ANCHORAGE - Senior Cortney Lundberg had eight kills and eight total blocks Thursday as the 24th-ranked Alaska Anchorage volleyball team kicked off the 2010 season with a 3-0 sweep of Drury in the Extended Stay Deluxe Invitational at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Junior outside hitters Jackie Matthisen and McKenzie Moss combined for 14 kills and 21 digs as the Seawolves led virtually the entire match in a 25-21, 25-20, 25-16 decision.
Drury, from Springfield, Mo., was led by eight kills from senior middle blocker Kayla Hellebusch and 25 assists from senior setter Austin Warren.
UAA outhit the Panthers .210 to .115 and held big advantages in blocks (10-4) and aces (8-3).
Matthisen, UAA's returning First Team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference selection, served six straight points to give the Seawolves a commanding 14-6 lead in the first set.
The visitors kept the second set a tighter affair at 19-18, but junior outside hitter Lee Golden blasted one of her four kills to start a three-point surge, securing the set for the Seawolves. Lundberg, a returning Second Team All-GNAC pick, had five block assists in the second frame and wound up hitting .500 (8 kills-1 error-14 attacks) on the night.
Although they never trailed in the third set, UAA led just 18-15 before freshman middle blocker Robyn Burton (6 kills) ripped a kill to start a clinching five-point run.
The Seawolves used all three of their setters in the match, with sophomore Adriana Aukusitino leading the way with 15 assists and six digs. Freshman Siobhan Johansen tallied 11 assists, and junior Maddie Ogden accounted for three assists and a pair of aces in the third set.
UAA, the defending GNAC champion, is coming off a 23-8 season and was picked to finish second in last week's league preseason coaches' poll. Drury went 16-14 in 2009 and is picked to finished seventh in the 15-team GLVC.
The Panthers continue their busy week Friday when they face Alaska Fairbanks (0-0) in another ESD Invitational match at the WFSC. That affair begins at 7 p.m. ADT.
UAA is back in action Saturday at 6 p.m. against the Panthers.
