ANCHORAGE - Jackie Matthisen delivered another huge double-double and Miranda Doing made five blocks in the fifth set Saturday to lift Alaska Anchorage to a 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11 victory over Central Washington in the Seawolves' 2011 home volleyball finale at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (17-7, 13-3 GNAC), No. 9 in this week's NCAA Div. II West Region rankings, also got career-highs of 60 assists from setter Kimya Jafroudi and 32 digs from libero Quincy Haught as they swept the season series from CWU for the third time in four years.
The Wildcats (13-11, 7-9) got a match-high 21 kills from outside hitter Jordan Offutt, plus 12 kills and six total blocks from middle blocker Erin Smith in the loss.
UAA's 'senior night' victory keeps the Seawolves tied in the loss column with Seattle Pacific and Western Washington in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings heading into the final week of play. The Seawolves close on the road against Saint Martin's (Nov. 10) and Western Oregon (Nov. 12), with a pair of wins assuring the Seawolves of at least a co-GNAC title and the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
It was a hard-earned opportunity, however, as the visitors from Ellensburg fought blow-for-blow with the hosts throughout Saturday's match.
After twice surrendering one-set advantages, UAA delivered a steady performance in the fifth, snapping a 2-2 tie with the next six points. Doing, a junior middle blocker, came up huge in that stretch, tallying five block assists to push UAA's lead to 10-4. CWU scratched back within 11-9 before Robyn Burton ripped a pair of kills to give the Seawolves match point at 14-10. After a Wildcat kill, Matthisen ended the match with 20th kill of the match and last f her home career.
"That was an extremely tough match against a very good team," said UAA head coach Chris Green. "I wasn't thrilled with our play on a consistent basis, but our kids found a way to come up with some clutch points in key situations. I'm happy for our seniors that we could send them out with a win."
Matthisen, who ranks No. 3 on UAA's all-time kills list (1,095) also had 17 digs to record her sixth straight double-double. Burton - the GNAC's attack percentage leader at .411 coming in - tallied 17 kills on .400 hitting and earned five total blocks, while right-side hitter Ariel Austin had 14 kills and a career-high eight block assists.
Junior outside hitter Nikkie Viotto made several key plays as well, earning her fifth double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, Doing finished with six kills on .417 hitting and seven block assists.
Haught, meanwhile, surpassed her previous career-high by seven digs and delivered UAA's first 30-dig showing since Stacie Meisner had 32 in a 5-set win at CWU on Sept. 26, 2009. Jafroudi's 60 assists were also the most by a Seawolf since Calli Scott's 64 in a 5-set win at BYU-Hawaii on Sept. 11, 2009.
It was also the final home match for senior defensive specialist McKenzie Moss, who had a pair of digs.
The victory was UAA's eighth straight at home and improved the Seawolves to 28-4 at the WFSC over the past three years.
Thursday's match at Saint Martin's begins at 6 p.m. AST in Lacey, Wash.
