ANCHORAGE – The UAA volleyball team went toe-to-toe with playoff contender Western Washington for two games Saturday before the Vikings emerged with a 30-24, 20-30, 30-15, 30-16 victory over the Seawolves at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (5-17, 2-11 GNAC) was led by its seniors in their final home appearance Chelsey Jones had eight kills and four blocks, and libero Rachael Knecht made a team-high 23 digs. WWU (15-5, 11-1), ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Div. II West Region poll, were led by 18 kills from Emily Castro and 58 assists from setter Emily Robinson.
The Seawolves came out of the locker room sharp and surprised the Vikings by taking an 18-17 lead midway through the first game. Western would keep its composure, however, and Jaime Anderson got seven of her 16 kills in the frame to take a 1-0 lead.
UAA responded with perhaps its finest single-game performance of the season in Game 2, hitting .364 (14 kills-2 errors-33 attempts) and outdigging WWU 26-15. Paepaetele Poasa had seven digs and three of her six kills in the second, while Jones had three kills and a pair of solo blocks.
But whatever momentum UAA had was quickly erased as the Vikings scored 10 straight points to close the third game and rattled off an 8-2 lead in the fourth.
The Seawolves, who play their final three matches on the road, finished the 2006 campaign with a 4-8 home record. UAA next plays Thursday at nationally ranked Central Washington (6 p.m. ADT).
