Sports

Hooe fuels UAA volleyball win

With one of its weapons misfiring, the UAA volleyball team found an offensive threat in an unexpected place Saturday night and used it to knock off another nationally ranked team.

The Seawolves survived 12 botched serves to turn back 13th-ranked Central Washington in five sets in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match in Ellensburg, Washington. The win was UAA's second road victory over a nationally ranked NCAA Division II opponent this season -- earlier this month, they upended Western Washington in five sets.

Coming up huge in the 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-7, triumph was sophomore setter Morgan Hooe, whose job description is to set the ball for the hitters. Only this time she was among UAA's biggest hitters, racking up 10 kills on 17 attempts with one error. Her .529 attack percentage was one of the best this season for the Seawolves, who improved to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the GNAC.

"Morgan Hooe came alive as an offensive player," coach Chris Green said.

Hooe also lent a helping hand defensively with four block assists, another category that doesn't ordinarily showcase setters, who are often among the shortest players on a team.

Hooe, who stands 5-foot-7, finished with four block assists, 53 assists, seven digs and two aces. She was also guilty of two of UAA's service errors.

UAA overcame poor service with good passing, Green said -- a duty shared by Katelynn Zanders, Julia Mackey, Quinn Barker and Brooke Pottle.

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Zanders (20 kills, 17 digs), Mackey (10 kills, 23 digs) and Pottle (10 kills, 15 digs) all joined Hooe with double-doubles, and Barker contributed a team-high 24 digs.

Central Washington (10-3, 3-2) was led by Kiah Jones' 18 kills, Kaely Kight's 28 digs and Catie Fry's 42 assists.

The win came two nights after the Seawolves lost to Northwest Nazarene, ending their four-match winning streak.

UAA plays its next four matches at home, beginning with Thursday's GNAC game against Saint Martin's at the Alaska Airlines Center.

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