The UAA volleyball team seemed in complete control of Thursday's 25-9, 25-17, 25-11 win over Northwest Nazarene at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex, and the pivotal Great Northwest Athletic Conference win puts the Seawolves in complete control of their postseason destiny.
If they can win their remaining three matches, the Seawolves will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II West Regional playoffs.
But first they had to get past a tough Crusaders team, and the Seawolves did so by playing what UAA coach Chris Green called the team's best match of the season.
"For sure, both offensively and defensively," he said. "We just need to keep playing like that."
UAA (16-7, 12-3 GNAC) came into Thursday's match ranked ninth in the West Region, with Northwest Nazarene (15-7, 10-5) ranked seventh. The top eight teams in the season's final rankings will earn playoff spots, and the Seawolves were well aware of what a win could mean.
"It is just gut-wrenchingly important to win these games," UAA senior Jackie Matthisen said.
It was especially gratifying to play so well against the Crusaders, who beat UAA in four sets earlier this season.
"It was really important to us, because we lost to them before," said UAA setter Kimya Jafroudi. "We knew how important this match was, but we came out really calm and relaxed."
Northwest Nazarene snapped UAA's seven-match win streak last month in Nampa, Idaho, but this time around it was precision serving by the Seawolves, who finished with eight aces, that seemed to keep the Crusaders off balance.
"We passed a lot better and they didn't pass as well," Green said. "We were well prepared for their offense."
The match ended in fitting fashion, with a serve and an assist from Jafroudi, setting up a kill from Matthisen. Jafroudi provided 36 of the Seawolves' 40 assists and tied Nikkie Viotto for a team-high three aces.
Two of Viotto's three aces came during a five-point rally in the first set that gave the Seawolves 9-3 lead. The Crusaders never threatened to lead the first set, and each time they tried to rally in the second set, Matthisen was there to squash their hopes.
Matthisen, who finished with 12 kills and 11 digs, provided some of UAA's most ferocious hits in the second set. She broke a 5-5 tie and a 12-12 tie with powerful blasts and she delivered a rocket down the middle of the court to make it 17-14.
"It doesn't matter what set it is or what point of what set it is," Matthisen said. "I try to hit the ball hard every time."
Matthisen is always aware of the score, however, and knows when she comes up with big points. She said the points are getting bigger and bigger for her all the time, now that she is getting close to the end of her career with the Seawolves.
"You don't realize until you're a senior how important these matches are," she said.
The Seawolves will honor Matthisen and fellow senior Mackenzie Moss prior to Saturday's Senior Night match against Central Washington on Saturday. They travel to Saint Martin's and Western Oregon next week to finish the regular season.
Besides their pursuit of a playoff spot, the Seawolves remain very much in the hunt for the GNAC title. Western Washington's five-set upset of conference leader Seattle Pacific puts UAA a half-game behind Seattle Pacific in the GNAC standings. UAA, SPU and Western all have three losses and UAA owns the tiebreaker with both teams in the event the Seawolves wind up tied for first place with either or both teams.
Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.
By JEREMY PETERS
Anchorage Daily News