BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Nov. 17) –
Eve Stephens had 20 kills and
Ellen Floyd dished 43 assists, but a historic season abruptly ended Thursday for 4th-ranked Alaska Anchorage as Chaminade earned a 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12 upset in the NCAA Div. II West Region Volleyball Championships first round at Carver Gymnasium.
The top-seeded Seawolves (27-3) also got 14 kills from senior outside hitter
Lisa Jaunet, but could not slow the attack of the 8th-seeded Silverswords (25-7), who hit .292 and produced an 88-54 advantage in digs.
Chaminade was led by 20 kills on .389 hitting by Sasha Colombo, 17 kills on .471 hitting and 12 digs from Greta Corti, and 34 digs, 12 assists and three aces from libero Nanna Inoue.
"We played them earlier in the year and they added a couple key pieces since then, and tonight they offensively at many times were unstoppable," said UAA head coach
Chris Green, whose team equaled his 2015 squad for the second-best overall record in program history. "We fought hard, but didn't quite get over the hump there in the fifth game. But they are a good team right now, so you have to give them credit. They were relentless."
After beating Chaminade in three sets Aug. 20 in Honolulu, UAA fell victim to .529 hitting by the Pacific West Conference champions in the opening set of the rematch. The Seawolves responded by hitting .316 to win the second set, and came through with an impressive late run to take the third. Stephens had five kills in that frame and freshman defensive specialist
Madison Galloway made a diving play in the late going to help the Seawolves win a key rally.
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions had a chance to complete their comeback with a 20-18 lead in the fourth, but the Silverswords answered with a 7-1 run to send it the distance.
The fifth set stayed within a two-point spread until the final rally, with the Silverswords snapping a 12-12 tie on consecutive kills by Lataisia Saulala and Corti, who then paired for the block on match point.
"The coaching staff is very proud of what these guys have accomplished," Green added. "It takes a lot of hard work, and they surprised me to be honest. We played some tough, tough teams in the GNAC and to only have one loss (17-1) is a huge accomplishment. In the locker room we told them not to hang their heads. It's not the way we wanted to end it, but I'm very proud of what we've done."
UAA was led by 20 digs from senior
Talia Leauanae, while
Isabel Evans delivered a match-high seven total blocks.
"This season has been by far my favorite," said Leauanae, one of four seniors and three fifth-year players on the team. "It'll be my last season, so it has a special place in my heart. I'm so proud of this team – we won a championship, we broke some records and we represented ourselves well."
The GNAC and West Region Player of the Year, Stephens accounted for three aces and a match-high 24 total points, finishing her career with GNAC and school records of 2,293 points and 1,926 kills.
Meanwhile, Floyd had five kills and 13 digs in her 134th and final collegiate match. The First Team All-West Region performer finished as the UAA and GNAC career leader in aces (213) and the UAA career leader in assists (4,773), coming just seven assists shy of tying that league mark. The Pensacola., Fla., native also equaled the most sets played (495) in UAA history, tying Jen Szczerbinski (1988-92) and Tracy Zink (1987-90) atop that list.
