The UAA volleyball team ended the regular season Saturday with a victory that pushed its record to 29-2.
Now the Seawolves have to wait until Monday to learn who their next opponent will be — and if the NCAA will reward their stellar season by naming them the host of the eight-team West Region playoffs Dec. 1-3.
UAA began its final regular-season road trip as the top-ranked team in the West Region and the 9th-ranked team in the nation. Wins on Thursday and Saturday should keep the Seawolves atop the West Region poll, which determines which teams advance to the region tournament and which school gets to host it.
"We'll look forward to seeing our NCAA Tournament draw and getting back down to business for the playoffs," UAA Chris Green said after Saturday's match.
Six Seawolves supplied seven or more kills Saturday, a balanced attack that carried them to a 25-12, 29-27, 25-16 win over Saint Martin's in Lacey, Washington.
After the match, the Seawolves picked up some extra baggage for their trip home — the trophy they earned as this season's Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions.
UAA (29-2 overall, 19-1 GNAC) got 14 kills from Diana Fa'amausili, nine from Leah Swiss, eight from Morgan Hooe and seven apiece from Chrisalyn Johnson, Erin Braun and Vanessa Hayes. Neither Hooe nor Braun, the only seniors on the team, made a hitting error, helping UAA to a .312 attack percentage.
UAA outblocked Saint Martin's (6-18, 2-18) 9-4 behind three solo blocks and three block assists from Fa'amausili.
"It's nice to see how we spread the offense around tonight, and our block caused them some problems," Green said in a press release from the school.
UAA trailed 15-10 in the second set before claiming the 29-27 win. The Seawolves twice fended off set-points by Saint Martin's, both times because Johnson came to the rescue with kills.
The Seawolves weren't at their sharpest during the match, Green said, but their big block and their 61 digs — Swiss and Kyla Militante-Amper had 15 apiece, and Johnson and Taylor Noga had 11 and 10, respectively — limited the Saints to .124 hitting.
Rebecca Mitchell led Saint Martin's with 14 kills and 13 digs.