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Comebacks fuel big road win at #20 WWU, 3-1

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Comebacks fuel big road win at #20 WWU, 3-1

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Leah Swiss delivered another double-double and senior setter Morgan Hooe matched her season high with 47 assists Thursday to power No. 12 Alaska Anchorage to a 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20 victory over No. 20 Western Washington in a battle of GNAC volleyball favorites at Whatcom Pavilion.

The Seawolves (13-1, 3-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) got 17 kills, 13 digs and three aces from Swiss as they earned their 12th straight victory and spoiled the Vikings' home opener. Sophomore outside hitter Chrisalyn Johnson added a career-high-tying 12 kills and senior middle blocker Erin Braun had 11 kills and five blocks for UAA.

WWU (5-6, 1-2) was led by 15 kills and 18 digs from outside hitter Abby Phelps, but was outhit .245 to .199, outblocked 7-3 and out-aced 6-1 by the visitors. The defending NCAA Div. II West Region champs and unanimous GNAC preseason favorites suffered five of their six losses to ranked teams.

In a series dominated recently by the visiting team, the defending GNAC-champion Seawolves continued the pattern, making it seven consecutive and nine of the last 11 meetings going the road squad.

“This was a great all-around result for us tonight,” said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team is now two shy of equaling last year's school-record 14-match win streak. “We came out with confidence against an accomplished and proven team and played our kind of match.”

UAA hit .483 in the opening set to take control, with freshman Vanessa Hayes getting off to a fast start. The middle blocker from Salem, Ore., notched three of her season-best eight kills in the opening frame and finished the match with additional career-highs of .500 hitting and four digs.

The Vikings battled back to win the second set and seemed on the way to a 2-1 lead with a 16-10 edge in the third. A kill by Hayes would turn the tide, however, and Braun collected four kills during an 11-2 run that changed the outcome. Hooe finished off a 15-4 run to end the set, landing one of her six kills in the middle of the Vikings defense.

UAA trailed again in the third, 10-8, before another huge surge flip-flopped the momentum for good. Three four straight WWU errors – including two blocks by Johnson – led to a Vikings timeout, and freshman Diana Fa'amausili blasted two kills during a 9-0 Seawolf run. The hosts got no closer than 23-19 before Hooe and Fa'amausili clinched it with kills.

Sophomore libero Kyla Militante-Amper had her second-most digs this year with 25, while Hooe made 11 digs and hit for a .385 percentage herself. Swiss collected her fifth double-double this year on .326 hitting.

The Seawolves are back in action Saturday (6 p.m. ADT) at Simon Fraser (9-1, 2-0). SFU – the only other unbeaten team in league play – hosts Alaska Fairbanks first on Friday night.

NOTES: Hooe, an All-GNAC and Third Team All-American last year, became the third Seawolf to reach 3,000 assists, surpassing the milestone on Fa'amausili's kill that made it 23-16 in the fourth set … with 3,001 assists, Hooe trails only Janelle Veith (3,853, 1998-2001) and Tracy Zink (3,791, 1987-90) on the all-time list … UAA improved to 4-0 against ranked teams this season … Braun had two solo blocks to move into 19th place on that school list, and pulled within six total blocks of No. 5 on that list (384, Brianne McCabe, 1999-2002).

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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