SEATTLE – Freshman Diana Fa'amausili smashed 14 kills and senior setter Morgan Hooe dished 44 assists Thursday to help the 9th-ranked Alaska Anchorage volleyball team clinch its second straight outright Great Northwest Athletic title with a 25-21, 28-26, 25-21 victory over Seattle Pacific at Brougham Pavilion.
The Seawolves (28-2, 18-1 GNAC) also got 10 kills apiece from senior Erin Braun and sophomore Leah Swiss as they set a new program mark for victories and secured the GNAC's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
Ranked No. 1 in the West Region, the Seawolves could earn home-court advantage for the upcoming NCAA West Regional Championships with a victory in their regular-season finale Saturday at Saint Martin's.
The Falcons (10-17, 6-13) were led by 13 kills from outside hitter Hannah Lauterbach as they suffered an eighth straight loss in the head-to-head series.
“Our team showed its poise again tonight when things got tough in the second set, just like they've done all season,” said UAA head coach Chris Green, who earned his third GNAC title in the past eight seasons. “The seniors – Morgan and Erin – were both spectacular tonight, and Diana is continuing to show that she's one of the most talented freshmen in the country. We will look to regroup mentally and finish strong Saturday in Lacey.”
After controlling play throughout the first set, the Seawolves saw the lead swing back and forth in the second. UAA led 22-20 before the Falcons tied it on two Seawolf errors, but freshman Vanessa Hayes put the visitors back up with one of her six kills. Although the teams continued to exchange points, the Seawolves never faced set point themselves and finally took the lead for good, 27-26, on a kill by Swiss. Hooe and Braun then teamed for a block on SPU's Lexi Biondi to clinch the frame.
The Seawolves faced a 14-12 deficit in the third before a 6-1 run turned the tide. Chrisalyn Johnson extended to a 22-17 lead with the last of her eight kills, and Hayes delivered a kill off the block on match point.
Hooe added four kills and 10 digs as she and Braun officially became the first Seawolf players to reach four straight NCAA Tournaments, as well as the first to finish their 4-year careers unbeaten (8-0) against the Falcons. Braun had just one attack error for team-best .474 hitting, while Hayes added a match-high six total blocks.
Sophomore libero Kyla Militante-Amper made 17 digs and sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Noga had 11 digs and a pair of assists to help UAA to a .226 to .180 hitting advantage.
Saturday's 6 p.m. AST match against Saint Martin's in Lacey, Wash., will be shown live at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa or gnac.tv.
NOTES: UAA's 28 wins surpass last year's 27 as the new program record … with a win Saturday, UAA would clinch no worse than a tie for the fewest losses ever by a Seawolf team as well … Braun had two block assists to become the first player in program history to surpass 400 for her career.
