ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Just when the Seattle Pacific Falcons thought they had the makings of a volleyball comeback, the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves staged one of their own.
 
Down 2 sets to 0, SPU was just one point away from forcing a fourth, up 24-20 in Set 3. But Anchorage then ran off the last six points of the match to close out a 3-0 sweep on Thursday night.
 
Scores of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest in the Alaska Airlines Center were 25-19, 25-20, 26-24. That snapped a four-match winning streak for SPU (6-14, 6-6 GNAC).
 
Sydney Perry had nine kills, and Hannah Hair came up with nine blocks for Seattle Pacific, bringing her within five of setting a new conference record.
 
But that was not enough when the Seawolves (12-10, 6-6 GNAC) led for all but two points of Set 1, the entirety of Set 2, and for the first half of Set 3 before the Falcons climbed back into it.
 
 

"They got off to early leads in the first two sets, then we did a good job of coming back," Falcons coach Jason Rhine said. "Mentally, I thought we stayed in it. But execution-wise, our offense really had a tough time getting going. Credit to Anchorage for serving well (10 aces) and playing the defense."
 
Down 14-7 in the third, SPU put together a pair of 6-0 scoring runs Perry had the ball for the last five points of the first one, which included a kill by Coco Barnett, a Perry ace, and a combined block by Barnett and Hair as the gap narrowed to 14-13.
 
Then down 18-16, the Falcons rang up another six straight, this time with Wilks on the serve for the final five. A Perry kill, a combined block by Barnett and Sophia Chambers, a solo block by Hair, and another combo block by Chambers and Hair pushed Seattle Pacific in front, 22-18.
 
A kill by Perry made it 24-20, and the fourth set was within reach. But that was the final point of the night for the Falcons. Of the last six points, the Seawolves got five from their offense on four kills and a service ace, and one from their defense on a block.
 
"We probably didn't play our best volleyball. It's a hard place to travel to and we know that. But it was frustrating," Rhine said. "I thought Anchorage did a good job of keeping a lot of balls alive and making us have to play for a second or third time on a rally. So credit to them for stingy defense and big service."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
--Offense was a struggle all night for both teams. SPU finished at .100 hitting (29 kills-18 errors-100 attacks), and Anchorage wound up at .148 (40-22-122). Each team had a sub-100 set, with the Falcons at .029 in the second and the Seawolves at .067 in the third.
-- Hannah Hair's nine total blocks (with two solos) puts her at 593 for her career. The GNAC record is 597 set by Kayleigh Harper of Western Washington from 2015-19.
-- Freshman outside hitter Eva LaRochelle put down her 100^th career kill. She had seven for the night, giving her 102. She also had 10 digs for her eighth double-digit night of the season and fifth in a row.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons visit Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. The Nanooks scored a 3-0 sweep in Brougham Pavilion on Oct. 5. On Thursday, they swept Montana State Billings, 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-21).
 
"Letting go of (Thursday) is important," Rhine said. "We have a game plan in mind, but we have to stay true to ourselves, relax, play confident and play aggressively. They're a tough blocking team and they make you work on offense."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska
 
Alaska Anchorage 3, Seattle Pacifc0
 
Set scores – 25-19, 25-20, 26-24.
 
Service aces – SPU 6 (LaRochelle 2), UAA 10 (4 players with 2).
Kills – SPU 29 (Perry 9), UAA 40 (Allen 10).
Assists – SPU 26 (Tulino 18), UAA 35 (Osborne 16).
Digs – SPU 55 (Lopez 17, LaRochelle 10), UAA 59 (Galloway 15).
Block assists / solo – SPU 18 / 3 solo (Hair 7 / 2 solo), UAA 10 / 1 solo (Elder 4 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 29-18-110—100 (Perry 9-3-32—188), UAA 40-22-122—148 (Burney 6-2-12—333).
Attendance – 279.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 6-14, 6-6 GNAC.
Alaska Anchorage 12-10, 6-6 GNAC.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks
Saturday, 3:00 p.m. PDT
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska