ANCHORAGE (Oct. 3) - O'Lita McWilliams and Mindy Cason combined for 47 kills and an injured Starr Burgan sparked an incredible comeback victory for the UAA volleyball team, 27-30, 26-30, 30-20, 33-31, 15-10, over Northwest Nazarene at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex tonight.
UAA (9-5, 3-3 GNAC) fought off six match points in the fourth game and then hit for a .684 percentage in Game 5 to win the battle of teams tied for fifth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Northwest Nazarene (5-10, 2-4) used a balanced attack led by Lindsay Miller's 17 kills and Ka'ala Hanson's 14 kills and 21 digs.
The Seawolves got a team season-high 26 kills from Cason, who hit .833 (5 kills, 0 errors, 6 attacks) in the fifth game, while McWilliams had 21 kills and 20 digs, also a team season-best.
Senior setter Kasey Kuelper was another catalyst in the fifth game, notching assists on all 13 of UAA's kills. For the match, she finished one short of her career-high with 64 assists.
UAA found itself trailing 29-25 in Game 4 Friday before McWilliams ripped three straight kills. NNU's Chelsea Lewis then hit into the net to bring it to 29-29. NNU's Carie James and UAA's Katina Ozrelic (10 kills, 4 blocks) exchanged kills before Crusader setter Mindy Swanson put down a sneak attack to put her team up 31-30. Another McWilliams kill saved the sixth match point, and Miller then committed an error before Cason ended the comeback with a resounding spike down the line.
The Seawolves were down 19-16 in Game 4 when Burgan entered and served three straight points, including an ace. UAA's leading percentage hitter (.301) had missed the last two matches and all of Friday's action to that point due to a 9-day-old ankle sprain.
While Cason and McWilliams put of the big kill numbers, senior outside hitter Michelle Garvin was the Seawolves' most consistent hitter, finishing with 13 kills and just three errors. She also had 16 digs and four blocks.
The win was also UAA's fifth this season after losing the first game.
The Seawolves return to the court Saturday night at 7:05 to host Seattle University (8-5, 4-2).
