Complete Weekly Release PDF Version

All Press Releases

Happy returns. The journey has been long, but rewarding for the 15th-ranked Seattle Pacific University volleyball team. Now 18 matches into the season, the Falcons (8-0, 16-2) have done the bulk of their winning on the road. However, their patience and persistence may soon be rewarded. They finish the regular season with six of eight matches in Brougham Pavilion. SPU has plans to begin sealing its second straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference during this three-match home stand, which starts Thursday night (Oct. 5) against Northwest Nazarene (4-3, 8-7). Seattle University (3-4, 12-6) visits Saturday (Oct. 7) and No. 17 Central Washington invades Oct. 12.

Climbing the charts. After hanging around the No. 18 slot through much of the season’s first half, Seattle Pacific used a convincing victory over Central to reach its highest ever national ranking and best-ever start. The Falcons climbed three spots in this week’s CSTV/AVCA poll. And while the GNAC championship remains an intermediate goal, playoff seeding will keep them hungry all along the way. Currently undefeated Cal State San Bernardino is the Pacific Region’s highest ranked team, both in terms of the nation (No. 6) and the NCAA regional seeding. In the region, the Coyotes are trailed by Chico State, UC San Diego, unbeaten BYU Hawaii–one of two teams to defeat SPU–and the Falcons. Eight teams from each region advance to postseason play.

Home advantage. Playing at home has its advantages, regular season or postseason. Last year, SPU got the Pacific’s No. 8 seed, prompting a first-round match with the host, Cal State L.A. This time around, hopefully that will be avoided. Seattle Pacific will look to use its own familiar surroundings to support its cause. The Falcons have won 13 straight matches at home and have not lost a home GNAC match in nearly two years. Overall, they are 16-2 at home in Chris Johnson’s two years as head coach.

Near perfect. Seattle Pacific powered through a grueling month of September with a near perfect record (11-1) in 12 contests. The lone loss came on the first day of the month at Fort Lewis College. Since then, the Falcons have strung together 10 straight victories, including eight in GNAC play, to extend their league winning streak to 19 over the past two seasons. Over the past 10 matches, the Falcons are out-hitting opponents .213 to .084 and are averaging nearly five more kills per game. SPU has also totaled more than twice as many service aces as opponents and has enjoyed a 135-95 advantage in blocks.

Join the club. Rachel Biornstad (6-0, Kent, Wa./Kentlake) was named the GNAC player of the week after figuring prominently in road wins over Saint Martin’s and Central. In the big win over the Wildcats, Biornstad hit for 22 kills and seven blocks to help snap a 29-match home win streak. She became the third player to hit for 20-plus kills in the last three matches. For the week, Biornstad totaled 26 kills, a .340 hitting percentage, six service aces, eight digs and 14 block assists.

She’s a Given. Certainly it helps the likes of Biornstad when most opponents are training their blocks on Alyssa Given (Jr., 5-10, Salinas, Ca./Notre Dame), the GNAC leader in kills. Given still managed 14 kills at Ellensburg, but more importantly she opened the court for setter Jenna Von Moos (Sr., 5-10, Stanwood, Wa.) and the middles, who combined for 29 kills on .339 hitting. Given had tallied 12 kills without committing an error at Saint Martin's for a .571 percentage, the highest on the team this season, and also contributed 14 digs. She also leads the GNAC in points per game (5.10) and is ninth in attack percentage (.249) and 10th in service aces (0.41).

Quick sets. Tiffany Butac (Sr., 5-2, Pearl City, Hi./Hawaii Baptist), who ranks third all-time in career digs at SPU, tallied a season-high 33 digs at Central Washington, and she also served four aces, tying her career high...Nikki Finley (Fr., 5-9, Highlands Ranch, Co./Mountain Vista) cranked out 11 kills and a .417 hitting percentage in just two games against Saint Martin's...Angie Wodrich (Jr., 5-10, Richland, Wa.) finished with 19 kills, 24 digs, seven blocks and four aces last week. She had 10 kills, seven digs, four aces and three blocks against Saint Martin's...Von Moos, who leads the GNAC in assists, had 84 last week and ranks No. 2 all-time at SPU...The team hitting percentage of .340 and its 12 service aces at Saint Martin’s were both the second-highest of the year...The Falcons have yet to drop a game in their four home matches this season and their 16 wins is the best 18-match record, eclipsing the 15-3 in 2000. If the Falcons win Thursday they would match last year’s 11 victories in a row which was No. 2 only to the 20 straight in 2000...SPU leads thee conference in hitting (.219) and opponent hitting (.106). GNAC opponents are hitting only .081. The Falcons are averaging a league-high 2.52 aces per game in conference.

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.