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Sophomores boost Seawolves against HPU

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Sophomores boost Seawolves against HPU

LAIE/HONOLULU, Hawaii – Sophomore Robyn Burton ripped a career-high 17 kills and senior Jackie Matthisen added 16 in Friday's second match as the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team earned a valuable split of its opening-day contests here on Oahu with a 25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 25-19 win over Hawaii Pacific.

Sophomore setter Siobhan Johansen and sophomore  libero Quincy Haught also had career-high numbers with 45 assists and 19 digs, respectively, as UAA overcame a late charge from the Sea Warriors at the St. Andrew's Priory School gymnasium.

Matthisen, a 5-10 outside hitter, collected her first double-double of the year with 11 digs, and got the Seawolves off to a fast start with seven kills – including set point – in the opening frame. Tied at 18 in the second set, redshirt freshman Jordan Bush served consecutive aces to give UAA the advantage. HPU scrapped back to tied it at 23, but head coach Chris Green called a timeout to set up a kill by Burton, followed by an attack error from HPU's Recca Sanoe on set point.

The Sea Warriors (0-1) controlled the third set as the Pacific West Conference club was led by a 10-kill, 13-dig effort from Sanoe.

UAA would recover quickly in the fourth, getting 8 kills on 10 attacks from Burton in the frame to pull away for the win. The 5-11 middle blocker hit a match-high .556 (17 kills-2 errors-27 attacks), while fellow Eagle River native Nikkie Viotto was solid in her new role as outside hitter, tallying a career-high-tying nine kills, plus 15 digs.

Meanwhile, Johansen crushed her previous career-best of 36 assists (Sept. 11, 2010 at Saint Martin's), while also making 11 digs. Newcomer Miranda Doing, a 5-11 junior middle blocker, had a solid match with five kills and three total blocks, and fellow junior-college transfer Kimya Jafroudi managed 14 digs.

Earlier in the day, the Seawolves opened with a 3-set loss against defending Pacific West Conference champion Brigham Young-Hawaii despite a match-high 14 kills from Matthisen.

In that match, at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie, the Seawolves took late leads in both the first and second sets in the matchup between teams that qualified for last year's NCAA West Region playoffs. UAA led 18-15 in the first and 21-20 in the second, however the Seawolves could not overcome red-hot hitting by the Seasiders, who got 12 kills apiece from Shih Ting Chen and Losaline Pula and hit .333 as a team, committing only nine attack errors.

After taking the opener 25-21, Chen helped BYUH rally for five of the last seven points in the second – including a kill on set point – to take that frame 25-23. The Seasiders led throughout the third set as they finished the sweep, 25-17.

The Seawolves also got 10 kills from Burton and 15 digs from Haught. UAA, coming off an 18-9 season, was outplayed in every team stats category, though, including .333 to .172 in attack percentage, 45-39 in digs, and 6-3 in blocks.

Jafroudi led the Seawolves with 23 assists in her Seawolf debut, while Johansen had 14 assists.

The Seawolves conclude their play in Hawaii on Saturday with two matches on the Chaminade University campus. UAA plays defending Pac West co-champion Hawaii-Hilo at 3 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time, then finishes against Chaminade at 9:30.

NOTES: Matthisen's 30 kills Friday moved her into 11th place on UAA's career list 762 … the East Anchorage High product needs just 12 more to pass April Hydak (773, 1996-98) for No. 10 … UAA has now won two straight in the series against HPU after the Sea Warriors won the first seven meetings between the schools … UAA fell to 1-6 all-time against BYUH, including 1-4 in Laie.

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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
Jordan Bush

#2 Jordan Bush

DS
5' 4"
Freshman
Quincy Haught

#7 Quincy Haught

DS
5' 7"
Freshman
Siobhan Johansen

#10 Siobhan Johansen

S
5' 7"
Freshman
Miranda Doing

#14 Miranda Doing

MB
5' 11"
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
Jordan Bush

#2 Jordan Bush

5' 4"
Freshman
DS
Quincy Haught

#7 Quincy Haught

5' 7"
Freshman
DS
Siobhan Johansen

#10 Siobhan Johansen

5' 7"
Freshman
S
Miranda Doing

#14 Miranda Doing

5' 11"
Junior
MB
Kimya Jafroudi

#11 Kimya Jafroudi

5' 7"
Junior
S