Four of a kind. The Seattle Pacific University volleyball team cracks open a pivotal four-game home stand this weekend with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchups. It's the longest stay the Falcons (3-4, 4-10) will have in Brougham Pavilion this season and it begins Friday night (Oct. 11) when they take on Humboldt State (2-5, 4-11). Saturday evening (Oct. 12) Western Oregon (1-6, 1-14) visits on Alumni Night. The home stand wraps-up next week with bouts against Saint Martin's and Central Washington.

Playing big. The Falcons came away with a respectable split of two matches against some tough opposition on the road last week. SPU was extended to five games for the first time at Northwest Nazarene, pushing the Crusaders to the brink of defeat before falling 17-15 in the fifth. Still, it was a memorable evening as Monica Herrera (Jr., Lima, Peru/Divino Maestro-Mercy) belted a school and GNAC record 30 kills. Herrera added 17 more kills a couple nights later in a 3-1 road victory at Seattle University to earn conference player of the week honors.

Peaking? Coach Kellie Ryan's young squad appears to be on the upswing. Following a 1-8 start against some stellar opposition, the Falcons have settled in and gone 3-2 in the last five outings despite playing only twice at home. Now the goal is to climb further in the GNAC standings and the pavilion provides the optimal setting. SPU is 27-5 at home dating back to 1999. Humboldt State and Western Oregon, which have a combined record of 5-25, will be only the third and fourth opponents with losing records this season.

Peruvian punisher. Jaws drop and eyes widen when Herrera pounds a ball over the net. A native of Peru and a late addition to Ryan's summer camp, the hard-hitting Herrera has quickly established herself as one of the most feared attackers in the conference. She has not dipped beneath double-figures in kills since Sept. 14, and hits an even 4.00 kills per game, good for third in the GNAC. Last week, In her last four matches she has averaged more than 21 kills and last week she also contributed nine aces off her jump-serve. These numbers alone make her an early favorite for conference newcomer of the year honors.

Rookie move. You would not know it by her play, but Chelsey Myers (Fr., Minden, Nv./Douglas) is the only freshman on the SPU roster. Myers enjoyed the best night of her fledgling collegiate career at Northwest Nazarene. She recorded 10 kills on 22 attacks and recorded just one error for a season-high .409 attacking percentage. The performance marked her third double-digit kill total of the season and moved her into second place behind Herrera in kills per game (1.75) and attacking percentage (.175). Myers is proving useful at setting and blocking as well with numbers good enough for second and third, respectively, on the team.

Supporting roles. While just about every match is dominated by Herrera statistically, others have been stepping forward to fill vital supporting roles of late. In addition to Myers, Carri Colvin (Sr., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) came up big last week, hitting 26 kills in the two matches. Andrea Pennington (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Bellingham-Whatcom CC) took over for Colvin as libero and totaled 22 and 25 digs, respectively. The latter was the most by an SPU player this season. Setter Katy Higgins (Jr., Kirkland, Wa./Redmond) and Andra Taylor (Jr., Camas, Wa./Camas-Mt. Hood CC) combined for eight of the team's season-high 14 blocks at NNU. Taylor's seven (1 solo, six assists) was a personal-best and Higgins' 58 assists was a season-high.

Quick sets. Herrera's kill record eclipsed the school mark of 28 set by Stephanie Huffman in 1998 and the conference record of 28 set by Angel Fairbanks of Alaska Fairbanks last season. Herrera's 66 attempts was also a new SPU mark, erasing Beth Palmer's standard of 63, set in 1996...The Falcons, who have finished lower than third in their conference only once in the last 11 years, have moved from 10th up to sixth in the GNAC standings since Sept. 17...Service woes continued at Northwest Nazarene, where SPU committed 12 faults, only to benefit 48 hours later from 17 by Seattle U...Higgins ranks seventh among GNAC setters in assists per game at 9.62...Colvin is seventh in digs, averaging 3.48 and Herrera ranks seventh in aces (0.43)...Herrera's .333 attack percentage at NNU was second only to a .385 by Myers in a win over Cal State Stanislaus last month...Seattle Pacific has lost its last three five-game matches. At NNU, it held leads of 10-6 and 13-10 in the deciding game.

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.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.