PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon native
Vanessa Hayes tallied 14 kills and setter
Ellen Floyd dished 41 assists to propel the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to its fourth straight victory with a 28-26, 25-20, 25-20 sweep of Concordia-Portland on Thursday at LCEF Court.
The Seawolves (11-4, 6-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) got seven or more kills from five different players, including nine apiece from middle blocker
Vera Pluharova and right-side hitter
Eve Stephens. Pluharova also earned match bests of six total blocks and a .438 attack percentage as UAA remained unbeaten in nine all-time meetings against Concordia.
The Cavaliers (6-8, 4-3) were led by eight kills and 14 digs from Jessica Wheeler, but the hosts were held to a .084 team attack percentage and could not capitalize on early leads in the first two sets.
"We got off to pretty slow starts in the first and second, but we had some tremendous reaction digs and hustle plays that extended rallies and allowed us to steal a few critical points," said UAA head coach
Chris Green, whose team remains tied for second in the GNAC standings, one match behind nationally 2nd-ranked Western Washington. "Ellen and Anjoilyn (Vreeland) played some of the best defense of their careers tonight, and our balance offensively was another key against an opponent that was difficult to prepare for."
The Seawolves needed to rally from 8-4 deficits in the first two sets, catching the Cavs at 10-10 in the opener and 15-15 in the sequel.
Freshman
Hannah Pembroke came through with three of her eight kills after UAA trailed 23-22 in the first. The freshman found the deep corner to tie it 23-23 and fought off a Cavalier set point to make it 25-25, before staking the Seawolves to a 27-26 lead. Junior middle blocker
Kayla McGlathery – the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week – then clinched it with another kill off a feed from Floyd.
The second set was close throughout, with UAA taking a 19-17 lead on consecutive aces by Hayes, the GNAC leader in that category. A kill by Concordia's Simone' Gordon tied it 19-19, but the Seawolves responded to win six of the final seven rallies, getting two kills apiece from Stephens and McGlathery in the winning surge.
UAA led early in the third until back-to-back attack errors allowed the Cavaliers to creep within 18-17. The Seawolves took control again though, winning five of the next six rallies – including consecutive kills from Hayes – and set the stage for Pluharova to win a joust at the net on match point.
Hayes, from only an hour away in Salem (McNary HS), added three block assists on UAA's 10 stuffs.
Floyd's 41 assists equaled the sophomore's season high for a 3-set match, while she picked up all 15 of her season-high digs in the first two sets. McGlathery finished with seven kills on .357 hitting and four total blocks, and Vreeland made a team-high 16 digs from her libero position. Stephens just missed her fifth career double-double as she went for nine kills and 10 digs, along with three block assists.
Freshman defensive specialist
Katie Hoeffner's eight digs were her most in a 3-set match and second-highest total overall, and she made successful passes on all 14 of her service receptions.
The Seawolves conclude their short road swing Saturday at 6 p.m. ADT when they face Western Oregon (3-11, 1-6) in Monmouth. That match is available live at gnac.tv.
