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Volleyball Vies For More Home Wins This Week
SPU 7-0 At Brougham; Ralph Has The Hot Hand On Road Trip
October 20, 2003

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Opponent and Series Notes

Northwest Nazarene has won four straight matches but will be on the road for the first time since Oct. 4 when it comes to Seattle. The Crusaders are 1-4 outside of Nampa, Id., this season. Setter Mindy Swanson is the No. 2 attacker (.301) in the GNAC. Although NNU swept the first meeting Sept. 27, the first two games were each decided by two points. The Falcons lead the all-time series 5-2 and have won all three meetings at home…Seattle U. stands second in the GNAC standings behind Western Washington and has won four in a row going into its trip to Bellingham. Megan Kaysinger and Sarah Sommerman, who combined for 35 kills in the Redhawks’ four-game victory Sept. 25, rank 2-3 in conference kills, averaging 4.05 and 3.98 per game. The Falcons lead the all-time series 7-2.

Welcome back. The Seattle Pacific University women’s volleyball returns to Brougham Pavilion this weekend with a chance to clinch a winning record for the season. The Falcons (5-6, 12-6), who notched their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference road victory last week, are undefeated at home this season. Five of the final seven contests will be at home, beginning Friday night (Oct. 24) versus Northwest Nazarene (6-5, 9-11). Saturday (Oct. 25) is Alumni Night with former players congregating for the crosstown clash with Seattle University (8-3, 12-6). The last of the road matches are next week at Saint Martin’s and Central Washington.

Home, sweet Brougham. Nagging injuries and one disappointment after the next on the road have yet to dampen the Falcons spirits at home. They have proven themselves among the toughest GNAC teams to beat on their own floor, and at 7-0 they are one of two to stand undefeated, along with nationally-ranked Western Washington. SPU won 15 straight at home from 2000-01, the first two seasons under Coach Kellie Ryan, and her career record at Brougham is 33-7. The current streak is eight in a row, dating back to last season.

Donut no more The Falcons’ victory at Humboldt State last week removed a glaring zero from the team’s conference road victory column. It did not come easily, however. SPU rallied from a 2-0 deficit and prevailed 16-14 in the fifth and deciding game. It was the fourth time in five opportunities the Falcons have won in five games this season. They had won a nonconference away match at Grand Canyon Aug. 29 and had won three neutral court clashes.

Last week's results:
Seattle Pacific def. Humboldt State 23-30, 27-30, 30-24, 30-24, 16-14
Western Oregon def. Seattle Pacific 30-20, 27-30, 30-23, 30-26

Duh, Ralph. Katie Ralph (So., Port Orchard, Wa./South Kitsap-E. Tennessee St.) continues to be the most reliable offensive weapon of late. Over the last three matches, Ralph has hit a remarkable .372 and averaged 3.33 kills from the middle, a secondary attacking position in the SPU offense. She has committed just five errors in 94 attempts over that span. Ralph, who along with teammate Jesscia Bauder (Jr., Richland, Wa./Richland-Columbia Basin CC), rates as a contender for GNAC newcomer of the year, ranks fourth in GNAC hitting percentage (.295) and fifth in blocks (1.00).

Unforced errors.If Ryan owns a pen with red ink, she likely used it to circle the 17 service errors on the Western Oregon box score. It was a season-high and in a close match it just may have been the difference. In the last three matches the Falcons have served just 12 aces against 40 errors. The good news is that Seattle Pacific has proven much more effect in the serve-receive game at home, with a 68-50 advantage in service aces over the visitors this season. Bauder is averaging 0.62 aces and Katy Kravitz (Sr., Olympia, Wa./Olympia-S. Colorado) 0.58 at Brougham. Bauder and Chelsey Myers (So., Minden, Nv./Douglas) have also attacked with greater effectiveness at home; Bauder is averaging 4.44 kills and hitting .224 while Myers averages 3.88 and .263.

Quick sets.Despite their home record, the Falcons have lost the opening game five times this year...Seattle Pacific has now won seven of its last eight five-set decisions...Tiffany Butac (Fr., Pearl City, Hi./Hawaii Baptist) wore the libero shirt at Western Oregon and responded with a season-high 22 digs...Ralph had 16 kills and seven blocks while Bauder cranked out 18 kills in the win at Humboldt State. Coincidentally, Arcata, Ca., was the site of the previous GNAC road win, on Nov. 9, 2002...Ralph wasn’t the only middle to produce. Andra Taylor (Sr., Camas, Wa./Camas-Mt. Hood CC) and Whitney Dibble (Fr., Reno, Nv./Galena) hit for a combined clip of .343 and 15 kills on the road trip...Seattle Pacific is third in GNAC service aces (1.99)…Individually, Bauder is second in service aces (0.54) and sixth in kills average (3.74). Jenna Von Moos (Fr., Stanwood, Wa.) is sixth in aces (0.39) an seventh in assists (8.35). Andrea Pennington (Sr., Bellingham, Wa./Bellingham-Whatcom CC) is ninth in digs (3.75).

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.