Oct. 13, 2007
Box Score
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Outside hitter Emily Castro (Sr., Bellingham/Meridian) had a match-high 11 kills and a .478 attack percentage and middle blocker Tiana Roma (Jr., Edmonds/Edmonds-Woodway) added 10 kills on .444 hitting and four blocks, lifting Western Washington University to a 30-18, 30-13, 30-24, victory over University of Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Saturday at Patty Center.
The Vikings, ranked No.2 in the first NCAA Division II Pacific Region rating, improved to 14-4 overall and remained tied for first place in the GNAC standings at 10-1 with Western Oregon, which swept Seattle U. earlier today. It was the ninth straight victory for the Vikings, seven of them via sweeps.
Alaska Fairbanks, which has lost eight of its last 10 matches, fell to 9-10 overall and 3-8 in league play. The match took just 1:20 to complete.
"Alaska is a very tough place to play, and to come out with two very commanding wins is great to see from our team," said Western coach Diane Flick, whose squad swept Alaska Anchorage on Thursday.
Libero Courtney Schneider (Sr., Snohomish) had a match-high 24 digs for the Vikings with her 68th consecutive double-digit contest. She upped her school and GNAC career-record total to 2,328, which ranks sixth among NCAA II leaders. Schneider's career per game average of 6.86 is national-record pace and she ranks second nationally this season in digs per game with a 7.45 average after being the national leader in 2006.
Western, which had 11 services aces and just five service errors, got 10 kills and 11 digs from outside hitter Jaime Anderson (Sr., SeaTac/Mount Rainier).
Western scored 18 of the last 24 points in taking game one after being tied at 12-all. Marissa Hill (Jr., North Bend/Mount Si) served five straight points during that opening stretch, the game ending on a service ace by Schneider.
In game two, the Vikings went out to a 14-3 lead as Angie Alvord (Jr., Lynden, WA/Meridian) served six straight points, and UAF did not get closer than nine after that.
Western never trailed in game three as it wrapped up the match.
Hill and Alvord each had four blocks and three aces for the Vikings, and setter Katie Robinson (Sr., Everson/Nooksack Valley) had three aces and 36 assists.
Western returns home to play arch-rival Central Washington on Thursday (7 p.m.) in a GNAC counter on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
