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'Wolves dominate Vikings, take over first

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

'Wolves dominate Vikings, take over first

ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team got big performances up and down the lineup Thursday as the Seawolves moved into a first-place tie in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference race with a 25-12, 25-23, 25-15 victory of Western Washington at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (13-6, 9-2 GNAC) were led by a match-high 12 kills from senior outside hitter Jackie Matthisen, plus 35 assists, 12 digs and three blocks from junior setter Kimya Jafroudi to win for the ninth time in 10 matches and sweep the season series from the Vikings (11-5, 9-3).

WWU, which entered with a half-match lead over UAA and Seattle Pacific, got seven kills apiece from Marlayna Geary and Breanne Graham. The visitors from Bellingham were out-hit .250 to .051 as UAA held Geary and fellow first-team all-conference hitter Emily Jepsen to just nine total kills on a combined .021 attack percentage. The Seawolves also dominated in the digs column, 62-47.

UAA took control early in the first and third sets and was never threatened in those frames, getting eight kills apiece from middle blocker Robyn Burton, right-side hitter Ariel Austin and outside hitter Nikkie Viotto.

The second set was a different story, however, as the Vikings took a 17-15 lead with a four-point run and seemed on the verge of knotting the match with a 23-21 edge. Burton delivered a kill on the next point and, following a timeout, Viotto tied it with one of her three service aces. Matthisen then ripped a kill, and the Seawolves took the set when Geary's sharp-angle attack curved out of bounds.

Austin finished with a match-high .389 attack percentage and did most of her damage at key points in the second set, notching five kills on eight attacks without an error in the frame. Sophomore libero Quincy Haught was also at her best, making a match-high 21 digs, along with three aces and a pair of assists.

Meanwhile, Jafroudi kept the offense clicking, delivering a career-best three kills and making 12 digs along with her stellar setting. The 5-7 Californian also totaled three blocks, including her first career solo on a stuff of Jepsen early in the third set.

In addition to the victory, Thursday's match was also a historic one for Matthisen, who became the fifth player in Seawolf history to record 1,000 career kills. The East Anchorage High School product delivered her landmark spike to give UAA a 4-1 lead in the third set.

UAA has now won five of its last seven against WWU – including 2009 and 2011 season sweeps – after the Vikings had taken 17 straight in the series.

The Seawolves enter Saturday's home match against Simon Fraser (7 p.m., WFSC) in a first-place with SPU, which defeated Saint Martin's 3-0 in Lacey, Wash., earlier Thursday. Saturday's contest will be a pink-themed affair as UAA honors National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

NOTES: Thursday's attendance of 765 was the 6th-most in program history and the most ever to watch UAA play WWU in Anchorage … now with 1,003 kills, next up for Matthisen on the Seawolves' career kills list are 4th-place Sabrina Bingham (1,012 from 1996-99) and 3rd-place Brianne McCabe (1,024, 1999-2002) … Haught's 21 digs were the most by a Seawolf in a 3-set match this year.
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Players Mentioned

Jackie Matthisen

#RS Jackie Matthisen

MB/OH
5' 11"
Sophomore
Nikkie Viotto

#9 Nikkie Viotto

DS
5' 8"
Freshman
Robyn Burton

#4 Robyn Burton

MB
5' 11"
Freshman
Quincy Haught

#7 Quincy Haught

DS
5' 7"
Freshman
Ariel Austin

#5 Ariel Austin

RS
6' 0"
Junior
Kimya Jafroudi

#11 Kimya Jafroudi

S
5' 7"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jackie Matthisen

#RS Jackie Matthisen

5' 11"
Sophomore
MB/OH
Nikkie Viotto

#9 Nikkie Viotto

5' 8"
Freshman
DS
Robyn Burton

#4 Robyn Burton

5' 11"
Freshman
MB
Quincy Haught

#7 Quincy Haught

5' 7"
Freshman
DS
Ariel Austin

#5 Ariel Austin

6' 0"
Junior
RS
Kimya Jafroudi

#11 Kimya Jafroudi

5' 7"
Junior
S