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Hooe propels #8 UAA to 19th straight, 3-1 at NNU

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Hooe propels #8 UAA to 19th straight, 3-1 at NNU

NAMPA, Idaho – Senior Morgan Hooe dished a career-high 56 assists and made 17 digs Saturday to pilot the 8th-ranked Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to its 19th straight win, 25-22, 25-17, 16-25, 25-19 over Northwest Nazarene at the Johnson Sports Center.

The Seawolves (20-1, 10-0 GNAC) also got 19 kills and 14 digs from sophomore outside hitter Chrisalyn Johnson to finish the first half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play unbeaten. Freshman right-side hitter Diana Fa'amausili notched a career-high 13 kills on .290 hitting and sophomore libero Kyla Militante-Amper collected 23 digs.

The Crusaders (12-5, 5-5) were led by 14 kills and 11 digs from outside hitter Kendra Bodine, plus 11 kills and 15 digs from Mari Thomas, as they lost to UAA at home for the first time since 2013.

“This has been a very tough place for us to play the last few years,” said UAA head coach Chris Green, “so obviously we're happy to get out of her with a victory. Morgan proved again tonight why she's one of the best setters in the country, the way she excelled in virtually every category, and everyone else did their jobs well.”

UAA looked to be in trouble early, falling behind 19-14 on a kill by Thomas in the first set, but Johnson collected three kills during an 8-1 Seawolf run. Leading 23-22, Fa'amausili converted a set from Hooe, and the visitors clinched it on an attack error by Bodine.

The Seawolves unleashed another 8-1 run to start the second and led by at least five points the rest of that frame, extending another program-record streak to 22 consecutives sets won.

NNU would end that streak in the third, however, along with UAA's string of six consecutive sweeps.

Tied 8-8 in the fourth, Hooe dumped home one of her three kills to spark a 6-1 spurt that claimed the lead for good. The Crusaders drew within 22-19 before Fa'amausili and Leah Swiss earned back-to-back kills, and Taylor Noga served her second ace on match point.

In a matchup of the GNAC's last two winners, UAA finished with edges of .216 to .176 in attack percentage, 63-45 in kills and 85-78 in digs, while 2014 champ NNU led 12-6 in blocks.

Hooe – a Third Team AVCA All-American as a junior last year – topped her previous best of 55 assists (9/17/15 at Western Oregon) and was only two short of her career-high 19 digs.

Meanwhile, Johnson nearly matched her career highs of 20 kills and 15 digs from Thursday's sweep at Central Washington, and Fa'amausili registered double-digit kills for the third straight match. Swiss overcame a slow start to finish with 12 kills, eight digs and a pair of blocks.

Defensively, Militante-Amper registered her 20th match with at least 15 digs this season, and Noga equaled her season high with 14 digs.

The Seawolves host six of their final 10 regular-season contests at the Alaska Airlines Center, starting Thursday against third-place Simon Fraser (14-4, 7-3), and continuing with a Saturday showdown against 20th-ranked and GNAC preseason favorite Western Washington (12-6, 8-2). Both matches start at 7 p.m.

Call 907-786-1562 or visit GoSeawolves.com for ticket information.

NOTES: The Seawolves' previous program record of 18 consecutive sets won occurred Oct. 11-27, 2001, the first season of GNAC play … prior to Saturday, UAA had not lost a set since a 25-22 defeat in the second frame at Western Washington on Sept. 22 … before this week, Johnson's career highs stood at 12 kills and nine digs.

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Players Mentioned

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
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

L/S
5' 3"
Freshman
Taylor Noga

#5 Taylor Noga

OH/L
5' 10"
Freshman
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

RS
5' 11"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

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
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

5' 3"
Freshman
L/S
Taylor Noga

#5 Taylor Noga

5' 10"
Freshman
OH/L
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

5' 11"
Freshman
RS