Scoreboard

#17 Vikings defend turf against 'Wolves

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

#17 Vikings defend turf against 'Wolves

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Freshman Katelynn Zanders delivered a team-high nine kills for Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, but it wasn't enough against 17th-ranked Western Washington as the Vikings earned a 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 volleyball victory at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The regionally 2nd-ranked Vikings (19-3, 12-2 GNAC) were led by 11 kills and six digs from senior outside hitter Marlayna Geary as they swept the season series from UAA and protected their Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

The Seawolves (14-7, 9-4) also got eight kills and four block assists from freshman middle blocker Breanne Sytnyk, plus eight kills and two block assists from freshman outside hitter Julia Mackey in the loss.

UAA looked strong early, taking the lead to start the match before the Vikings tied it 12-12 and pulled away. The Seawolves made a late comeback in the second set to tighten the final score, though it wasn't enough to avoid an 0-2 hole.

WWU appeared in total control for most of the third, jumping to leads of 12-7, 16-10 and 20-14 before the Seawolves made one final push. Mackey eventually tied it 22-22 with back-to-back kills and the score stood 23-23 after a Viking service error. The home team would recover, however, with consecutive kills from setter Laurie Yearout and middle blocker Emily Boerger to seal the sweep.

Boerger finished with nine kills on .500 hitting.

Senior setter Kimya Jafroudi had 32 assists to move into sixth place on UAA's all-time list, now with 1,780. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native also had 11 digs, while junior libero Siobhan Johansen made a team-high 14 digs.

The Seawolves finish their three-match road trip Saturday when they face Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia at 6 p.m. Alaska time.

NOTES: The initial NCAA regional rankings – which help determine the eight playoff teams in each region – were released late Wednesday, with UAA outside the top 10 … WWU (No. 2), Central Washington (No. 7) and Western Oregon (No. 8) represent the GNAC in the poll, which is topped by BYU-Hawaii … sitting No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, are Sonoma State and Chico State, presumably just ahead of UAA … senior outside hitter Nikkie Viotto had six kills and seven digs, moving past former teammate Jackie Matthisen for No. 16 on UAA's career digs list, now with 863.

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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
Siobhan Johansen

#10 Siobhan Johansen

S
5' 7"
Freshman
Kimya Jafroudi

#11 Kimya Jafroudi

S
5' 7"
Junior
Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

RS
5' 11"
Freshman
Breanne Sytnyk

#5 Breanne Sytnyk

MB/RS
6' 0"
Freshman
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

OH
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Jackie Matthisen

#RS Jackie Matthisen

5' 11"
Sophomore
MB/OH
Nikkie Viotto

#9 Nikkie Viotto

5' 8"
Freshman
DS
Siobhan Johansen

#10 Siobhan Johansen

5' 7"
Freshman
S
Kimya Jafroudi

#11 Kimya Jafroudi

5' 7"
Junior
S
Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

5' 11"
Freshman
RS
Breanne Sytnyk

#5 Breanne Sytnyk

6' 0"
Freshman
MB/RS
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

5' 9"
Freshman
OH