An up-and-down night ended in victory Friday for the UAA volleyball team, which pulled out a five-set win over Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.
The Seawolves won the first two sets and lost the second two en route to a 31-29, 25-14, 21-25, 22-25, 15-11 win in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
The win moved UAA to 11-7 overall and 6-3 in conference play and marked the second time in three matches the Seawolves have won in five sets.
Junior outside hitter Chrisalyn Johnson delivered a stellar performance, providing UAA with 17 kills, 15 digs and five block assists.
Significant contributions came from multiple other sources too — Leah Swiss totaled 17 kills and eight digs, Tara Melton posted three solo blocks, four block assists and seven kills, Casey Davenport put up 53 assists to go with 16 digs, Keala Kaio-Perez had 17 digs and five aces and Taylor Noga added 16 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Vanessa Hayes, meanwhile, supplied 13 kills and six block assists — and a cheering section. Hayes is from Salem, Oregon, and about a dozen family members and friends came to the match to watch her play.
"They were loud, too," UAA coach Chris Green said.
UAA hit with precision in the first two sets (.326 and .478) before slipping to an .023 percentage in the third set.
"We came out of the locker room (after the second set) and kind of laid an egg," Green said. "It's kind of the up-and-down thing again. But we saw some good volleyball."
Green said the Seawolves were lucky to win the first set, which featured 14 ties and six lead changes. "We fought off three or four set-points," he said.
Concordia (8-8, 3-6) was led by Colby Barnette's 20 kills and seven block assists and Anna Dols' 30 digs.
The Seawolves will remain in Oregon for a Saturday match against Western Oregon.