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Sizzling Seawolves crush Crusaders in 3

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Sizzling Seawolves crush Crusaders in 3

ANCHORAGE – Robyn Burton ripped 14 kills and Kimya Jafroudi dished 36 assists Thursday to lead hot-hitting Alaska Anchorage to a 25-9, 25-17, 25-11 victory over Northwest Nazarene in a key Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball showdown at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (16-7, 12-3 GNAC) also got a double-double from Jackie Matthisen and 11 kills from Ariel Austin as they hit for a whopping .419 attack percentage (46 kills-7 errors-93 attacks) in the match between regionally ranked clubs. UAA entered at No. 9 in the latest NCAA Div. II West Region poll, while NNU came in at No. 7.

The Crusaders (15-7, 10-5) got eight kills from outside hitter Carly Dranginis but were never in the contest as the Seawolves built leads of 18-6 in both the first and third sets. NNU kept things close in the second set at 18-17 before UAA closed with the final seven points.

UAA's 25-9 opening-frame victory was its most lopsided set of the season, while the .419 attack percentage was the Seawolves' best-ever in a GNAC match and the highest for a UAA team since 2000 (.448 vs St. Cloud State, 8/25/00).

Burton finished with a .619 percentage (14-1-21) to top the .500 mark for the 10th time this year, and Austin chipped in at .556 (11-1-18). Matthisen, meanwhile, recovered from a slow start to hit .357 with 12 kills and 11 digs – her fourth straight double-double.

Junior outside hitter Nikkie Viotto was sharp with six kills and 10 digs, and libero Quincy Haught protected the back row with a team-high 12 digs. Jafroudi and senior McKenzie Moss each tallied three aces as the Seawolves out-aced the Crusaders, 8-0, as well.

The victory gave UAA a split of the season series after a 3-1 NNU win on Oct. 8 in Nampa, Idaho, and also put the Seawolves in charge of their own destiny in the GNAC race. That's because Western Washington rallied for a 3-2 victory over Seattle Pacific in Bellingham, Wash., on Thursday, leaving UAA, SPU and WWU all with three league losses. Should all three teams win their remaining matches (three for UAA and WWU; two for SPU), the Seawolves would claim the tiebreaker with one or both of those teams for the GNAC title and the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Next up for the Seawolves is their 2011 home finale on Saturday night against Central Washington (13-10, 7-8). The team's two seniors – Matthisen and Moss – will be honored in Senior Night ceremonies before the 7 p.m. opening serve.


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Players Mentioned

Jackie Matthisen

#RS Jackie Matthisen

MB/OH
5' 11"
Sophomore
McKenzie Moss

#6 McKenzie Moss

OH
5' 11"
Freshman
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
McKenzie Moss

#6 McKenzie Moss

5' 11"
Freshman
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