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#11 UAA outlasts #25 Central in 5-set thriller

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

#11 UAA outlasts #25 Central in 5-set thriller

ANCHORAGE – Senior right-side hitter Julia Mackey blasted her 12th kill on match point to complete a huge all-around effort Thursday and help the No. 11-ranked Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a thrilling 25-17, 25-12, 22-25, 20-25, 15-13 victory over No. 25 Central Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (21-2, 13-2 GNAC) also got a match-high 14 kills from senior outside hitter Katelynn Zanders as they won their sixth straight and swept the season series from the Wildcats (16-5, 12-3), who had their six-match winning streak halted.

Central was led by 12 kills and seven digs from outside hitter Linden Firethorne, while middle blocker Kaitlin Quirk tallied 11 total blocks in the loss.

With the victory and Northwest Nazarene's upset loss at Alaska Fairbanks, the Seawolves remain a two-way tie for first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with Western Washington, with CWU and NNU now falling one match behind.

Thursday's contest was a battle of the teams ranked No. 2 (UAA) and No. 3 (CWU) in the initial NCAA Div. II West Region poll, which goes toward determining the region's eight playoff berths. The Wildcats looked out of sorts for the first two frames, however, allowing the Seawolves to hit .396 in taking a 2-0 lead.

UAA appeared on the verge of a sweep when Mackey and Caitlin Hanson combined for a block to make it 19-14 in the third set. But the Wildcats rallied for seven straight points to begin an 11-3 run, ending with Sabrina Wheelhouse's kill on set point.

Central continued its momentum in the fourth, jumping to a 9-2 lead and fighting off the Seawolves after they drew within 20-18.

UAA fell behind 4-1 to start the fifth before answering with the next six points, and the teams switched sides with the Seawolves up 8-5. The Wildcats used their impressive blocking prowess to tie it 8-8, but the visitors from Ellensburg would never take the lead again, despite forging more ties at 9-9, 10-10 and 11-11.

UAA took the next two points on Kiah Jones's service error and an attack error by Wheelhouse before Zanders hit an attack long, making it 13-12. Firethorn's down-the-middle attempt was stuffed by Morgan Hooe and Leah Swiss on the ensuing point before Quirk's solo block on Erin Braun made it 14-13. The Seawolves never gave the Wildcats a chance on the next match point, however, as Mackey took a set from Hooe and blasted it just inside the far corner for the victory.

Zanders also tallied 12 digs for her team-best 11th double-double of the season, while Swiss finished with eight kills, 10 digs and four total blocks. Braun added nine kills and six block assists and Hanson had eight kills and four block assists to complete a balanced offensive attack.

Junior setter Morgan Hooe dished 42 assists, along with six kills on just 10 attacks (match-high .600 attack pct.) and two aces, and freshman libero Kyla Militante-Amper had 12 digs and three assists.

Despite hitting just .194 on the night, Mackey made a huge difference with her all-around game, setting career highs with six aces and eight total blocks. The Fairbanks (West Valley HS) product also had eight digs, four assists and no service errors.

UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday for another big match against Northwest Nazarene (15-8, 12-3), which comes in ranked No. 8 in the West Region. First serve is set for 7 p.m.


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Players Mentioned

Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

RS
5' 11"
Freshman
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

OH
5' 9"
Freshman
Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

MB
6' 0"
Freshman
Caitlin Hanson

#8 Caitlin Hanson

MB/RS
5' 11"
Sophomore
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

S
5' 6"
Freshman
Leah Swiss

#7 Leah Swiss

OH
6' 0"
Freshman
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

L/S
5' 3"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

5' 11"
Freshman
RS
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

5' 9"
Freshman
OH
Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

6' 0"
Freshman
MB
Caitlin Hanson

#8 Caitlin Hanson

5' 11"
Sophomore
MB/RS
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

5' 6"
Freshman
S
Leah Swiss

#7 Leah Swiss

6' 0"
Freshman
OH
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

5' 3"
Freshman
L/S