Sports

UAA spanks 24th-ranked Wildcats for seventh straight volleyball win

On the second point of Thursday's volleyball match between UAA and 24th-ranked Central Washington, Katelynn Zanders slammed a cross-court kill for the Seawolves that ended a long rally filled with defensive saves.

That set the tone for UAA's seventh straight victory, a 25-13, 26-24, 25-20 win over the Wildcats in which most of the long rallies went UAA's way.

Whether it was digs that denied Central Washington's hitters or hustle that sent the Seawolves scrambling all over the place to keep the ball in play, defense helped UAA maintain a share of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Powered by hard work and a first-set victory in which it played textbook volleyball, UAA improved to 17-3 overall and 11-1 in the GNAC heading into a pivotal match Saturday against 16th-ranked Northwest Nazarene.

"Tonight was a big one, a big GNAC win for us against a very good opponent," UAA coach Chris Green said. "That first game we maybe played some of our best volleyball of the year."

Playing in front of an Alaska Airlines Center crowd of 722, UAA dominated the first set with pinpoint hitting. The Seawolves posted a .361 attack percentage by making only two errors on 36 attempts, and outside hitters Zanders and Brooke Pottle both hit better than .500 while registering five kills apiece.

For the match, UAA hit .172, with Zanders finishing with 12, Pottle nine and middle hitter Erin Braun eight.

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Central Washington hit .033, a number that says more about UAA's defense than it does about the quality of Central Washington's hitters -- the Wildcats (14-6, 7-5) entered the match hitting a league-high .228.

Both teams played the kind of defense that makes for long rallies, and more often than not, the Seawolves outlasted the Wildcats to take the point.

"We play a lot of 6-on-6 at nearly every practice," Green said, "and we've got a bunch of girls who are digging balls left and right. We have a lot of long rallies in practice, so they're used to it."

UAA outdug the Wildcats 58-53 behind Quinn Barker's 20 digs and Sarah Johnson's 12. Johnson on several occasions simply refused to let the ball hit the floor, and her back-row kill helped UAA to an early lead in the third set.

The win was UAA's second of the season over the Wildcats, one of three GNAC teams ranked in Division II's top 25 -- a group that doesn't include the Seawolves but does include their next opponent, 16th-ranked Northwest Nazarene. The Crusaders, the only GNAC team to beat UAA this season, comes comes to town Saturday for a 7 p.m. showdown between the conference's co-leaders.

"We know we have to play our best," said Braun.

Braun's eight kills were part of a balance attack that included 12 kills for Zanders, nine for Pottle and five for Kayla McGlathery.

Braun and McGlathery helped UAA put up an effective block. Each had a hand in seven to help the Seawolves outblock Central Washington 14-10. Morgan Hooe helped out with five block assists and Caitlin McInerney added four.

Braun and McInerney teamed up for consecutive blocks during a 4-0 run that put UAA in control of the final set 16-11. Besides the points generated by the block, the Seawolves had numerous touches that disrupted the Wildcats' attack.

"It really slows them down," Braun said. "It limits their offense and it helps our defense."

Central Washington got a boost from its block in the second game. Kaitlin Quirk and Catie Fry combined for two blocks and Quirk was in on another to propel their team to a 9-6 lead, and the Wildcats appeared poised to take the set on a block by Julie Hulbert and Jordan Deming that made it 20-16.

But the Seawolves battled back. Trailing 21-18, they scored five straight points to claim a 23-21 lead, a run that included one of Barker's career-high four aces, kills by McGlathery and Zanders, a block by Zanders and Braun and a hitting error by the Wildcats.

"That game we showed a lot of grit," Hooe said. "We didn't give up."

Beth Bragg can be reached at 257-4335 or bbragg@alaskadispatch.com.

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