MONMOUTH, Ore.—Alternating sets, Seattle Pacific University used an 8-3 run to close out the fifth set in a 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 15-11) win over Western Oregon University on Thursday evening.
With the win, Seattle Pacific improved to 14-13 on the season and 9-10 in GNAC competition while Western Oregon fell to 6-20 overall and 2-17 in conference contests.
The Wolves will close out the season at home on Saturday with a 7 p.m. match against Saint Martin's. The team will honor its two seniors, Alisha Bettinson and Sydney Blankinship, prior to the start of the match.
Hitting .368 in the opener, the Falcons got off to a quick start but could not carry the momentum into the second as WOU unleashed a match-high .440 hit rate to knot the series at 1-1.Looking to take their first overall lead, the Wolves snared a 17-13 lead in the third after Marlie Norman teamed with Jenna Compton and
Mariella Vandenkooy for a pair of blocks followed by an ace from Bettinson.
From there, SPU spun a nine-point spree with Gabby Oddo contributing with three of her match-high 23 kills for a commanding 21-17 spread.
Facing elimination and down 12-6 following another Oddo strike, the Wolves mustered a steady retort to eventually knot the set at 15-15 on a SPU attacking error. A Compton kill provided WOU its first lead of the set at 19-18 and the team soon completed the comeback on a Compton and Norman block.
The Wolves made claim to the initial push in the fifth set with Katherine Huntington and Libbie Hoene delivering points, but following a timeout, the Falcons regrouped and acquired the lead at 8-7 after forcing the home side into an attacking error. The advantage swelled to four (14-10) with blocks on three straight serves before putting the match away on Oddo's final swing.
After Oddo's 23 kills, WOU's Vandenkooy followed with a team-high 17 terminations. Bettinson (13) and Compton (10) also reached double figures for the Wolves while Bettinson reached 'double-double' status with 20 digs. Hoene added 23 digs while Leila Holt topped a career high with 19 digs with her 50 assists.
