Complete Box Score

SAN BERNARDINO, Ca. (Nov. 9) Shelby Gihring and Alyssa Given tied for a match-high 17 kills, but Seattle Pacific squandered a two games to one lead and fell 3-2 to Chico State in the opening round of the Pacific Region tournament at Cal State San Bernardino’s Coussoulis Arena.

The Falcons (24-3), ranked 12th nationally and seeded fourth in the tournament, were in control of the match early after sneaking after overcoming a 19-14 deficit in game one to take an early lead. However, 15th-ranked and No. 5 seed Chico State (21-5) rallied in the end to pull away with a 29-31, 30-24, 26-30, 30-23, 15-9 victory.

Given (Jr., Salinas, Ca./Notre Dame), a first-team all-region and all-conference selection, also had nine digs and four blocks in the loss, which snapped an 18-match win streak for the Falcons. Gihring (Sr., 5-10, Kent, Wa./Kentlake) also had nine digs to go along with her 17 kills.

SPU setter Jenna Von Moos (Sr., 5-10, Stanwood, Wa.) matched Chico State’s Erica Brick with 55 assists. The school’s all-time leader in assists and this year’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Von Moos became just the third player in league history to top 4,000 for a career. She also had a team-high 20 digs and three blocks.

Lindsay Macias tallied 16 kills and a match-high 22 digs to lead the Wildcats to victory. Breanne Zellmer also had 16 kills on a .419 hitting percentage and 12 digs.

Seattle Pacific finished with 63 kills in the match to Chico’s 67, but the Wildcats recorded a .200 hitting percentage to just .149 by SPU, who averaged a .224 clip during the season. The Falcons had a 10-7 advantage in blocks, but Chico State had 12 service aces to help overcome 17 errors.

The Falcons also got 13 kills and four blocks from Rachel Biornstad (Jr., 6-0, Kent, Wa./Kentlake) and eight kills and six blocks from Whitney Dibble (Sr., 6-1, Reno, Nv./Galena). Angie Wodrich (Jr., 5-10, Richland, Wa.) added six kills and 16 digs.

Chico’s Jamie Houle added 13 kills in the win for Chico, who will move on to face the winner of tonight’s late match between top seed and tournament host Cal State San Bernardino and No. 8 seed Central Washington. Gillian Heydorff was also in double figures with 10 kills and 10 digs.

It was a disappointing end for one of the finest seasons in Seattle Pacific’s history. The 2006 Falcons finished with the best winning percentage and fewest lowest in program history and were just two wins shy of matching the school record.

Chico State Univ. def. Seattle Pacific 29-31,30-24,26-30,30-23,15-9
Chico State Univ. (21-5) (Kills-aces-blocks) - MACIAS, Lindsay 16-1-2; Zellmer, Breanne 16-3-0; HOULE, Jamie 13-0-2; HEYDORFF, Gillian 10-5-2; JOHNSON, Whitney 8-0-4; BRICK, Erica 4-1-2; ZVOLANEK, Amanda 0-1-0; STRINGFELLOW, Lacy 0-1-0; Totals 67-12-7.0. (Assists) - BRICK, Erica 55. (Dig leaders) - MACIAS, Lindsay 22; STRINGFELLOW, Lacy 18; Zellmer, Breanne 12; HEYDORFF, Gillian 10
Seattle Pacific (24-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Gihring,Shelby 17-1-1; Given,Alyssa 17-1-4; Biornstad,Rachel 13-0-4; Dibble,Whitney 8-0-6; Wodrich,Angie 6-0-1; Von Moos,Jenna 2-1-3; Mount,Torii 0-1-0; Totals 63-4-10.0. (Assists) - Von Moos,Jenna 55. (Dig leaders) – Von Moos,Jenna 20; Mount,Torii 18; Wodrich,Angie 16; Given,Alyssa 9; Gihring,Shelby 9
Site: San Bernardino, CA (Coussoulis Arena). Date: Nov 09, 2006. Attend: 450. Time: 2h 13m. Referees: Teteris, Hays, Palmer, Pickett.