Scoreboard

VB season ends with 3-1 loss in NCAA 1st Round

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

VB season ends with 3-1 loss in NCAA 1st Round

NAMPA, Idaho – A career-best blocking performance from sophomore Kayla McGlathery was not enough Thursday as 25th-ranked Alaska Anchorage saw its season come to an end with a 26-24, 25-18, 14-25, 25-11 loss to Sonoma State at the NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships at the Johnson Sports Center.

Second-seeded UAA (21-6) got 10 kills and 10 blocks from McGlathery, plus 11 kills from senior Brooke Pottle, but could not overcome a 2-set deficit.

Seventh-seeded Sonoma State (21-6) – the California Collegiate Athletic Association champion – won the hitting battle .189 to .123, powered by 17 kills from Caylie Seitz and 15 kills on .469 hitting from Madelyn Densberger.

The match was the first meeting ever between the only two NCAA Div. II teams to use Seawolves their nickname.

The northern Seawolves faced a big hole in the first set, trailing 19-13 before using a timeout to rally. UAA won seven of eight points to tie it 20-20 and had a chance at set point when Erin Braun's kill made it 24-23. Densberger answered for the Californians, however, followed by a kill from Seitz and an ace by Kaitlyn Connolly to take the early advantage.

After Sonoma State closed out the second with a late run, UAA rallied to dominate the third frame, hitting .289 and using several impressive plays from McGlathery – an All-GNAC middle blocker and league Newcomer of the Year – to stay alive.

The rally was short-lived, though. Sonoma State built a 14-10 lead midway through the fourth set and won 11 of the last 12 points to close the match. The southern Seawolves will meet CCAA rival Cal State San Bernardino in the regional semifinals at 5 p.m. local time Friday.

“I think we played OK, especially in games one, two and three, then we kind of got rolled over in game four,” said UAA head coach Chris Green, who is now 132-66 in seven seasons. “(If) game one goes the other way we're probably still out there playing in game five.

“I'm proud of our girls. They came out pretty strong in game one, had to fight from a 6-point deficit in the game and had a lot of momentum. We just couldn't keep the momentum in game two.”

UAA was led along the back row by 13 digs from senior libero Quinn Barker, who finished with double-digit digs in every match this year. Junior outside hitter Katelynn Zanders had eight kills and 11 digs, while junior right side hitter Julia Mackey tallied seven kills and tied her career-high with seven total blocks.

NOTES: Despite Thursday's result, UAA finished with school records for best winning percentage (.778) and fewest losses in a season … UAA has now lost its last four NCAA matches (2010, '11, '13, '14) since winning in the first round against Hawaii-Hilo in 2009 … Zanders moved past Sabrina Bingham (1,012 kills, 1996-99) to No. 5 on UAA's career kills list, now with 1,017; the two-time All-GNAC performer will begin her senior season just seven kills shy of 4th place (Brianne McCabe, 1,024 kills, 1999-2002) … Barker wound up just shy of 1,000 digs, finishing her two-year career with 998 … Barker did break the UAA career record for digs per set, establishing the new mark at 4.83 (old record: Rachael Knecht, 4.58, 2004-06).

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

RS
5' 11"
Freshman
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

OH
5' 9"
Freshman
Quinn Barker

#1 Quinn Barker

L
5' 4"
Junior
Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

MB
6' 0"
Freshman
Brooke Pottle

#13 Brooke Pottle

OH
5' 8"
Junior
Kayla McGlathery

#12 Kayla McGlathery

MB
6' 0"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

5' 11"
Freshman
RS
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

5' 9"
Freshman
OH
Quinn Barker

#1 Quinn Barker

5' 4"
Junior
L
Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

6' 0"
Freshman
MB
Brooke Pottle

#13 Brooke Pottle

5' 8"
Junior
OH
Kayla McGlathery

#12 Kayla McGlathery

6' 0"
Sophomore
MB