Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
ANCHORAGE – For 2½ hours on Saturday night, the Seattle Pacific Falcons gave 20^th-ranked Alaska Anchorage all it could handle on the volleyball court.
 
The Seawolves came away with the win. The Falcons came away with the knowledge that they can contend with national-caliber programs.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Oddo had 18 kills, and junior libero Amanda Ganete scooped up a career-high 31 digs before SPU came up short of the Seawolves in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
Scores were 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22.
 
SPU (7-5, 2-2 GNAC) had been on the short end of three-game sweeps in four straight matches against Anchorage – twice in both 2015 and 2016. After dropping Saturday's first two games, the Falcons were on the brink of having that happen again.
 
Instead, they came out with a strong Game 3 to extend the match. Then, the teams went back and forth throughout Game 4, with 16 ties and eight lead changes, before UAA (9-4, 4-0 GNAC) secured its fifth  straight victory.

 

"Credit to Anchorage – that's just a tough environment to play in," Falcons coach Abbie Wright of competing with 1,415 fans in the building. "It took us a little while to figure things out and get settled in. But once we did, we had some big-time plays."
 
The Seawolves, last year's NCAA Division II national runner-up, had a 7-1 lead barely five minutes into the match. Seattle Pacific began to find its rhythm and got the deficit all the way down to one at 19-18 before UAA pulled away.
 
Alaska Anchorage tried to make Game 2 a runaway, building an 18-11 advantage. But the Falcons went on a 9-1 scoring run. Lautenbach was on the serve for the last five of those points for a 20-19 lead before the Seawolves went back in front and stayed there.
 
SPU led for most of Game 3, four times by as many as four. The Seawolves finally climbed back into a 19-19 tie. A double-hit by Anchorage and a solo block by sophomore middle Nicole Tchabanov (San Ramon, Calif.) put the Falcons up by two at 21-19.
 
"We switched some things up and just started to find some of the things that were working," Wright said. "We challenged their block really well. … We play our best when we're pushed against the wall."
 
Down 19-17 in the fourth game, Seattle Pacific rang up three straight: a Seawolves service error, an Oddo service ace, and a kill down the line by Lautenbach. But that was its last lead. UAA snapped a 21-21 tie with three points in a row, then ultimately converted on its second try at match point.
 
"There were some critical moments when we just couldn't close the gap," Wright said. "But I'm proud of our girls. I think we stepped up and definitely gave them a run for their money. We'll see what happens later in the season when we see them again (on Oct. 19 in Seattle)."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) had 10 digs to go along with her 18 kills for her second double-double of the year.
-- Junior setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.) double-doubled for the fourth straight match (46 assists-17 digs), and senior middle blocker / opposite Hannah Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) recorded her second in a row (10 kills-14 digs). Both players have six for the year.
-- Ganete (Hillsboro, Ore.) beat her previous career high of 30 digs, set last Oct. 15 during a five-gamer against Western Washington in Brougham Pavilion.
-- SPU had 103 digs for the night, its first time this season in triple figures. Senior defensive specialist Sophie Kuehl (Vancouver, Wash. / Columbia River HS) had 17 to join Ganete, Oddo, Tran, and Lautenbach in double digits.
-- SPU hit .130 for the match (48-25-177). Anchorage had 10 more kills for the night and hit .205 (58-20-105).
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons are home on Tuesday against Saint Martin's. First serve in Brougham Pavilion is at 7:00 p.m. A stretch of four matches in eight days concludes on Thursday at Montana State Billings.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska
 
(No. 20) Alaska Anchorage 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22.
 
Service aces – SPU 4 (Sophie Kuehl 2), UAA 7 (Leah Swiss 4).
Kills – SPU 48 (Gabby Oddo 18, Olivia Turner 12, Hannah Lautenbach 10), UAA 58 (Chrisalyn Johnson 16, Diana Fa'amausili 16).
Assists – SPU 46 (Symone Tran 34), UAA 54 (Madison Fisher 29).
Digs – SPU 103 (Amanda Ganete 31), UAA 92 (Keala Kaio-Perez 29).
Block assists / solo – SPU 10 / 1 solo (Nicole Tchabanov 4 / 1 solo), UAA 6 ; 3 solo (Johnson 1 / 2 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 48-25-177--.130 (Oddo 18-6-42--.286), UAA 58-20-185--.205 (Fa'amausili 16-6-38—.263.
Attendance – 1,415.
 
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 7-5, 2-2 GNAC. Alaska Anchorage 9-4, 4-0 GNAC.
 
 
Next match
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Tuesday, Sept. 26     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.