HILO, Hawaii – Junior setter
Ellen Floyd dished 33 assists and had five kills Saturday to power the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 25-22, 25-21, 25-19 sweep of Chaminade at Vulcan Gym.
The Seawolves (11-2) also got 16 kills from junior right-side hitter
Eve Stephens as they avenged Friday's straight-sets loss to the Honolulu squad. All six UAA offensive positions accounted for at least five kills, leading to the second-best team hitting percentage of the season at .305.
The Silverswords (6-9) were led by eight kills and three blocks from Kyra McCain.
"I'm proud of the way we bounced back from a disappointing loss yesterday," said UAA head coach
Chris Green, whose team avoided its first back-to-back setbacks since the end of the 2018 season. "Our serve-receive was our best of the season, and Ellen did a nice job with her decisions, especially when to take her chances with attacking."
After playing from behind virtually the entire match Friday, the Seawolves never trailed in the first set of the rematch. Chaminade forged ties at 20-20 and 21-21, but UAA took four of the next five rallies, getting a key ace from freshman
Reilly Plumhoff and a kill by senior
Vera Pluharova on set point.
The second set also stayed tight until the Seawolves sealed it with a 5-1 run. Tied 20-20, UAA used a Chaminade service error and an ace by
Hannah Pembroke to take control, and Pluharova and freshman
Nicole Blue combined to block Chaminade's Rachel Reedy moments later. The Seawolves clinched to 2-0 lead when libero
Talia Leauanae's good serve led to a Silversword setting error.
Trailing 12-9 in the third, UAA responded with an 8-2 surge that featured three kills from Stephens and two kills and an ace from Pembroke. The Seawolves pulled away from that point, finishing with a 15-8 kills advantage in the frame.
A sophomore outside hitter, Pembroke collected seven kills on team-best .375 hitting and two aces. The Chico, Calif., native also had seven digs and converted 20 of her team-high 21 serve-receive attempts.
Playing in her hometown, freshman middle blocker
Mahala Kaapuni had six kills and three block assists, while Pluharova and freshman
Nicole Blue had five kills apiece on identical .333 hitting.
Leauanae had a team-high nine digs and was perfect on 10 serve receptions, and Plumhoff was 15-of-15 on serve receptions.
The Seawolves return to the same court at 9 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time for their second match of the day when they face host and nationally 25th-ranked Hawaii Hilo. UAA beat the Vulcans in five sets Friday.