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Flying high. Following another perfect week, the Seattle Pacific University volleyball team is now in complete control of its own destiny. In sole possession of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the 18th-ranked Falcons (6-0, 14-2) have an opportunity to consolidate their lead. SPU goes after its ninth straight win and 19th in a row in GNAC play Thursday night (Sept. 28) at Saint Martin’s (1-4, 1-8). Then comes a pivotal pairing with No. 15 Central Washington (5-1, 14-2) Saturday (Sep. 30) to complete the first half of league play. Six of the final eight regular season matches are at home, beginning Oct. 5 against Northwest Nazarene.

Great eight. Ultimately, the Falcons have their sights set on a NCAA tournament bid and a trip to Pensacola, Fl., as one eight regional champions. But a more immediate goal is to retain their GNAC championship, and last week they took a significant step in that direction. Seattle Pacific extended its respective win streaks with convincing victories at Northwest Nazarene and Seattle University. SPU is averaging nearly five more kills per game and out-hitting opponents .219 to .085 during the streak, which includes four sweeps. Meanwhile, Central fell to second place after losing at Western Washington.

Dynamic duo. Outside hitters Shelby Gihring (Sr., 5-10, Kent, Wa./Kentlake) and Alyssa Given (Jr., 5-10, Salinas, Ca./Notre Dame) combined to form quite the duo in the 3-1 victory over Seattle University. Both players established new career highs in kills, with Gihring providing a GNAC season-best 26. She also finished with six digs and a .392 hitting percentage. Given wasn’t far off pace, with 25 kills on .382 hitting, 18 digs and three service aces. The pair combined for 51 of the SPU’s 69 kills, while the Redhawks mustered just 38 as a team. Two nights earlier, Given led the Falcons with 16 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Northwest Nazarene. She leads the GNAC and ranks 29th nationally with 4.6 kills per game.

A run for the records. Tiffany Butac (5-2, Pearl City, Hi./Hawaii Baptist) moved up one spot into No. 3 all-time in career digs at Seattle Pacific with 1,209. Butac, who back her libero role this season, needs just three more to crack the GNAC career top 10. Also climbing the charts is setter Jenna Von Moos (5-10, Stanwood, Wa.), who is No. 3 in SPU career assists with 3,471. She averaged a whopping 13.71 assists per game in the two matches last week and ranks ninth overall in the nation, averaging 12.81. Both players are currently on pace to break those respective school season records.

Change can be good. When he took over as head coach, Chris Johnson by no means needed to rebuild the SPU program. All it needed was a lift, and that’s exactly what Johnson has provided. Using essentially the same players who had gone 15-11 in 2004, Johnson was able to push the Falcons from conference contender to 22-6 and a postseason qualifier in his first season. Now he has them on the verge of becoming a power in the most competitive volleyball region in NCAA Division II. A serious student of the game, Johnson has tweaked hitting techniques, resulting in a rise from .182 to .227 in team hitting a year ago. Currently SPU leads the GNAC at .223. Defensive tactics have had a chilling effect on opponents, whose hitting has dropped from .152 in ‘04 to .110 now. Johnson, a Bellevue native, is in only his second year as a head coach. He played five years at the collegiate club level, then spent three season as an assistant at Westmont and one year under Kellie Ryan at SPU. He was the ‘05 GNAC co-coach of the year.

Quick sets. Despite another pair of wins, the Falcons did not budge from the No. 18 position in the NCAA coaches poll…Rachel Biornstad (Jr., 6-0, Kent, Wa./Kentlake) had 16 kills, nine digs, six blocks and a pair of aces in the victories last week, including 11 kills on .360 hitting and four blocks against Northwest Nazarene…In conference matches, opponents have only hit .081. Biornstad is hitting .284, Given .268 and Gihring .234 in the first six GNAC outings, and Given’s averaging 0.70 service aces...SPU averaged over six kills more per game combined against NNU and SU last week. The Falcons lead the GNAC and rank 17th nationally with 15.9 kills per game. SPU also leads the conference in hitting percentage (.223), opponent hitting percentage (.110) and assists (14.6). The Falcons are fourth in aces (2.0) and blocks (2.1)…Butac ranks third in the league in digs (5.6)…Angie Wodrich (Jr., 5-10, Richland, Wa.) is fourth in aces (0.6), eighth in points (3.8), 13th in kills (2.8), 14th in hitting percentage (.212), 15th in blocks (0.7) and 22nd in digs (2.9)...Given now has five matches of 20 or more kills...The 57 assists for Von Moos at Seattle U. was three short of her season high...Given accounted for a GNAC-season best 28.0 points at SU and Gihring had 27.0...Jessica Bettencourt (Fr., So. Lk. Tahoe, Ca.) has totaled at least four kills in each of the last six matches.

SPU coaches. Chris Johnson took the Falcons to their first conference championship and an NCAA tournament berth in his inaugural season as head coach, and was voted GNAC co-coach of the year. Johnson was the team’s top assistant in 2004, and earlier served as an assistant at NAIA powerhouse Westmont from 2001-03. A native of Bellevue and graduate of Interlake High School, Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in art from Westmont in 2002. He played a total of five years at the collegiate club level, including three at Westmont. Johnson’s staff features two new aides. Gretchen Killebrew, an all-Pac-10 setter at Washington, was the Bellevue Community College head coach a year ago. Johnny Lai was an assistant at BCC for the past three years.

Tickets, please. Ticket prices for all SPU regular season home matches are $5 for general admission, with students and senior citizens $3. Group and team rates are available by phoning (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.