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Entering on a high. It’s what they’ve dreamed about, and prepared and played for. The NCAA Division II volleyball tournament begins later this week, and 12th-ranked Seattle Pacific University seeks to make some noise when it opens against No. 15 Chico State at the Pacific Regional, Thursday (Nov. 9) in San Bernardino, Calif. Winners of 18 straight matches and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Falcons (24-2) are riding a high note and seeded No. 4 among the eight teams. If SPU defeats the Wildcats (2-5), they advance to meet the winner between host Cal State San Bernardino (25-1) and Central Washington (19-7) Friday night (Nov. 10). The regional championship is Saturday (Nov. 11).

A dream starts simply. What begins as a dream of qualifying for the national championships, Nov. 16-18 in Pensacola, Fla., begins with an objective: win the next match. It’s simple, but something that Seattle Pacific has not done before. This is the fourth trip to the playoffs and each previous excursion ended in the first round. Nothing will come easily in the Pacific Regional; seven of the teams are nationally-ranked. Cal State San Bernardino is No. 4 and No. 8 BYU Hawaii is unbeaten. The Pacific has produced 14 of the last 25 national champions. Completing the other half of the bracket are Western Washington (18-6) versus UC San Diego (23-2) and BYU Hawaii (20-0) versus Cal State L.A. (17-8), the defending regional champion.

It's unanimous. Undefeated in GNAC play, Seattle Pacific personnel are now reaping awards. Setter Jenna Von Moos (Sr., 5-10, Stanwood, Wa.) was a unanimous choice as the league’s player of the year. Von Moos becomes the first SPU player to earn the distinction since Nami Teramae in 1994. She ranks seventh nationally in assists (13.20) and is on pace to break her own school standard. Joining her on the first team are outside hitter Alyssa Given (5-10, Salinas, Ca./Notre Dame) and middle Rachel Biornstad (Jr., 6-0, Kent, Wa./Kentlake). Given and Von Moos also made the Daktronics all-region team. Chris Johnson was honored as GNAC co-coach of the year for the second time in as many seasons.

Reigning supreme. The Falcons capped conference play with an impressive 3-1 road victory over Western Washington, clinching the title outright after sharing with Central Washington last season. Seattle Pacific left no doubt, going flawless (16-0) in league, sweeping nine matches and never being forced to five games.

Heady numbers. Given cemented her status as the frontrunner for next year’s player of the year award by breaking a school record for attacking damage at Western. Given cracked 32 kills, breaking the previous mark of 30 which she had tied earlier this season. It was the second-highest total in GNAC history. She also had 22 digs to earn GNAC player of the week for a third time. Given got the record for attack attempts (86) as well. Given leads the conference in average kills (4.58) and points (5.23), and ranks sixth in service aces (0.44) and seventh in hitting (.247).

An excellent cast. Johnson has a very balanced lineup, with the necessary depth. Biornstad, Shelby Gihring (Sr., 5-10, Kent, Wa./Kentlake) and Angie Wodrich (Jr., 5-10, Richland, Wa.) have been excellent options for Von Moos when the opposition is keying on Given. Biornstad is fourth in blocking (1.10) and fifth in GNAC hitting (.268). Gihring and Wodrich each received honorable mention from the league coaches. They rank Nos. 7 and 14 in kills, averaging 3.23 and 2.83, respectively.

Key roles. The Falcons possess some defensive stalwarts too. Libero Torii Mount (So., 5-2, Gresham, Or.) set a record for digs last season while specialist Tiffany Butac (Sr., 5-2, Pearl City, Hi./Hawaii Baptist) is No. 2 on the career list. Whitney Dibble (Sr., 6-1, Reno, Nv./Galena) is back as a starter in the middle. Dibble led the team in blocking a year ago but was injured early this year. Jessica Bettencourt (Fr., 5-11, South Lake Tahoe, Ca.) has been the regular middle opposite Biornstad much of the season. Opponents have hit only .110.

Quick sets. This is the first time that three Falcons have been voted first team all-conference. The only other player of the year besides Teramae was Tosca Lindberg in 1992. Von Moos and Given are just the fifth and sixth to make an all-region first team. Leah Wiiest was the last, in 2001..Biornstad, Gihring, Given, Von Moos, Mount and Dibble were named to the GNAC academic all-star team last week...The Falcons are the fifth team to go undefeated in conference play in the league's six-year history. Their seeding is the second-best ever for a GNAC team. Western Washington was once No. 3. This is the first time three conference members have qualified for the regional…They are 51-80 all-time against the Pacific Region tournament field, but 4-1 against those teams this season...Seattle Pacific's only two losses this year came against tournament teams (BYU Hawaii and Fort Lewis, the No. 7 seed in the Southwest Region)…Gihring had 19 kills in last week's title-clinching victory over Western Washington. Wodrich had 17 and 20 digs...Von Moos totaled 71 assists. She already has the school record for career assists and is six away from becoming just the third player in GNAC history to reach 4,000. Von Moos will also finish with school records for career and season assists average. Von Moos needs 114 assists for the season record...Butac is just 19 digs away from the program career record and is currently second all-time for career and season digs averages. She is third in the GNAC (5.26)...Given's current total of 408 kills is the third-highest season total in SPU history. She needs 68 to break the record. Her season average of 4.58 and career average of 3.74 per game are on record pace...Wodrich is nine service aces off the school record but her average is on record pace, leading the GNAC at 0.58... The Falcons lead the GNAC in kills (16.17) and opponent hitting percentage (.110). They rank second in hitting percentage (.224) and service aces (2.15), with a school-record average to date.

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.