SEATTLE, WA – Simon Fraser University faced Hawaii Pacific University for the second time in a week and the Clan fought hard to take a five set victory Thursday evening for its second straight win over the Sharks in less than a week, this time in the opening match of the GNAC/PACWest Volleyball Crossover Tournament.
 
Five days ago the Clan won in four sets against the Sharks in the Hawaii Invitational. Thursday, SFU needed five, including an epic 39-37 first set victory enroute to a 25-16, 21-25, 32-34, 15-11 win.
 
The victory improved the Clan's overall preseason record to 3-2.
 
The Clan left it all out on the floor starting with the first set. Battling back and forth and playing point for point with the Sharks, SFU took the match score well into the thirties, finally closing the set at 39-37.
 
Simon Fraser took control in the second set with a huge lead early on, thanks to a seven point serving run by sophomore libero, Aly McKay. The Clan won 25-16.
 
After losing the third set 21-25, SFU came out swinging in the fourth game with another nail-biter. Behind by four points, Hawaii Pacific crept back in the game to tie it at 25-25. Once again, the two teams battled hard one point at a time until the Sharks finally took the lead and won 34-32.
 
SFU took care of business in the fifth set. The teams were tied at 6-6, but the Clan stayed tough through to the finish line, taking the game at 15-11 and bringing home another victory. The final point was won on a Sharks service error.
 
"That was another character building match for our team," said SFU head coach Gina Schmidt. "It was great to see a variety of people step up at key times in the match to contribute to the win."
 
Leading the team in kills were sisters Devon and Tessa May who had 18 and 16, respectively. Sophomore Christine Howlett contributed 14 kills and two digs to the Clan win. Libero and co-captain McKay kept the team alive and strong defensively with 34 digs followed by Devon May with 23 and Danielle Curtis with 27 assists. McKay averaged 6.80 digs per set.
 
The Clan continues on with tomorrow's match against California Baptist University at 3:45 PM at Seattle Pacific University. 
 
The home opener for the Clan and the start to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season is Sept. 17 when SFU will face rival Seattle Pacific at the West Gym. The game is being billed as Red Night and all fans are encouraged to wear red to show support for the Clan.
 
Clan season tickets are on sale now and fans can contact tickets@sfu.ca to purchase them.