The streak stops here. Seeking some much-needed momentum in this second month of the season, the Seattle Pacific University women's volleyball team hosts a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches this weekend. The Falcons (2-4/9-4), who lost twice last week on the road, face Central Washington (4-1/5-8) Friday night (Oct. 3) before Saint Martin's (0-5/05-11) visits Saturday night (Oct. 4). A season-long string of three consecutive road matches begins next week at No. 5-ranked Western Washington.

Brougham-o-seltzer. Whereas SPU has yet to score its first conference road kill, the home court has proven to be a haven. The Falcons are 5-0 overall this season at Brougham Pavilion, with a win streak of six matches dating back to last year. They are hitting a healthy .239 as a team on the attack on their home floor, with Jessica Bauder (Jr., Kennewick, Wa./Kennewick-Columbia Basin CC) averaging 5.0 kills per game.

Dump the slump. The numbers were no so hefty this past week, when Seattle Pacific dropped road matches at Seattle University and Northwest Nazarene. The attack was comparatively anemic, sinking below .200 in both matches. In fact, over the last five outings the team is hitting just .163. Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene was blazing away (hitting an opponent season-best of .305) in becoming the first team to sweep SPU. Still, the Falcons had their chances. They led 29-27 in the first game and once again were in front midway through game two. The Crusaders reeled off a pair of runs-13-2 and 11-2-and then rode that momentum to a win in game three. In the first eight matches the Falcons had hit .251.

Last week's results:
Seattle University def. Seattle Pacific 30-24, 27-30, 30-22, 30-25
Northwest Nazarene def. Seattle Pacific 36-34, 30-28, 30-22

Ms. consistency. One bright spot of late in the offense has been the consistent play of middle Katie Ralph (So., Port Orchard, Wa./South Kitsap-East Tennessee St.). The transfer has the highest hitting percentage (.288) of any Falcon on the front line and ranks eighth in the conference. She's also scoring on defense, with an average of 1.02 blocks to rate fourth in the GNAC. Ralph hit 10 kills and .444 overall at NNU. She has averaged 1.16 blocks over the last six matches, and has hit .300 or higher in six contests.

Serve's up. With attacks not finding their intended targets often enough of late, the Falcons' ability to score on the serve is more important than ever. They are second in the conference in aces at 2.18 per game with Bauder and setter Jenna Von Moos (Fr., Stanwood, Wa) standing fourth and fifth, respectively. As a team, the Falcons have reached double-digits in aces in three of the last four matches. Chelsey Myers (So., Minden, Nv./Douglas) hit three at Nampa while Bauder served a season-high five at Seattle U.

Quik sets. Bauder posted a pair of double-doubles last week but her hitting was marred by a total of 23 errors in 106 attempts. She had 21 kills and 12 digs at Seattle U., and 18 and 14 at NNU...Myers has hit double figures in digs 11 times and kills 10 times in 13 matches...Andra Taylor (Sr., Camas, Wa./Mt. Hood CC) scored two stuff blocks at NNU...Tiffany Butac (Fr., Pearl City, Hi./Hawaii Baptist) dug out 12 balls in the three games at Northwest Nazarene...Seattle Pacific remains No. 3 in GNAC team hitting (.213) and digs (18.67)...Individually, Bauder is third in kills average (4.10) and Von Moos is seventh in assists (8.92).

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.