Complete Box Score

NAMPA, Id. (Nov. 12) Alyssa Given had a match-high 12 kills as Seattle Pacific swept Northwest Nazarene 3-0 Saturday night at NNU's Johnson Sports Center to win at least a share of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship and secure the league's automatic berth into the NCAA II tournament.

"Obviously this is very exciting for us," said first-year head coach Chris Johnson. "This is unchartered territory for every player on this team."

The Falcons (16-2 GNAC, 22-5), ranked No. 16 in NCAA II, won at least a share of their first GNAC title in the conference's five-year history with a 30-27, 30-17, 30-23 victory. Central Washington would split the league championship with a victory at Alaska Fairbanks in a late match tonight. The Falcons enter postseason play with a season-best 11 straight victories.

"We're playing extremely well right now, and I am excited about our chance at regionals," Johnson said.

Given (So., Salinas, Ca./Notre Dame), who leads SPU and ranks fifth in the league in kills, also had seven digs in the victory. Whitney Dibble (Jr., 6-1, Reno, Nv./Galena) and Chelsey Myers (Sr., 5-10, Minden, Nv./Douglas) finished with nine kills in the victory. Dibble also had four blocks.

Allison James had 10 kills and 11 digs in the loss for Northwest Nazarene (7-11 GNAC, 9-19). Karlyn Jones added seven kills and four blocks, and Kristy Wigren chipped in six kills and 11 digs.

SPU's Angie Wodrich (So., 5-10, Richland, Wa.) finished with eight kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Setter Jenna Von Moos (Jr., 5-10, Stanwood, Wa.) tallied four kills, 39 assists and nine digs, and libero Torii Mount (Fr., 5-2, Gresham, Or.) led all players with 24 digs.

SPU hit .235 as a team and held the Crusaders to just a .111 percentage. The Falcons also had seven service aces behind Given's match-high three.

The Falcons will compete in the NCAA II Pacific Region tournament beginning Nov. 17 or 18 at a site to be determined. Playoff seeds and pairings will be announced Monday afternoon. The top seed will host the eight-team regional tournament.

Seattle Pacific def. Northwest Nazarene 30-27,30-17,30-23
Seattle Pacific (22-5, 16-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Given,Alyssa 12-3-1; Dibble,Whitney 9-3-4; Myers,Chelsey 9-0-1; Wodrich,Angie 8-0-3; Biornstad,Rachel 6-0-5; Von Moos,Jenna 4-0-2; Gihring,Shelby 3-0-0; Butac,Tiffany 0-1-0; Totals 51-7-11.0. (Assists) – Von Moos,Jenna 39. (Dig leaders) - Mount,Torii 24; Butac,Tiffany 11; Wodrich,Angie 10; Von Moos,Jenna 9
Northwest Nazarene (9-19, 7-11) (Kills-aces-blocks) - James,Allison 10-0-0; Jones,Karlyn 7-0-4; Wigren,Kristy 6-1-1; Fryer,Lindsey 5-0-5; O'Hara,Alanna 4-0-1; Harrington,Aubrey 2-0-1; Loveland,Loni 1-0-1; Boschma,Amanda 1-0-0; Simpson,Sareena 0-1-0; Totals 36-2-11.0. (Assists) - Harrington,Aubrey 24. (Dig leaders) - James,Allison 11; Kling,Molly 11; Wigren,Kristy 11; Harrington,Aubrey 9; Fryer,Lindsey 8
Site: Nampa, ID (Johnson Sports Ctr). Date: Nov 12, 2005. Attend: 232. Time: 1.5 hrs. Referees: Conrad Johnston, Richard Gaona.