Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – Another remarkable volleyball comeback was in the making. But in the end, this one didn't quite work out for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
After losing the first two games, the Falcons rallied to take the next two and force a fifth, but then saw Alaska Anchorage put together a four-point scoring run to take charge and pull out a Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory on Thursday night.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 13-25, 15-12.
 
“A few points the other way in that last game, and we're the ones in there celebrating,” head coach Chris Johnson said after SPU had its three-match winning streak halted. “I'm proud of the way we came back. We played some our best volleyball of the season in that fourth game. We were playing really well and getting a ton of kills.
 
“But we're still giving our opponents too many free points. That's what we did in Game 5, and it killed us.”
 
Senior outside hitter Cailin Fellows (Edmonds, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS) had 19 kills, one of four Falcons in double figures.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Miller (Fife, Wash. / Fife HS) added 13 kills for SPU (7-10, 4-4 GNAC). Junior middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) had 12 and hit a team-high .381. Junior outside hitter Nicole Schwend (Oregon City, Ore.) put down a career-high 10 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Madi Cavell (Keizer, Ore.) had eight kills, three blocks, and a career-high three service aces.
 
Senior setter Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash. / Kamiakin HS) logged her eighth double-double of the season with 48 assists and 11 digs.
 
“It was a breakout night for Colli (Schwend) – she played well, and it was really good to see that,” Johnson said. “Bri Leenders was great with 29 digs, and Madi hit .368 and played in the middle after playing outside hitter last weekend – she did a great job.”
 
The deciding game was at 6-6 when a point originally awarded to Seattle Pacific was overruled, and a replay of the point was ordered. This time, it went to Anchorage (11-5, 6-2 GNAC) on a Jodi Huddleston kill.
 
That started the Seawolves' four-point surge, putting them on top, 10-6. They extended it to 13-7, but the Falcons weren't done. SPU ran off four in a row on a kill by Fellows, an Anchorage attack error, a service ace by Leenders, and a dunk at the net by Cavell. That made it 13-11.
 
The teams traded the next two points, then the Seawolves clinched it on a kill by Julia Mackey, her team-leading 13^th of the night.
 
In the first two games, Seattle Pacific fell behind by double digits –18-8 in Game 1, and 14-4 in Game 2 – then climbed back within three both times at 22-19 and 24-21, respectively.
 
UAA seemed on the brink of pulling away in the third game, up 12-7. But the Falcons rallied, going up 18-17, then scoring the last three points to snap a 22-22 tie.
 
SPU dominated Game 4, hitting a single-game season high of .500 (16 kills-2 errors-28 attacks), and ran off nine points in a row for a 9-1 lead.
 
“Mostly, it was just staying aggressive and taking good swings,” Johnson said of the comeback, “and we solidified our passing as the match went on.”
 
Seattle Pacific slammed 65 kills for the night and hit .192 (65 kills-32 errors-172 attacks). The Seawolves had 48 kills and hit .186 (48-19-148). 
 

NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Alaska Anchorage 3, Seattle Pacific 2
                                              
Game scores – 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 13-25, 15-12.
 
Service aces – UAA 7 (3 players with 2) SPU 8 (Madi Cavell 3).
Kills – UAA 48 (Julia Mackey 13), SPU 65 (Cailin Fellows 19, Jessica Miller 13, Nikki Lowell 12, Nicole Schwend 10).
Assists – UAA 48 (Kimya Jafroudi 41), SPU 55 (Shelby Swanson 48).
Digs – UAA 63 (Siobhan Johansen 23), SPU 69 (Brianna Leenders 29).
Block assists / solo blocks – UAA 24 / 0 solo (Breanna Sytnyk 6 / 0, Jodi Huddleston 6 / 0), SPU 8 / 1 solo (Cavell 2 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – UAA 48-19-148--.196 (Jafroudi 4-1-8--.375, Sytnyk 9-2-19--.368), SPU 65-32-172--.192 (Lowell 12-4-21--.381, Cavell 8-1-19--.368).
Attendance – 151.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 7-10, 4-4 GNAC, Alaska Anchorage 11-5, 6-2 GNAC.
 
Next match – Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 3:00 p.m.