Four of a kind. The Seattle Pacific University volleyball team has shown it can compete with the best, but this week they seek to prove they can do it on a consistent basis. The Falcons (4-5, 5-11) host a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference home matches to complete their four-match home stand before hitting the road for five of their final seven regular season matches. Saint Martin's (1-8, 1-13) visits Brougham Pavilion Friday night (Oct. 11) and Saturday night (Oct. 19) Central Washington (5-4, 7-9) comes to town. SPU returns to the road with a pair of matches in Alaska next week.

Comeback, letdown. Coach Kellie Ryan's young Falcons went through yet another stint of growing pains last week in two home matches. Against Humboldt State, SPU twice rallied, first after falling in game one and then again in the fifth frame, to seal the dramatic victory. Monica Herrera (Jr., Lima, Peru/Divino Maestro-Mercy) and Carri Colvin (Sr., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) combined for 40 of the team's 63 kills in the victory. Yet the following night, against a Western Oregon squad which had lost five straight, the Falcons came out flat and could never recover, losing in four games. When Saint Martin's arrives, Seattle Pacific will be trying to avoid consecutive home losses for the first time since the 1999 season.

Meltdown. Last week's colossal dropoff in offensive productivity from one night to another was reminiscent of a similar phenomenon Seattle Pacific experienced against the Alaska schools last month. This time SPU's attack percentage slipped from .212 against Humboldt to .074 versus Western Oregon. The Falcons also committed 35 attack errors in four games as opposed to 25 in five against Humboldt. Colvin and Herrera had their chances to put the Falcons on the board more regularly, setting a GNAC season-high for four-game matches with a combined 129 attempts, but converted just 30 for kills. With nine matches remaining, the team needs to win at least eight to avoid the program's first losing record since 1997.

For offense sake. To give her team a much-needed offensive boost and to assure two of her most talented players more court time, Ryan reversed some roles which led to a career-high for Colvin and some big numbers for Andrea Pennington (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Whatcom) as well. Colvin, who started the season as the team's libero, was moved from that defensive position to outside hitter where she led the Falcons in attacks last week. Versus Humboldt, she set a career-high for kills with 18 and recorded a .326 attack percentage, committing just three errors. Moved to libero, Pennington established a team season-high 28 digs-the fifth-best total in the GNAC this season.

Mission accomplished. Although the Falcons are in the midst of a rollercoaster season, Ryan has to be happy with the rebuilding process. Ryan proclaimed at the beginning of the season that she would build her young team on defense. While SPU sits at or near the bottom of offensive statistics in the conference, the team's defensive numbers are respectable compared with other GNAC teams, especially given the team's inexperience and youth. In conference matches, the Falcons are No. 2 in digs (19.11), No. 3 in blocks (2.16) and No. 4 in opponent hitting percentage (.161).

Quick sets. Colvin's 71 attack attempts vs. Western Oregon surpasses the previous SPU record of 66 set by Herrera just a week earlier...Herrera may soon own another record just the same. Her kills average of 4.08 is on pace to break the record of 3.86 set by Nami Teramae in 1995. In conference matches, Herrera is averaging 4.62 kills (best in the GNAC) and attacking at a clip of .228. Overall, Herrera is No. 2 in conference kills and eighth in service aces (0.43)...Kathleen Monda (So., Woodinville, Wa./Woodinville-Washington St.) totaled 14 blocks in last week's matches and is averaging 1.05 in conference and 0.90 for the season, 10th in the GNAC...Katy Higgins (Jr., Kirkland, Wa./Redmond) is eighth among GNAC setters with 9.68 assists per game...SPU's win over Humboldt snapped a string of three straight losses in five-game matches...Andrea Dettorre (Jr., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) saw her first action of the season last weekend. Dettorre, plagued by a knee injury, had missed the first 14 matches. She was used primarily for serving and back row last week...Liz Bishop (So., Tabernash, Co./Middle Park) will not play the remainder of the season after it was determined her back injury is career-ending. Bishop had played in 10 matches, but none since Oct. 3...The Falcons' 35 errors against WOU was the most since Aug. 30 against Cal State Stanislaus...The 109 digs against WOU is the most this season and good for fourth in the GNAC thus far...SPU, currently 2-3 at home, has not finished with a losing home record since 1997, and went 38-6 in the four seasons which followed.

SPU Coaches. In her first two seasons as a head coach, Kellie Ryan's teams have been nothing short of spectacular. The Falcons earned their first two trips to the NCAA tournament, won 44 of 58 matches and established a new record for consecutive wins (20) while equaling marks for most wins (24) and fewest losses (6) in a season. Ryan, 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). Antonela Secer, a native of Croatia, returns for her second year as assistant coach, 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.

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.