ANCHORAGE ? A career-high 29 kills from senior Rhea Cardwell were not quite enough Wednesday as the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team fell just short in a valiant comeback attempt against arch-rival Alaska Fairbanks.
The Nanooks got 20 kills and eight blocks from middle blocker Korlyn Bolster to pull out the 28-26, 25-16, 17-25, 25-27, 15-13 decision in front of a season-high 795 fans at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (12-10, 4-5 GNAC) got a season-high 15 kills from senior outside hitter Joanna Johnson, who also posted her first double-double of the season with 12 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Cortney Lundberg had 10 kills and five total blocks for UAA, but the Seawolves sorely missed the services of senior outside hitter Rachel Kidwell (2.65 kills per set, 2.86 digs per set), who did not play because of a knee strain.
UAF (13-5, 7-2) won its fourth straight thanks to Bolster and big nights from Megan Thigpen (16 kills, 14 digs), Heather Lyons (13 kills, 14 digs, 4 blocks) and setter Alexa Sherman (55 assists, 10 digs).
Setter Calli Scott came one shy of her career-high with 56 assists for UAA, but the Seawolves were stung by their failure to convert on two set-points in the opening frame.
Trailing two sets to none, UAA was able to erase the Nanooks' momentum with a decisive third-set win, and then fought off a late UAF comeback in Set 4 to even the match 2-2.
Although the visitors jumped to a 7-1 lead in the fifth, UAA would not go quietly, coming back to tie it at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13. But the rally was for naught as UAF got kills from Hill and Lyons on the next two points to earn its second 5-set win over UAA in three weeks.
Wednesday's match took on extra significance as the initial NCAA Div. II West Region rankings came out earlier in the day, featuring UAF at No. 8 and UAA at No. 10. The top eight teams in the regional rankings advance to the NCAA Tournament at season's end.
UAA will have the weekend off before going back on the road for matches Oct. 23 at Seattle Pacific and Oct. 25 at Northwest Nazarene.
