Two and done. The Seattle Pacific University volleyball team gets a reprieve from a road-heavy final three weeks of the season with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches at Brougham Pavilion this week. The Falcons' (6-14, 5-8) three-year streak of avoiding back-to-back losses on their home court will be in jeopardy Halloween night (Oct. 31) when crosstown rival Seattle University (10-2, 20-3) visits. Northwest Nazarene (7-5, 11-8) is the guest for the pavilion finale Saturday night (Oct. 26). SPU closes out the regular season with three straight road matches, beginning Nov. 7 at Western Oregon.

Northern exposure. For the first time in the program's 17-year history, SPU returned home from Alaska empty-handed. The Falcons struggled in matches against Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage without two key players. Without Kathleen Monda (So., Woodinville, Wa./Woodinville-Washington State) against Fairbanks, outside hitter Monica Herrera (Jr., Lima, Peru/Mercy College) was forced to play the middle.

"We had to have Monica play in the middle, which she is very capable of doing, but it made us out of sync," Coach Kellie Ryan said.

The Falcons personnel situation worsened midway through the match when Chelsey Myers (Fr., Minden, Nv./Douglas) went down with an ankle sprain. Myers also missed the Anchorage contest and is listed as doubtful for this week.

"Katy Kravitz (Jr., Olympia, Wa./Olympia-Southern Colorado) played well in Chelsey's place on the outside, but again, we were unable to adjust," said Ryan.

Shallow waters. For the first time since the Falcons' brutal early-season tournament schedule, the team has dropped three consecutive matches. SPU is hitting just .124 during the span with 33 service errors. The offense put away only .084 percent of its opportunities and logged 21 errors. The defense continues to keep opponents honest, however, as the Falcons are recording higher blocking (2.05) and dig (17.3) numbers than their opponents (1.36 and 13.0). Depth remains the most glaring problem as Herrera, Katy Higgins (Jr., Kirkland, Wa./Redmond) and Carri Colvin (Sr., Vancouver, Wa./Prairie) continue to carry the offense while Andrea Pennington (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Whatcom CC) and Monda aid those three on defense.

Trick-or-treat. The Falcons are on the verge of the program's most disappointing finish in nearly a decade and will miss a postseason invitation for the first time since 1997. They made the NCAA tournament the past two years and qualified for conference playoffs from 1998-00. A showdown with Seattle U. on Halloween may be the treat SPU is looking for to put a smile on the team's jack-o-lantern. In the midst of their best-ever season, the Redhawks have fallen just twice in GNAC play, including an Oct. 5 loss to the Falcons. With a victory over SU, the Falcons can maintain Division II volleyball supremacy in the Emerald City, avoid breaking the three-year streak of not losing in back-to-back matches at the pavilion and avoid their first home losing record since 1997.

Newcomer of the year? Herrera, a.k.a. the "Peruvian Punisher," has completed her climb to the top of the conference's kills leaders, thereby securing "most-feared" status and a strong case for GNAC newcomer of the year honors. Herrera is finishing her first season in torrid fashion. Over the last six weeks the junior transfer has hit 10 or more kills in 12 consecutive matches. Herrera's 4.11 kills per game leads the conference and she's seventh in service aces (0.41). She owns the conference and school record of 30 kills in a single match. The Falcons have produced the newcomer of the year the past two seasons; Leah Wiiest won in 2000 and Cathleen Price in 2001.

Quick sets. Colvin, the lone senior due to be honored before Saturday's match, needs 119 digs in the final five matches to break into the career top five...Higgins moved into No. 3 in career total assists (2838) last week, surpassing Danielle Dettorre (1996-99). She needs 235 to move past Heather Peterson (1991-94) for No. 2...The Falcons need two more wins to avoid tying the mark for fewest wins (7) in a season, set in 1993...Stacia Willson (So., Colfax, Wa./Colfax) served up two aces and zero errors against Fairbanks and Pennington recorded three aces, but added as many errors...Herrera and Higgins each blocked four Nanooks attacks...Monda, who was suspended for the UAF match for a breech of team rules, recorded four kills and zero errors against Anchorage...Herrera and Colvin recorded 56 of the team's 86 kills over the weekend...Higgins ranks eighth among GNAC setters in assists per game with 9.93...Herrera is averaging 4.51 kills in conference matches...Colvin ranks ninth in digs (3.53) and Pennington is 11th (3.46)...Monda is 10th in blocking (0.90)...Herrera remains on pace to break the kills per game school record of 3.86, set by Nami Teramae in 1995. Teramae's mark for total kills (475) is likely to withstand the challenge.

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.