UAA Athletics

With playoffs a longshot, Seawolves win what could be their final match

The UAA volleyball team will learn Sunday if 21 victories are enough to earn it a sixth consecutive trip to the playoffs. If not, at least the season will end on a winning note.

The Seawolves got big games from their three seniors and their star freshman Saturday in a four-set win over Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho.

The 25-21, 25-14, 25-27, 25-14 triumph in their regular-season finale leaves the Seawolves with a 21-7 overall record and a 14-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference record.

They entered the week with a slim shot at the NCAA Division II playoffs — they're ranked 10th in the West Region, which will send eight teams to the postseason — but they suffered a Thursday night loss at sixth-ranked Central Washington.

"Twenty-one victories is an impressive accomplishment under any circumstances, so even if we are not fortunate enough to have our name called tomorrow, this team still has a lot to be proud of," UAA coach Chris Green said in a release from the school.

In what could be the final match of their careers, seniors Chrisalyn Johnson, Taylor Noga and Tara Melton shined.

Johnson, an outside hitter of Dimond High, registered the 39th double-double of her career and her 14th this season with 10 kills and 18 digs. Noga, an East High alum who returned to the front line after playing libero much of the season, racked up nine kills, 10 digs and four block assists. Melton, of Glendale, Arizona, tallied eight kills and a career-high 11 blocks, one of them solo.

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Freshman Eve Stephens, meanwhile, provided impressive stats and a reminder that the future could be bright. The middle blocker from Colony High had 14 kills on flawless hitting — zero errors on 25 attack attempts for a hitting percentage of .560 – and was in on eight of UAA's 16 blocks.

Also sparking the Seawolves were junior Vanessa Boyer (10 kills), sophomore Anjoilyn Vreeland (team-high 26 digs), sophomore Casey Davenport (18 assists, 10 digs) and Ellen Floyd (28 assists, eight digs).

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