The climb above .500. After a month of trading wins with the opposition, the Seattle Pacific University volleyball team hits the road this week with hopes of bringing its league and overall records back above the .500 mark as the first half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play comes to a close. Thursday night (Oct. 7), the Falcons (3-4 GNAC, 7-8) travel to Monmouth, Or., to take on Western Oregon (2-5, 6-8). Two nights later, SPU will be in Arcata, Ca., for a clash with Humboldt State (1-6 GNAC, 2-12). A three-match home stand Back and forth. Since departing California and a Labor Day tournament Sept. 4, the Falcons have led a checkered existence, alternately losing and winning the last seven outings. Its a trend which dates back to a year ago. Since then, SPU has won back-to-back matches once, never lost more than three in a row and has gone 11-14 overall. What Coach Kellie Ryan seeks to start is some momentum over the second half of the GNAC campaign. With the next three fixtures coming against the teams at the bottom of the standings, Seattle Pacific could get on a roll before successive meetings with nationally-ranked Central Washington and Western Washington. The last time SPU won more than two straight was a 7-0 start to last season. begins Oct. 15 vs. Saint Martin1s.

Resilient Fairbanks earns split for Alaska schools. After sweeping Alaska Anchorage to begin last week, SPU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead against Alaska Fairbanks the next night and looked poised for a weekend sweep of the GNAC1s two most northern schools. In fact, the Falcons captured late leads in every game during their match against UAF. However, the Nanooks rallied in three straight games to pull off the 3-1 comeback win. In game two, SPU led 26-23. After three straight points by the Nanooks, SPU pulled back ahead 27-26, but UAF closed the match with four straight points. In game three, SPU was on top 23-20, but Fairbanks fired back with 10 straight points to close the game. The Falcons led 21-20 in the fourth game, but again UAF rallied and went on to win the match.

Gaining ground. By splitting its two conference matches last week, Seattle Pacific moved up the conference table into a tie for fifth place, just one back of fourth-place Alaska Fairbanks and three back of cracking the top three. With their victory on Friday, the Falcons passed Alaska Anchorage and kept pace with Northwest Nazarene. Despite taking to the road for two matches this week, the Falcons are eyeing a sweep to continue their ascent up the GNAC standings. SPU is 3-3 in official away matches (excluding neutral sites).

Ralph, Falcons soaring at the net. Junior Katie Ralph (Port Orchard, Wa./South Kitsap) continues to lead a relentless defense at the net. Ralph tallied 11 total blocks in the two matches last week and moved up to third in the GNAC in blocking (1.07 per game). As a team, SPU finished with a season-high 18.5 blocks in Saturday1s loss to Fairbanks, and that came in just four games. The Falcons rank second in the league with 2.21 blocks per game. Opponents1 hitting percentage has continued to plummet over the last three weeks, and SPU has climbed to fourth in the league, holding foes to just .173. Last week, Seattle Pacific held Fairbanks to .110 hitting, while Anchorage hit for just a .095 clip.

Freshman finding key roles. While SPU1s veterans have provided the big punch, Ryan has received significant contributions from her talented freshman class. Hard-hitting Alyssa Given (Fr., Salinas, Ca./Notre Dame) has emerged as the team1s leader in kills (2.60 per game) and service aces (0.40). She ranks 19th and 12th, respectively, in the GNAC in those categories. Recently, Rachel Biornstad (Fr., Kent, Wa./Kentlake) has locked herself a spot in the regular playing rotation, and she has gotten the call frequently on the attack. Biornstad came up with career highs of eight kills and a .316 hitting percentage in Friday1s victory over Alaska Anchorage. The following night she matched her eight kills and recorded a career high with six blocks, including two solo, in the loss to Alaska Fairbanks. She tallied a career-high 12 points for SPU. Biornstad is averaging nearly two kills per game over her past four matches, all starts.

Quick sets. Ralph ranks ninth in conference hitting percentage (.263). Setter Jenna Von Moos (So., Stanwood, Wa./Stanwood) is eighth in assists (9.53) in the GNAC...Four of the eight losses this season have come against nationally-ranked teams...Seattle Pacific has reached double figures in blocks in three of its last four matches and a total of six times this year.

SPU coaches. In her first four seasons as a head coach, Kellie Ryan has guided the Falcons to new heights. Under Ryan, SPU earned its first two trips to the NCAA tournament and established a new record for consecutive wins (20) while equaling marks for most wins (24) and fewest losses (6) in a season. She entered Œ04 with a overall mark of 68-40. 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 honors as a senior. She remains the SPU record-holder for service aces (142) in a career and single match assists (83). Chris Johnson, assistant for Westmont College in Santa Barbara from 2001-2003, joins the SPU staff this season. Jim Woolace returns for his fourth season as an assistant.

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.