The UAA volleyball team ran into a hot Western Oregon team that swept the Seawolves off their own court Saturday.
In a key Great Northwest Athletic Conference match, Western Oregon revitalized its playoff hopes by taking a 25-23, 25-19, 25-21 win at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (13-6 overall, 8-3 GNAC) held onto third place in the GNAC, but Western (14-5, 7-3) is only half a game behind -- and the Seawolves play five of their remaining matches on the road.
The second-biggest crowd in program history -- 862 -- watched UAA get off to a fast start only to wilt against a potent hitting attack by the Wolves.
Western Oregon posted a .231 attack percentage, racking up 44 kills on 106 attempts with 10 errors.
UAA hit .188 with 37 kills on 101 attempts and 18 errors.
Samantha Ward ripped 13 kills and Becky Blees and Danielle Reese each added nine for the Wolves. Reese added 10 digs and three aces.
Julia Mackey led the Seawolves with nine kills and five blocks, one of them a solo effort. Nikkie Viotto and Katelynn Zanders chipped in seven kills apiece.
Kimya Jafroudi turned in a match-high 32 assists along with nine digs and two kills for UAA, and Siobhan Johansen had a match-high 12 digs.
UAA's next match is Saturday against UAF in Fairbanks.
Anchorage Daily News