NAMPA, Idaho – Sophomore Julia Mackey blasted 16 kills to spearhead a balanced Alaska Anchorage attack Saturday in a 20-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-18 victory over Northwest Nazarene in a battle of Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball unbeatens at the Johnson Sports Center.
The Seawolves (10-6, 4-0 GNAC) also got nine kills and eight digs from sophomore outside hitter Katelynn Zanders as they earned head coach Chris Green his 100th victory at UAA.
The Crusaders (7-3, 3-1) got 15 kills from middle blocker Andrea Terpstra and 13 kills, 14 digs from outside hitter Elayna Rice, but were out-hit .269 to .144 overall and saw their 6-match win streak end.
Tied 20-20 in the opener, NNU scored the last five points to take the early edge, and the Crusaders led 8-7 in the second before the Seawolves took over. Zanders, a sophomore from South Anchorage High School, served two of her career-high four aces during a 9-1 run midway through the set, helping the visitors knot it one set apiece.
Mackey slammed six of her kills in the third frame as the Seawolves continued to roll, out-hitting the Crusaders .346 to .037 to take a 2-1 lead.
After NNU opened the fourth set with a kill, UAA answered with the next four points and led for the remainder of the match. Ahead 13-11, junior libero Quinn Barker highlighted the clinching 7-1 run with two of her three aces. Barker finished with a match-high 20 digs, reaching the 20-dig mark for the second straight time.
UAA also got big offensive contributions from junior outside hitter Brooke Pottle (8 kills, 5 digs) and freshman middle blocker Erin Braun (6 kills, team-best .600 attack pct.), while senior middle blocker Jodi Huddleston posted a match-high six total blocks, including two solos.
The Seawolves' '6-2' setting combo of senior Siobhan Johansen (29 assists, 5 digs) and freshman Morgan Hooe (14 assists, 7 digs) was also key in helping UAA extend to its longest win streak of the season, now at four in a row.
Along with nationally 11th-ranked Western Washington (9-1, 2-0), the Seawolves remain one of two unbeaten teams in GNAC play.
UAA returns to the Wells Fargo Sports Complex for a pair of matches next week, Thursday against Western Oregon and Saturday against Saint Martin's. First serve both nights is at 7 p.m. ADT.
NOTES: Green is now 100-56 (.641) in five and half seasons at UAA, having led the Seawolves to NCAA Tournaments in three of the last four years … prior to coming to UAA, Green was 453-55 in nine years coaching Western Nebraska Community College, where he won the 2007 NJCAA national title … six of the last seven matches against NNU have now gone at least four sets … UAA won for just the fourth time in 14 trips to Nampa … Mackey reached double figures in kills for the fourth straight match and 10th time in 16 outings this year.
