After giving up two tough sets to open Thursday night against the Seattle Pacific Falcons, the Clan came out of the intermission with confidence and looked determined for a win.
“Lauren [Fridman] came in and got us some kills on the left side, which was a good start — that gave us a little bit of spark at the beginning of the third set,” said head coach Gina Schmidt.
Fridman’s kill sparked a six-point run to take a 9–2 lead early in the third. Managing another six-point run just moments later, SFU took the third set 25–17. They looked like a new team.
“[But] we couldn’t sustain it,” explained Schmidt.
SFU came out in the fourth set looking a bit flat. Tied 6–6, the Falcons went on a 10–2 run. SFU answered back with a 10–1 run of their own to get within one point, down 20–19. But they failed to continue the momentum, and fell in the fourth and final set 25–20.
“I thought we fought hard, we just didn’t execute our game plan well enough,” Schmidt said. “[Seattle Pacific] played well, they didn’t give us anything, they hit well and moved the ball around, and spread it throughout their hitters. They played well, better than us tonight.”
It was a tough way to lose the game, in a game chock-full of tough endings.
In the first set, SFU was leading 12–10 when the Falcons went on an 11–3 run — including eight straight points — to take a 23–15 lead.
The Clan put up four consecutive points of their own, but still down four points, the gap was too big to climb and they fell 25–21.
The second set saw the two teams trade runs.
The Falcons soared to an 8–2 lead right off the bat, but SFU answered back to go up 11–10. Seattle Pacific put up seven unanswered points. After going back-and-forth on points, SFU went on a five-point run to tie it up at 22–22.
In the end, SFU even had a chance to take the second set. Two straight kills put SFU up 24–23 and up for the set point. Colleen Hannigan’s kill ended the hopes of that, and shortly after, SFU dropped the set.
After some hard-fought rallies, Seattle Pacific took the set 28–26.
Tessa May, Betsie de Beer, and Christine Howlett all put up double-digit kill nights, with 12, 11, and 10, respectively. Libero Jayme Bratsberg finished with 23 digs, while the team put up 71 as a whole.
SFU was without sophomore outside hitter Kirsten Pinkney for the third-straight game. Having suffered an ankle sprain in Alaska, she will be out for “probably 2–3 weeks,” according to Schmidt. Pinkney has been one of SFU’s more consistent hitters, putting up 2.98 kills per set.
The game marked SFU’s first loss at home.
On Saturday, October 14. SFU will play game two of a three-game homestand against the Saint Martin’s Saints. Saint Martin’s currently sit at the bottom of the GNAC standings, having not won a conference game with an 0–5–1 record.
“We just have to execute on our side,” said Schmidt. “When they got strings of points, it was when we weren’t finding ways to score, so that will be the key against [Saint Martin’s University]. They run a fast offence, [so] we have to be able to adjust and to defend, and just find ways to score.”
Last season, SFU swept Saint Martin’s in both appearances.
The game starts at 7 p.m.
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