Box score, play-by-play
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SEATTLE -- They had a chance to open a bigger lead in the standings. Instead, it's all even again on top.
Sarah Risser had 11 kills, and Anna Herold hit the 1,000-dig mark for her Seattle Pacific career, but the night belonged to Alaska Anchorage on the volleyball court, as the Seawolves swept the Falcons away in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match in Brougham Pavilion.
Scores were 25-16, 25-20, 25-17.
That dropped the SPU (12-8, 6-2 GNAC) into a tie with Anchorage (14-7, 6-2) for first place at the exact midpoint of the conference schedule.
“We just weren't ready to play. We came out flat -- no passion, no fire,” coach Chris Johnson said. “It was a battle for first place, and you know they're going to come in and try to take us out.
“It definitely was a wake-up call.”
Junior outside hitter Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was the only Falcon in double figures for kills, as she had 11 and hit .296 for the match.
Sophomore libero Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) came up with 10 digs, putting her exactly at 1,000 for her career.
Senior setter Cortney Weedman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had 17 assists, and freshman setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS) earned 13.
But none of that added up to nearly enough, as Alaska Anchorage was in control almost the entire way.
“We're on top of the standings now, and that's great. But we have to keep getting better, and that was kind of proven to us tonight,” Johnson said. “But I'd rather have that wake-up call at this time of the season instead of later in the season.”
The Seawolves scored the first three points of the match and led all the way through Game 1 except for a 9-9 tie. They snapped a 3-3 tie in Game 2 and led the rest of the way in that one. Then, after Seattle Pacific built an 11-9 lead in Game 3, Anchorage pulled even again. It was 14-all when the Seawolves scored the next three points, starting an 11-3 run to finish off the match.
Jackie Matthiesen led the Seawolves with 10 kills, and was their only player in double figures. Cortney Lundberg and McKenzie Moss added nine apiece, and Scott also had six blocks.
SPU hit just .139 for the match, with just 36 kills and 21 errors on 108 total attacks. Anchorage hit .375, racking up 39 kills and making just six errors on 88 swings. The only team this season to do better than that against the Falcons was Sonoma State, which hit .380 in a three-game sweep on Sept. 3.
“The biggest thing from tonight is we have to hit the ball in,” Johnson said. “(The Seawolves) had three balls that didn't go in the court. We have to learn from that and hit like that. We can't give all these free points to a good team like that.”
Both schools came into the match among the top teams in the NCAA West Region. Seattle Pacific was No. 6, and Alaska Anchorage was No. 7 in the season's first rankings that came out on Thursday afternoon.
Seattle Pacific returns to the court in Brougham Pavilion on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Alaska Fairbanks.
NCAA Volleyball
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage 3, Seattle Pacific 0
Game scores -- 25-16, 25-20, 25-17.
Service aces -- SU: Sarah Risser 2. UAA: Calli Scott 2.
Kills -- SPU: Risser 11, Paige Hoffman 5, Lindsey Wodrich 5, Amber Johnson 5, Priscilla Collings 5. UAA: Mackie Matthisen 10, Cortney Lundberg 9, McKenzie Moss 9.
Blocks -- SPU: Collings 2. UAA: Lundberg 6.
Assists -- SPU: Cortney Weedman 17, Shelby Swanson 13. UAA: Scott 31.
Digs -- SPU: Anna Herold 10, Weedman 7. UAA: McKenzie Moss 11, Matthisen 11.
Attendance -- 123.
Records
Seattle Pacific 12-8, 6-2 GNAC.
Alaska Anchorage 14-7, 6-2 GNAC.
Next match -- Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 3 p.m.
