Volleyball

Amidst the height of Cook Inlet Conference football action, the state’s two biggest colleges met head-to-head Saturday night for some volleyball action. The Wells Fargo Sports Complex was packed for the big game between the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks. In the first frame, UAF’s Julie Gilhuly dropped the hammer as the Nanooks pushed the Seawolves early. The first game’s set point offered UAF a chance to jump into the lead, and Jamie Russell sank the ball off a UAA block, clinching the first game for Fairbanks 25-21.

The ASAA Mixed Six and 1A/2A state volleyball tournaments got underway on Thursday at Dimond High School, but only one defending state champion emerged unscathed.   In the Mixed Six quarterfinals, two-time reigning champion Point Hope swept Russian Mission, 25-15, 25-14, 25-10.  The Harpooners move on to face Glacier View, which defeated Golovin, 25-17, 25-15, 25-11.  On the other side of the bracket, Aniak swept Unalakleet, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21.  The Halfbreeds will take on Alak in the semifinals, which took down Andreafski, 25-21, 25-15, 25-21.

The UAA Seawolves were matched up against the Western Oregon Wolves in Thursday's home and conference opener.  Despite two clutch wins in games 2 and 3, the ladies fell short in five games, 26-24, 21-25, 18-25, 28-26, 15-7.  UAA drops to 4 and 5 overall and 0 and 1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Game one was a point for point battle, until Western Oregon pulled ahead 24-18 over UAA.  Jackie Matthisen served the Seawolves back to a 24-24 tie, but the Wolves denied the comeback.  The Seawolves posted the good early numbers in game two, and kept a wide spread until Western Oregon closed the gap at 15-14.  After a timeout, Nikkie Viotto served 7 straight points to give UAA the 22-14 lead.  Oregon attempted a comeback, bringing the score to 24-21 until UAA got the sideout to win, 25-21.

ASAA 3A Volleyball Tournament--Wasilla Sports Complex Friday's Losers Bracket Matches: Monroe def. Nikiski 25-17, 25-19, 25-20 Skyview def. Barrow 25-14, 25-23, 25-20 Monroe def. Valdez 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 15-8 Skyview def. Nome, 25-23, 26-24, 25-22 Barrow, Nikiski, Valdez, and Nome eliminated Friday's Winners Bracket Match: Mt. Edgecumbe def. Grace Christian, 25-22, 25-15, 25-19  ASAA 4A Volleyball Tournament--Wasilla Sports Complex Friday's Losers Bracket Matches: Palmer def. Kodiak 25-20, 25-22, 14-25, 21-25, 19-17 Soldotna def. West Valley 25-12, 25-15, 27-25 Juneau def. Soldotna 16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 15-12 Palmer def. East 25-16, 25-27, 25-21, 25-16 Kodiak, West Valley, Soldotna, and East eliminated   Friday's Winners Bracket Match: South def. Dimond 25-22, 25-13, 25-17

Freshmen Sarah Johnson and Julia Mackey slammed 16 kills apiece to lead the UAA volleyball team to a five game win over Central Washington in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both schools.  The Seawolves blew a two games to none lead before prevailing 25-19, 25-21, 26-28, 17-25, 15-10.  Katelynn Zanders chipped in 15 kills, while Jodi Huddleston and Mauren Sabado tallied double digits in kills as UAA won for the sixth...

The return of the UAA Volleyball Invitational and the presence of 18 Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches highlight the 2012 Seawolf schedule, released on Thursday.  Chris Green returns for his fifth season at UAA.  In 2011, the Seawolves finished 18 and 9 and made the NCAA Division II tournament for the third straight year. 2012 Alaska Anchorage Volleyball Schedule AUGUST       25     ALUMNI MATCH (exh.)                        ANCHORAGE                                               TBA       30     vs Dominican (N.Y.)

It's crunch time for the University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball squad, as the Seawolves looked to protect their No. 7 ranking in the West Region Thursday night. The top eight teams make the NCAA playoffs, and UAA delivered a four-game win over Northwest Nazarene, 22-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22. Lee Golden picked up a career-high 15 kills in the match. UAA is up to 16 and 7 overall, 11 and 4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with three matches to play. Contact Kevin Wells at kwells@ktuu.

UAA dislikes being called a volleyball program on the rise. Occasionally they're the ones getting knocked off. The Seawolves, ranked 23rd, were defeated in four Tuesday night at San Francisco State, 25-16, 18-25, 25-19, 25-17. UAA’s first loss to a non-ranked opponent in their last 15 matches, but to be fair, the Gators also made last year's NCAA tournament. The Seawolf spikers had a season-low hitting percentage. Fatigue may have been a factor as they have played six matches in the last five days.

South and Dimond brought their powerful volleyball teams to bear against each other in a Tuesday match. Between them, the two schools have won the last five state titles. South was leading its Dimond visitors 24-23 in a tight Game 1, with Morgan Hooe the nerve on game point as the Wolverines claimed the opener. The school stayed sharp all night, swinging the ball to Lindsey Logan in Game 2 as she found seams in Dimond’s defenses. Ultimately South managed to sweep Dimond 25-23, 25-21 and 25-16 to stay unbeaten in the Cook Inlet Conference.