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Johnson powers #8 UAA to road sweep of 'Cats

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Johnson powers #8 UAA to road sweep of 'Cats

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Chrisalyn Johnson capped a career-best effort with the go-ahead and match-point kills Thursday, helping lift 8th-ranked Alaska Anchorage to a 25-19, 31-29, 31-29 volleyball victory over Central Washington at Nicholson Pavilion.

Johnson finished with 20 kills and 15 digs, while fellow sophomore outside hitter Leah Swiss racked up 16 kills, 18 digs and three blocks to power the Seawolves (19-1, 9-0 GNAC) to their 18th straight win.

The Wildcats (10-7, 6-3), who had won 10 of their last 12 matches, were led by six kills and 10 block assists from Sabrina Wheelhouse, plus six kills, six digs and seven blocks from Jordan Deming.

“That was very entertaining and high-level volleyball on both sides of the net,” said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team overcame deficits of 17-10 in the second and 18-14 in the third to secure its sixth straight sweep. “Everyone did their job well tonight, and I'm especially pleased with the progress that C.J. has shown in an extremely short time.”

Having taken 33 of their previous 34 sets, the Seawolves made the first look easy, outhitting the Wildcats .233 to -.061 to earn the early edge.

Things couldn't have been different in the final two frames. After erasing a seven-point deficit in the second, UAA fought off three CWU set points on kills by Johnson, Swiss and Erin Braun. Knotted at 29-29, Johnson smashed another kill, and UAA won a long rally on a double-contact by Wildcat setter Kyla Morgan for the clincher.

The Seawolves trailed virtually the entire third set before another Johnson kill capped a 9-4 run, making it 23-22 in the visitors' favor. Down 24-22, the Wildcats called timeout and rallied for three straight points, but UAA freshman Diana Fa'amausili delivered a kill for a 25-25 deadlock.

The next few minutes would see UAA squander three set points, although a clutch Swiss kill saved the set for the Seawolves, knotting it 28-28. Tied at 29-29, Johnson spiked home authoritative kills on back-to-back plays to finally end it and extend her team's school-record win streak.

Both teams entered the night among the top 3 nationally in blocking, with the Wildcats leading the nation at 2.78 blocks per set. CWU dominated in that category, 15-7, but UAA turned the tables in kills (63-30), digs (82-56) and attack percentage (.227 to .078).

“Our hitters stayed aggressive against the nation's leading blocking team,” Green said. “That was probably the difference for us to win this one.”

Senior setter Morgan Hooe was ultra-efficient with six kills on .500 hitting, 52 assists and 12 digs, while Fa'amausili finished with 10 kills, and Braun with nine kills on .333 hitting and four blocks.

The defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions move on to Nampa, Idaho, to complete the first half of the league campaign Saturday at 5 p.m. ADT against Northwest Nazarene (12-4, 5-4). That match can be seen at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa or gnac.tv.

NOTES: Braun had four block assists to set the first individual school record for a Seawolf this year, surpassing Sabrina Bingham's career block assists record (359, 1996-99), now with 361 … Johnson's previous career-highs were 12 kills (twice) and nine digs (twice) … UAA won for the fifth straight time against CWU and the third straight time in Ellensburg.

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Players Mentioned

Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

MB
6' 0"
Freshman
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

S
5' 6"
Freshman
Leah Swiss

#7 Leah Swiss

OH
6' 0"
Freshman
Chrisalyn Johnson

#9 Chrisalyn Johnson

OH
5' 9"
Freshman
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

RS
5' 11"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

6' 0"
Freshman
MB
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

5' 6"
Freshman
S
Leah Swiss

#7 Leah Swiss

6' 0"
Freshman
OH
Chrisalyn Johnson

#9 Chrisalyn Johnson

5' 9"
Freshman
OH
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

5' 11"
Freshman
RS