PHOENIX ? Senior Rhea Cardwell recorded double-doubles in both matches Saturday as the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team earned a pair of victories on the final day of the Grand Canyon Cactus Classic at Antelope Gymnasium.
In the first match, the Seawolves overcame a third-game hiccup to down host GCU 25-15, 25-16, 22-25, 25-18 as Cardwell notched 11 kills and 10 digs. Fellow senior outside hitter Joanna Johnson managed 10 kills and assisted on four of UAA's 12 blocks.
It was also a coming-out party for Phoenix native Ashley Bates, who had her best match as a Seawolf with nine kills and a .438 attack percentage. Setter Calli Scott, also playing in her hometown, finished with 36 assists and hit for a perfect percentage with five kills on five attacks.
Meanwhile, the Seawolves got double-digit digs from five players, led by junior Stacie Meisner (14) and senior Cristal Negron (season-high 13), to prevail in the West Region showdown.
In the second match UAA improved to 7-2 on the young season ? equaling its best start since 2004 ? thanks to 14 kills and a season-high 17 digs from Cardwell. The outside hitter from Prineville, Ore., blasted her final kill on match point.
Meisner was brilliant on the back row, scooping a UAA season-best 25 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Cortney Lundberg hit a team-high .474 with 12 kills, while yet another Arizonan, senior Rachel Kidwell (Bullhead City), had eight kills, including set point in a narrow first frame.
The Seawolves will finish their non-conference schedule Sept. 12 and 13 with a huge challenge at the Radisson-Roseville Concordia Classic, where they will face four teams who were all ranked in the AVCA Division II top-25 poll, including defending national champion and host Concordia-St. Paul.
2008 Cactus Classic All-Tournament Team
Zoe Beltz, MB, Point Loma Nazarene
Calli Scott, S, Alaska Anchorage
Rhea Cardwell, OH, Alaska Anchorage
Heather Baron, OH, Grand Canyon
Lindsay Huson, OH, Western State
Laurann Durbin, L, Grand Canyon
MVP ? Tabitha Henken, OH, Point Loma Nazarene
