SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Sept. 6) – A trio of Alaska Anchorage players tallied 10 kills apiece, but South Dakota Mines used a 6-0 run to end the match and record a 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 19-25, 15-10 volleyball victory over the Seawolves on Friday at the Augustana Classic at the Sanford Pentagon.
The loss left the UAA 1-1 on the day, following a 3-0 victory over Northwest Missouri State in its tournament opener.
The Seawolves (2-3) got another solid performance from junior libero
Madison Galloway, who had a career-high 22 digs, along with four assists, two aces and 20-of-20 serve receiving, while senior setter
Kadyn Osborne tallied 21 assists and a career-high 16 digs.
The Hardrockers (1-2) were powered by 20 kills on .372 hitting from Alessandra Meoni and 30 digs, 14 assists, four aces and 15-of-15 serve receiving from libero Hannah Benes as they won the first-ever meeting between the programs.
"We played well in spurts and put ourselves in position to win, but they played outstanding defense in that final run and we just could not put a ball away," said UAA head coach
Stacie Meisner. "Overall though, we saw some good things today and are continuing to improve as an overall unit."
The Seawolves took the early advantage when
Bethany Tuchardt collected two of her 10 kills to snap a 20-20 tie in the opening set, and combined on a block with
Leilani Elder to grab a 24-21 advantage. UAA took the set on a Hardrocker service error, but the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference club responded to take the next two frames.
UAA never trailed in the fourth as Elder had three kills on four swings and a block assist, and freshman setter
Hannah Trotter had five of her career-high 22 assists.
The Seawolves traded sides with an 8-6 lead in the fifth and went up 10-9 when Meoni's attack sailed wide. South Dakota Mines was flawless from that point, however, getting kills from Meoni to make it 10-10 and 12-10, and finishing with three straight kills by Jenna Curtis.
UAA completes its South Dakota trip on Saturday with first serve at 6 a.m. ADT against Northern State and at 10:30 a.m. ADT against host Augustana. Find links to live stats and video at GoSeawolves.com.
Match 1: UAA 3, Northwest Missouri State 0
The hot-hitting duo of
Bethany Tuchardt and
Tia Allen combined for 18 kills and senior
Leilani Elder registered seven block assists to lift Alaska Anchorage to a 25-22, 25-14, 25-23 victory over Northwest Missouri State in its first match Friday at the Augustana Classic at the Sanford Pentagon.
Junior libero
Madison Galloway had 12 digs, four assists and a perfect day on 12 serve receptions, while junior rightside hitter
Larssen Anderson and senior outside hitter
Katie Birtcil-Tipton had six kills apiece.
The Bearcats (0-1) were led by 13 kills from Abby Brunssen in the first-ever meeting between the programs.
The Seawolves relied on their defense to win a back-and-forth opening set that featured nine ties and four lead changes. Allen gave UAA the lead with a kill to make it 14-13, and combined on a block with Elder to forge a 23-18 edge. Brunssen brought the Bearcats within 24-22 with two consecutive kills, but Birtcil-Tipton responded by glancing a back-row attack off the net and down for set point.
UAA dominated the second set behind four kills on .444 hitting from Allen and three block assists apiece by Elder and Tuchardt, outhitting the Mid-American Athletic Association squad .250 to -.056.
The third set was a near repeat of the first, with 10 ties and four lead changes. UAA led 16-14 on a kill by Allen, but neither team would lead by two again until the conclusion. After three straight service errors resulted in a 23-23 tie, Tuchardt recorded the go ahead kill on a feed from
Kadyn Osborne (16 assists), and Northwest Missouri's Natalie Laiolo hit her attack just long on match point.
