a row. She's an accounting major with a 3.30 grade point average. First-time selections were Wiiest (3.60/English), Kamphouse (3.23/psychology), Katy Higgins (So., Kirkland, Wa./Redmond) and Beth Untz (So., West Covina, Ca./Covina). Higgins is a psychology major with a 3.51 GPA and Untz is a sociology major with a 3.41.

Quick sets. During the careers of Kamahoahoa, Abrahamson and Kamphouse, SPU has a record of 90-25 going into this week...Seattle Pacific ranks fourth among GNAC teams in hitting percentage (.207), second in kills (15.07) and third in digs (16.89)...Higgins is second in assists (11.93). Kamahoahoa is third in service aces (0.52) and fourth in digs (3.12). Cathleen Price (Fr., Gresham, Or./Sam Barlow) ranks eighth service aces (0.47), eighth in kills (3.51) and ninth in hitting percentage (.273). Wiiest is sixth in kills (3.63). Carri Colvin (Jr., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) is fifth in digs (3.05)...Higgins remains on pace to break the season record for assists average. Deri Paulson set the mark of 11.69 in 1988. Price and Kamahoahoa are flirting with the season record for aces average (0.54), set by Dawn Wolfert in 1993.

Opponent & series notes. Simon Fraser may have lost four in a row to SPU and trail the series 17-9 but the Clan did manage to snap a 20-match win streak by Western last month...Western Washington leads the all-time series 25-15 is virtually assured of making its first trip to the NCAA tournament. A year ago the Falcons defeated the Vikings in the PacWest semifinals to lockup the sixth and final regional spot.

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.

Tickets, please. General admission tickets for all SPU home volleyball matches are priced $5 with students, youth and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Teams or groups can qualify for discount rates by call (206) 281-2085 in advance.