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Zanders, Hooe help #11 UAA vanquish NNU, 3-1

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Zanders, Hooe help #11 UAA vanquish NNU, 3-1

ANCHORAGE – Senior outside hitter Katelynn Zanders pounded 20 kills and setter Morgan Hooe dished 53 assists Saturday to lift No. 11 Alaska Anchorage to a 25-15, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21 volleyball victory over Northwest Nazarene in front of a record crowd of 2,002 at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (22-2, 14-2 GNAC) also got 15 kills and 11 digs from junior right-side hitter Julia Mackey as they won for the seventh straight time and remained in a first-place tie with Western Washington atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.

The Crusaders (15-9, 12-4) got 15 kills and 11 digs from outside hitter Kendra Bodine, but the defending league champions managed just 45 kills, compared to 64 for the hosts.

UAA erased an early 7-2 deficit in the first set, earning 23 of the final 31 rallies to claim the frame. The Seawolves could not keep their momentum in the second, however, as they committed four of their 11 service errors and allowed the Nampa, Idaho, club to hit .579.

NNU wiped out a 15-11 deficit in the third to tie it at 16-16, but Caitlin Hanson notched one of her career-high 12 kills to start a 5-point UAA run. Hanging onto a 24-22 lead, Hooe fed Mackey for the kill on set point.

The Seawolves – ranked No. 2 in this week's initial NCAA Div. II West Regional poll – never trailed in the fourth, jumping to leads of 10-6 and 16-9. NNU, ranked No. 8 in the West, made a late rally to pull within 24-21, but UAA called timeout and set up a play for Hanson, who smashed her final kill to clinch it.

The victory halts a four-match losing streak to the Crusaders, who have been the only team to sweep a season series from UAA in the past two campaigns.

Hooe, a junior from South Anchorage High School, broke the 50-assist barrier for the fourth time this year, coming two shy of her career high. She also added eight digs, including a spectacular save on a Madi Farrell attack early in the fourth that led to a Mackey kill and swung the momentum in UAA's favor.

Zanders hit a solid .278 on 54 attacks as she reached 20 kills for the third time this season. The two-time All-GNAC performer also made 11 digs for her 12th double-double of the year and 32nd of her 4-year career.

Mackey also had 11 digs to claim her fifth double-double of 2015, while freshman outside hitter Leah Swiss notched nine kills and a team-high 13 digs. Junior middle blocker Erin Braun added six kills and a team-high four block assists.

The crowd of 2,002 was the third-largest in NCAA Div. II this year and broke the program record of 1,837, set Oct. 17 vs. Simon Fraser.

With four matches left in the regular season, the Seawolves head south next week for critical showdowns against Simon Fraser (Fri., Nov. 13, 6 p.m. AST) and No. 16 Western Washington (Sat., Nov. 14, 6 p.m. AST). Both matches can be followed live at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa.


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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

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