MONMOUTH, Ore. (Oct. 8) – Senior
Bella Burney blasted 10 kills and sophomore
Mary Nahinu made a career-high 19 digs Thursday to power the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 25-16, 25-23, 26-24 sweep of Western Oregon at the Wolves Athletic Center.
The Seawolves (12-6, 5-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 34 assists from senior setter
Hannah Trotter and a timely eight kills from junior rightside hitter
Emma Beck as they won for the 12th time in the last 13 trips to Monmouth.
The Wolves (6-10, 2-6) were led by 14 kills from Katelyn Markley and 24 digs from Cali-Jo Shigemasa, but the hosts committed 20 attack errors and were held to no aces.
"That was a solid team effort from everyone tonight, including a nice lift from our bench in the third set," said UAA head coach
Morgan Hooe. "Hopefully we can keep playing well to finish this road trip Saturday."
Tied 12-12 in the opening set, UAA took control with consecutive kills by
Martina Riba and Beck to spark a 10-1 run. Beck collected half of her kills during the surge, and Riba finished it off on set point with one of her five kills.
After digging a 6-1 hole to start set two, the Seawolves crept back and flipped a 10-8 deficit into a 12-10 lead with four straight kills. Trotter had two kills and two assists to
Kyana Gabriel in that run, and Burney extended the lead to 19-15 with a kill to force a WOU timeout. The Wolves responded to tie it 22-22 on a kill by Markley and repel one set point on a kill from Finley Bauman, but UAA went to Beck again, and the Kenai product delivered a laser to claim the frame.
Set three was close the whole way, featuring 12 ties and four lead changes. Trailing 14-10, the Seawolves made their move behind kills from Burney and
Lee Ivakina, along with a big ace from senior
Elena Hansen. The teams were tied at each stage between 19-19 and 24-24 as they traded kills, with Burney saving UAA on a potential WOU set point for the final deadlock. Defense would do the rest as the Wolves hit the ball long on the next two rallies.
Burney connected at a .409 rate to reach double-figure kills for the fourth time this year, along with four block assists. Gabriel had nine kills and 10 digs, while Ivakina had seven kills, 12 digs and tied her career high with five total blocks, including a pair of solos for the first time.
Nahinu, a transfer from Div. I Norfolk State, topped her previous UAA high by one dig and had the most by a Seawolf in a three-setter this year. Hansen, a second-year transfer from Limestone, added 16 digs as well, tying her most in Green & Gold.
The Seawolves finish their three-match road swing and the first half of the GNAC round-robin schedule with a Saturday (noon ADT) first serve against Saint Martin's. That match is being held on the campus of Evergreen State University in Olympia, while the Saints complete renovation of their primary home court in Lacey. Find live video and stats links at GoSeawolves.com.
