OLYMPIA, Wash. – Sophomore Katelynn Zanders notched her fourth straight double-double and junior libero Quinn Barker led the defensive effort Thursday as the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team snapped a two-match losing streak with a 25-21, 25-14, 25-20 sweep of Saint Martin's at Capital High School.
The Seawolves (16-8, 10-2 GNAC) got 15 kills and 10 digs from Zanders, while senior middle blocker Jodi Huddleston added seven kills on .583 hitting and five block assists, helping UAA to its 12th straight victory over SMU.
The Saints (7-15, 3-8) were led by 12 kills and five digs from junior outside hitter Kristyn Ross.
UAA never trailed during the first two sets, fighting off a Saints rally after the hosts pulled within 22-20 late in the first. The Seawolves forced an SMU attack error, followed by one of sophomore Caitlin McInerney's career-high six kills, and clinched it a couple points later on a smash by Huddleston.
McInerney, a sophomore middle/right-side hitter from Laramie, Wyo., finished with four block assists for the second straight match as well.
SMU took its only leads of the match during the first five points of the final set, but UAA surged ahead 9-5 when Huddleston managed a kill and two blocks on consecutive rallies. The Saints stayed within 14-13 before the Seawolves sealed it with an 8-2 run.
Barker paced the back-row defense with 18 digs and added five assists, while setters Siobhan Johansen (25 assists, 7 digs) and Morgan Hooe (14 assists, 8 digs, 2 aces) also had big nights.
UAA concludes its quick road trip when it travels to Monmouth, Ore., to face Western Oregon on Saturday at 6 p.m. ADT.
NOTES: The match was played at Capital High School due to a scheduling conflict at SMU's Marcus Pavilion ... UAA swept its sixth straight season series against SMU, extending the program's longest win streak against a GNAC foe … the Seawolves have won 36 of the last 38 sets in the series … Johansen moved into ninth place on UAA's career assists list, now with 1,540 … Barker has already risen to 16th on UAA's single-season list for digs, now with 389 … McInerney, a transfer from Western Wyoming Community College, doubled her previous best of three kills.
