FALCONS CIRCLING IN ON FIRST TITLE IN 12 YEARS: Seattle Pacific is tied for the second-most volleyball championships in GNAC history, but it has been a while since the team from the Emerald City claimed the league’s throne. SPU’s last title came in the fall of 2011 when it went 15-3, giving it four championships in the league’s first 11 years of existence. Since then the Falcons have finished in the upper half of the GNAC standings three times, including fourth place in 2022 – their best placing since their last title.

With a three-match lead and five matches to play, SPU would clinch at least a share of the regular-season title with a pair of victories this week. Two wins by the Falcons and one loss by both Central Washington and Simon Fraser would make it an outright title on Saturday. It will be no easy task for SPU this week, as they’ll face third-place Simon Fraser on Thursday night and fourth-place Western Washington on Saturday night on the road.

Two-time reigning GNAC Player of the Week Hannah Hair remained as the NCAA Division II leader in blocks with 1.75 per set, coming through with 19 more denials in SPU’s wins over Alaska Anchorage and Alaska last week. In elevating her mark over the last two weeks, Hair sits well clear of the GNAC single-season record of 1.66 blocks per set (Sabrina Wheelhouse, CWU, 2016) with six matches remaining in the regular season. Hair also lifted her career total blocks number to 442, bumping her up to seventh in the GNAC record books and third all-time in Falcon program history. Hair’s career blocks per set mark of 1.35 is fourth-best in GNAC history.

Allison Wilks has been another key leader for SPU all season, leading the GNAC in hitting percentage at .430 while averaging 1.65 kills and 0.88 blocks per set. Sarah Brachvogel leads the team and ranks second in the GNAC with 3.31 kills per set, and Erin Smith contributes 2.22 kills per set.

WILDCATS HEATING UP: Central Washington (15-6, 9-4) enters the week having won three matches in a row and has a key Saturday contest at Northwest Nazarene (10-11, 6-7). The preseason favorites will be on the chase through the final five matches of the season, including their final two home contests next week against the Alaska schools at Nicholson Pavilion.

Emma Daoud-Hebert is close behind Hair among the Division II blocks leaders, entering this week ranked third with 1.40 blocks per set. The reigning NCAA statistical champion in that category is up to 352 career blocks slating her tied for 25th in GNAC history, and she also ranks second in GNAC history in blocks per set at 1.38. In addition to her blocking prowess, Daoud-Hebert ranks third in the GNAC this season with a hitting percentage of .332. Hannah Stires continues to rack up numbers on the defensive side of the ball, ranking second in the conference with 5.00 digs per set. Stires also cracked the top-25 in GNAC history in total digs last week, entering this week ranked tied for 23rd with 1,436 in her four seasons.

Read More: Kaufman Eclipses 1,000 Career Digs In Win Over Wolves (CWU Recap)

RED LEAFS EYEING BEST GNAC FINISH: While Simon Fraser’s chances of catching SPU at the top of the standings are slim, the Red Leafs are certainly on track to achieve their best-ever conference finish since joining the GNAC in 2010. SFU (13-7, 8-4) currently sits third in the standings and trails second-place Central Washington by just one match. Veteran head coach Gina Schmidt’s best-ever finish was third place during the 2016 campaign, as she has her squad poised to meet or exceed their preseason coaches poll ranking of fourth place.

The Red Leafs will have a prime opportunity to take a major stride in the standings this week, hosting the Falcons at 7 p.m. (PDT) on Thursday night at the West Gym. SFU will also host Montana State Billings (3-20, 1-12) on Saturday evening. SPU got the best of SFU 3-0 when the teams met on Oct. 7 in Seattle.

Read More: Red Leafs Take 5-Set Thriller Over Vikings (SFU Recap)

Jocelyn Sherman has been the top statistical attacker for SFU this fall, averaging 3.07 kills per set to rank fifth in the conference. Two-time GNAC Player of the Week Brooke Dexter is close behind with 2.53 kills per set, while Sophie Lachapelle ranks fifth in the GNAC with a hitting percentage of .290. Libero Macyn Unger is fourth in the GNAC with 4.30 digs per set, and setter Eva Person ranks third in the league with 8.59 assists per set.

SAINTS BUILDING ON BEST SEASON YET: Saint Martin’s (14-8, 7-5) has already achieved its best record in program history with six matches left in the regular season. SMU enters a key road trip to Alaska having won six of its last eight matches, and sits in a tie for fourth place with Western Washington in the GNAC standings.

Read More: Saints Clinch Winningest Season In Program History (SMU Recap)

Senior Karla Soto leads the GNAC and ranks 32nd in Division II volleyball in assists per set with 10.27, and she ranks fourth nationally with 0.64 service aces per set. Jennifer Soha is the second-leading hitter in the GNAC at .378 while Emily Garten ranks fourth in the conference in kills per set with 3.27. Abbey Halstead ranks fifth in the GNAC with 3.68 digs per set, and standout freshman Sirena Peredo is seventh in the conference with 3.32 points per set.

VIKINGS LOOK TO FINISH STRONG: With four of its final six matches in the friendly confines of Carver Gym, Western Washington will look to return to the form it was in with five straight wins towards the beginning of the GNAC schedule. The Vikings (7-13, 7-5) are the lone GNAC team to solve Seattle Pacific this season, and will look for a repeat of their sweep on Oct. 5 in Seattle. Western Washington also hosts Montana State Billings this week, sitting in a tie for fourth place with Saint Martin’s.

Read More: Vikings Host Unity Night Thursday (WWU Preview)

Emily Vossenkuhl has kept her name among NCAA blocking leaders, ranking 20th in Division II with 1.18 blocks per set. Devyn Oestreich is 10th in the GNAC with 2.54 kills per set, while setter Adele Holland ranks fifth in the conference with 6.76 assists per set.

MCMAHON DIGS HER WAY UP: Northwest Nazarene senior libero Caroline McMahon climbed to No. 9 on the GNAC all-time digs list, entering the week with 1,882 and needing 27 more to rise to eighth place. McMahon’s 4.64 digs per set rank her third in the conference this season, and she is coming off a season-high 38 digs in last week’s five-set match at Western Oregon. The Nighthawks (10-11, 6-7) have three straight home matches including Saturday’s contest against Central Washington, before closing the 2023 season on the road.

Feature: McMahon Overcomes Health Scare To Lead Nighthawks (NNU Story)

NANOOKS LOOK TO START NEW STREAK: Alaska had a four-match winning streak snapped by the first-place Falcons last week, and will look to get back on track at the Patty Center hosting Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon this weekend. After dropping its first four conference matches of the season, Alaska has won seven of its last 10 to pull its record to 13-14 overall and 6-7 in conference play. A win over SMU Thursday could pull the Nanooks back into the upper half of the GNAC standings, where they finished in three straight seasons from 2018-21. Preseason all-conference selection Karli Nielson has lived up to the expectations, ranking sixth in the GNAC with 2.99 kills per set. Kristina Head is seventh in the league in hitting percentage at .282 and eighth in blocks with 0.99, while Josie Jansen has burst onto the scene and ranks seventh in the GNAC with 1.01 blocks per set.

Read More: Nanooks Host SMU And WOU For Final Home Week (UAF Preview)

HORNBACK’S BIG WEEK: Western Oregon (8-12, 2-10) pushed its offense through Madison Hornback in a big way last week, with the junior racking up 50 kills in her two matches on her way to GNAC Player of the Week for the second time this fall. Hornback had 27 kills and 24 digs in the Wolves’ five-set match against Northwest Nazarene last Thursday, marking the highest single-match kill total by a GNAC player this season and the first time a GNAC player achieved a 20-20 match this season. Hornback now leads the conference in kills per set with 3.50.

Read More: Hornback Sets 2 Conference-Best Marks, Named Player Of The Week (WOU Release)

FUNK CLIMBS TO THIRD ON MSUB CHART: Montana State Billings libero Christine Funk rose to third in Yellowjacket single-season history with 458 digs on the 2023 season. The junior leads the conference and ranks 14th nationally with 5.33 digs per set.

Isabel Evans – Alaska Anchorage

A steady presence at the net this season for the Seawolves, Evans ranks fifth in the GNAC with 1.04 blocks per set. The junior from Corvallis, Mont., has had at least four total blocks in each of her last eight matches, including seven on Oct. 19 against Simon Fraser which was one off her season high. Evans is coming off two solo blocks in her most recent match in her home state at MSUB. The other time this season she had a pair of solo blocks in a match was against Thursday’s opponent in Western Oregon. Overall on the season Evans has accumulated 94.0 total blocks and is well on pace to surpass last year’s figure of 101.0 total blocks.

Read More: Seawolves Back Home To Face Wolves, Saints (UAA Preview)

The AVCA/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II rankings are released every Monday throughout the 2023 season.

A head-to-head victory for the Falcons lifted them above the Wildcats in the Division II rankings for the first time this season, as SPU climbed to its highest spot of the year at No. 19. CWU meanwhile slipped two spots to No. 20, and has maintained a spot in the top-25 since the first regular-season rankings of the year on Sept. 4. Simon Fraser was among teams receiving votes for the second consecutive week.