ANCHORAGE (Oct. 19) – Senior
Nicole Blue delivered 16 kills but the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team could not complete a comeback Thursday as Simon Fraser earned a 26-24, 16-25, 25-16, 25-22 victory at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Seawolves (12-13, 4-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got nine kills apiece from
Isabel Evans,
Bella Burney and
Bethany Tuchardt in a closely contested match.
The Red Leafs (12-6, 7-3) were led by 18 kills on .368 hitting by Brooke Dexter, plus 16 kills from fellow pin hitter Jocelyn Sherman. Setter Eva Person dished 41 assists and libero Macyn Unger had 23 digs to help the Canadian squad sweep the season series from UAA for the first time since joining the GNAC in 2010.
After SFU took the first meeting in three sets last month in British Columbia, the teams battled through a classic opening set in the rematch, featuring 22 ties and eight lead changes. Neither team led by more than a point after the Seawolves took an early 5-3 advantage on a kill by Blue. A late kill by Blue would tie it 23-23, and UAA survived a set point when Person's serve went long, but the Red Leafs got a kill and an ace by Sherman on the following points to take the frame.
Despite trailing for the first part of the second set, the Seawolves caught fire and used an 8-0 run to flip a 14-11 deficit into an 19-14 advantage. Blue had six kills on .600 hitting in the second, while Evans posted three of her eight total blocks.
The Red Leafs outhit the Seawolves .323 to .156 to run away with the third, but the fourth would be another close affair. UAA scored the first four points of the final set before the Red Leafs chipped away and forged a 10-10 tie on a kill by Dexter. Three straight UAA attack errors produced an 18-15 SFU lead, and despite a late Seawolf comeback, Kalyn Hartmann and Sherman delivered kills on the final two rallies for the clinchers.
A freshman rightside hitter, Burney matched her season best with .500 hitting (9 kills, 1 error, 16 attacks), while
Reilly Plumhoff led UAA with 11 digs. Junior setters
Kadyn Osborne and
Makana Eleneki finished with 21 assists apiece.
UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. to face Western Washington. That match will feature a 'Think Pink' theme, raising funds for local charity Let Every Woman Know Alaska. Tickets and live links are available at GoSeawolves.com.
