MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Oregon volleyball clinched their first winning weekend in just under a year's time, as the Wolves won a four-set battle against Seattle Pacific on Saturday night. After the visiting Falcons avoided a sweep by winning the third set, WOU took the fourth set to win 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22). 
 
With the victory, the Wolves improved to 8-11 overall and 5-7 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action. SPU dropped to 8-12 on the year and fell to 4-8 in GNAC play.
 
The match played to the advantage of big runs, with only 10 ties and four lead changes throughout the conference contest.
 
WOU had two players reach double figures in kills, with junior Alisha Bettinson posting a match-best 15 putaways. She notched her 11^th season double-double with 12 digs while adding two blocks. Senior Paige Orth matched her season-best with 14 kills. She added nine digs and three block assists.
 
Sophomores Mariella Vandenkooy and Amanda Short each chipped in with eight kills. Second-year setter Maddie Mehciz shined with a match-high 46 assists, adding five digs and two solo blocks. Senior libero Christie Colasurdo led four WOU players with double-figure digs with 35.
 
The Wolves offense hit .149 with 52 kills and held SPU to a .077 mark and 48 kills. Western Oregon owned a 95-81 edge in digs, a 4-1 advantage in service aces, and in total blocks (11.0 – 7.5).
 
In the opening set, Western Oregon shook off a shaky start that saw them trail 3-0 and 6-4. Orth had the hot hand early with six kills on seven swings (.857), two coming in a 5-0 run that extended the Wolves' lead to 20-13. Up by seven late in the game, SPU rattled off a 4-0 spurt before Bettinson had three kills in the last four points to take the set.
 
Four straight WOU errors allowed the Falcons to take a 5-0 lead in the game two. The Wolves chipped the lead down to three (11-8) before a change in momentum came on Mehciz's serve. A 7-0 WOU run characterized by the home club putting down kills following SPU errors erased a three-point deficit and turned it into a four-point lead, 15-11. Up 18-16, an Orth kill sent Libbie Hoene to the line. The Wolves used a 5-0 run with an attack error, two Hoene service aces, and a kill from Short to cruise to a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Seattle Pacific came out focused after the intermission and built an early 9-3 lead in the third game. WOU tried to claw back all game, pulling within three points at 19-16. The Falcons used a single-game high 19 kills to pull away for a 25-20 set win.
 
Set four began even, with the score being tied at 8-all. Western Oregon jumped ahead on the heels of an 11-3 run that saw three consecutive combo blocks from Orth and Vandenkooy against attacks from SPU's Lexi Biondi. The Falcons fought tough to wipe away three match points before Short finished the match with a powerful kill on a pass from Mehciz.
 
The Wolves head back out on the road for a pair of GNAC matches next week. On Thursday (Oct. 27), WOU takes on #19 Western Washington after the Vikings broke the 20-match win streak of Alaska Anchorage. On Saturday (Oct. 29), the Wolves will head to Canada to face Simon Fraser. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.