A day after posting wins over two highly rated Pac West Conference teams, the UAA volleyball team was surprised Saturday by Dixie State, which foiled the Seawolves' bid for an undefeated run at a three-day tournament in Riverside, California.
Dixie State upended the Seawolves 23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 19-25, 15-9 on the final day of the GNAC/Pac West Cross-Over tournament.
Julia Mackey ripped a season-high 17 kills but UAA (6-2 overall) was plagued by hitting errors – 36 of them, which left the team with a .090 attack percentage, its lowest of the season. Katelynn Zanders added 13 kills but had 10 errors.
Dixie State (3-5) hit .228 and got 17 kills from Nicole Koehler, who had eight block assists to go along with a .538 attack percentage.
The Red Storm outblocked UAA 16-14 and beat them in the digging department, 64-52. Quinn Barker led UAA with 15 digs, while Dixie State boasted four players in double figures.
Sophomore middle blockers Kayla McGlathery and Erin Braun continued to put up a good block for UAA, with McGalthery getting one solo block and seven assists and Braun getting six assists.
Mackey added eight digs and five block assists, Zanders had four block assists and Morgan Hooe tallied 27 assists, seven digs, three aces and two block assists for the Seawolves.
UAA finished the tournament with a 3-1 record. The No. 2 pick in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason poll, the Seawolves beat the teams ranked first and third in the Pac West's preseason poll Friday, only to fall to the fourth-ranked Red Storm on Saturday.
The match marked the end of UAA's nonconference season. The Seawolves face a big challenge when they begin the GNAC season Tuesday with a road match against nationally ranked Western Washington.