Scoreboard

#9 Seawolves sweep Saints in regular-season finale

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

#9 Seawolves sweep Saints in regular-season finale

LACEY, Wash. – Freshman Diana Fa'amausili had 11 kills and six total blocks to pace a balanced offensive effort Saturday, helping the 9th-ranked Alaska Anchorage volleyball team complete the regular season with a 25-12, 29-27, 25-16 sweep of Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion.

The Seawolves (29-2, 19-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got nine kills and 15 digs from sophomore outside hitter Leah Swiss to earn their eighth straight victory and put themselves in position to host the upcoming NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships.

The Saints (6-18, 2-18) were led by a match-high 14 kills on .353 hitting and 13 digs from outside hitter Rebecca Mitchell.

“We weren't always our sharpest tonight but we managed to get the job done,” said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team improved to 56-5 over the last two seasons. “It's nice to see how we spread the offensive around, and our block caused them some problems. We'll look forward to seeing our NCAA Tournament draw and getting back down to business for the playoffs.”

After controlling the first set, UAA had to rally from a 15-10 deficit in the second and fight off two set points for the Saints. Trailing 26-25, Chrisalyn Johnson pulled things even with one of her seven kills, and Fa'amausili followed with another kill. Fa'amausili committed an attack error on the potential clincher before recovering to deliver the final go-ahead kill, and UAA claimed the set on a Saints attack error.

UAA trailed 4-3 in the third before pulling ahead 6-5 on a kill by setter Morgan Hooe and stretching the lead throughout the set. The Seawolves ended the match with five straight kills, including three from Fa'amausili, who was playing less than 40 miles from her hometown of Federal Way, Wash.

A top candidate for GNAC Freshman of the Year, Fa'amausili also had a season-best three solos among her six total blocks. Hooe had another spectacular stat line with 35 assists, eight kills (no errors) on .667 hitting, seven digs and an ace, while helping the visitors outhit SMU .312 to .124.

Middle blockers Erin Braun and Vanessa Hayes ripped seven kills apiece on combined .419 hitting, and sophomore libero Kyla Militante-Amper extended her UAA single-season digs record with 15 more.

The Seawolves will learn Monday whether or not they will host the NCAA West Regional Championships for the second straight year. The entire 64-team national playoff field will be unveiled at ncaa.com at 3:30 p.m. AST.

NOTES: Having clinched outright on Thursday, the Seawolves were officially presented with the GNAC championship trophy by associate commissioner Bridget Johnson-Tetteh following Saturday's match … UAA clinched at least a tie for the program record for fewest losses (3 in 2015) and guaranteed itself the best winning percentage in program history (.900, 27-3 in 2015) … the Seawolves extended their longest winning streak against any opponent, beating the Saints for the 18th straight time, including eight consecutive sweeps … Fa'amausili had multiple block solos for the first time and finished the year with 11 double-digit kill efforts in the final 13 matches … Hooe rose to ninth place on UAA's career aces list (108) and eighth in terms of sets played (418) … Hooe and Braun are the first Seawolf individuals in program history to qualify for four straight NCAA Tournaments.

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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
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

L/S
5' 3"
Freshman
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

RS
5' 11"
Freshman
Vanessa Hayes

#18 Vanessa Hayes

MB
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
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

5' 3"
Freshman
L/S
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

5' 11"
Freshman
RS
Vanessa Hayes

#18 Vanessa Hayes

5' 11"
Freshman
MB