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'Wolves win battle of GNAC heavyweights, 3-2

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

'Wolves win battle of GNAC heavyweights, 3-2

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Sept. 16) – Powered by huge matches from juniors Julia Mackey and Katelynn Zanders, the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit to upset 10th-ranked Western Washington, 17-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-7 on Tuesday night at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Seawolves (7-2, 1-0 GNAC) got 25 a career-high-tying 25 kills from Zanders, who added 11 digs for her third double-double of the year. Mackey, a right-side hitter, finished with 15 kills and a career-high 30 digs in the battle of teams picked atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's preseason poll.

The Vikings (7-3, 0-1), who won the league in 2013 and are favored again this year, were led by 13 kills from reigning GNAC player-of-the-year Kayla Erickson, while All-America libero Samantha Hutchinson made 42 digs.

“I'm so proud of the effort – mentally and physically – that it took to make that win possible,” said Chris Green, who earned his 10th victory over a ranked team in his seventh season as UAA's head coach. “We did not look good in the first two sets but we became more aggressive after that and started taking the game to them. Now we need to carry this momentum into the rest of the GNAC season.”

After hitting -.042 in the first set and allowing the Vikings to connect at a .344 rate in the second, UAA looked like it might be in for a quick night.

But the Seawolves rallied behind the play of Zanders to take a 19-10 lead late in the third frame. After a WWU timeout, the Vikings ran off five straight points and eventually cut their deficit to 23-22, prompting UAA head coach Chris Green to whistle a timeout of his own. His team would respond with two consecutive kills from Mackey and junior outside hitter Sarah Johnson to seal the set and take momentum into the fourth, where it quickly built leads of 6-0 and 8-1.

Although WWU came back to force six consecutive ties, the Vikings could never take the lead, and UAA pulled ahead 20-18 on back-to-back kills from setter Morgan Hooe and Zanders. Leading 20-19, Zanders blasted four kills on the next five rallies, and Mackey and Erin Braun teamed to block WWU's Rachel Roeder on set point.

UAA never trailed in the fifth set, getting four straight kills from Zanders, Mackey (twice) and Brooke Pottle to earn a 9-4 advantage. Sophomore middle blocker Kayla McGlathery gave UAA a 13-6 edge and then delivered another kill on match point.

The victory extends UAA's school-record road winning streak to 11 matches, stretching back to last season.

McGlathery posted a team-high seven total blocks, while Hooe tallied career-highs of 53 assists and four kills, along with 11 digs. Along the back row, senior libero Quinn Barker nearly matched Hutchinson dig-for-dig, posting a career-best 34.

The Seawolves have little time to rest, with their next match set for Wednesday night (6 p.m. ADT) at Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia. UAA will then return to make its GNAC home debut with a Saturday-Monday series against longtime rivals Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific at the Alaska Airlines Center.

NOTES: Mackey destroyed her previous career-high of 13 digs, which she set in her first season … Barker's previous career-high had been 25 digs, set on four separate occasions … Zanders moved into 11th place on UAA's career kills list with 794 and now sits just 49 shy of reaching the top 10.



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Players Mentioned

Sarah Johnson

#12 Sarah Johnson

OH
6' 1"
Freshman
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
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

S
5' 6"
Freshman
Brooke Pottle

#13 Brooke Pottle

OH
5' 8"
Junior
Kayla McGlathery

#12 Kayla McGlathery

MB
6' 0"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Sarah Johnson

#12 Sarah Johnson

6' 1"
Freshman
OH
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
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

5' 6"
Freshman
S
Brooke Pottle

#13 Brooke Pottle

5' 8"
Junior
OH
Kayla McGlathery

#12 Kayla McGlathery

6' 0"
Sophomore
MB