MONMOUTH, Ore. – In their first game back home in three weeks, the Western Oregon Wolves fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-23) to the Seattle Pacific Falcons in a tightly contested match at NPE Gym.
 
With two of the three sets decided by just two points, the head-to-head statistics were understandably close up and down the board. Western Oregon (3-17, 1-12 GNAC) out-hit Seattle Pacific (10-11, 7-6 GNAC) with a .245 hit percentage compared to the .237 of the Falcons. They would also best them in kills with 38.
 
The Wolves opened the match with a .371 hit percentage in game one, tallying 15 kills against just two attack errors. After the set was tied at 12-12, the Falcons went on a 9-2 run to take a seven-point lead at 21-14. WOU battled back, posting a 9-3 run to get within a point of the tie at 24-23. Gabi Stegemoller closed out the set with a kill for SPU to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
 
Sianna DeCarli and Lauren Smith led the Wolves with 10 kills each. DeCarli had a team-high 11.0 points, adding on a block and a pair of digs to her stat line.
 
Maddie Batiste led all attackers with 11 kills. She finished a dig shy of a double-double with nine digs and three aces.
 
Aubrey Stanton had 28 assists in the match for WOU, her highest total in her last four appearances. She also had a match-high four service aces, eight digs, two kills and two blocks.
 
The match came down to execution on serves as the Wolves committed 13 service errors on Thursday, their most since Oct. 12. SPU was able to limit their service mistakes to five.
 
Western had prime position late in the third set to push the match to a fourth game, leading 23-21. Seattle Pacific closed on a four-point run, however, to seal the win in straight sets. The Falcons have now won five consecutive games, the longest active winning streak in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
Next up, the Wolves will host the Saint Martin's Saints on Saturday, Nov. 2, at NPE Gym. First serve is set 2 p.m. PDT.