Sept. 25, 2010

Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - With no set decided by more than three points, Western Washington University had a five-match winning streak end as it fell 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, to University of Alaska Anchorage in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball contest Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex .

The Vikings, ranked No.15 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, fell to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the GNAC play.

"We didn't make the plays at the right time," said Western coach Diane Flick (11th year), "So, this is a good opportunity for us to get a good learning experience in a tough situation. We have a lot of volleyball to play."

Alaska Anchorage, the defending GNAC champion, improved to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in conference action. The Seawolves were led by McKenzie Moss with a match-high 14 kills. Nikkie Viotto had 19 digs and Robyn Burton seven blocks, both match bests.

Western got 13 kills and 11 digs from Megan Amundson (Sr., Stanwood). Libero Allison Gotz (Sr., Bothell/Archbishop Murphy) had 15 digs, moving into second place among WWU career leaders with 1,439. Setter Kari Rice (Sr., Toppenish/Eisenhower) had 34 assists, 12 digs, fours aces, four kills and two blocks.

Kathryn Mertens (Sr., Olympia) and Emily Jepsen (Jr., Kennewick/Kamiakin) each had nine kills for Western, and Bailey Jones (So., Mukilteo/Kamiak) added six blocks.

Western led 18-12 in the first set before UAA scored seven straight points to take a 19-18 lead and the Seawolves led the rest of the way.

The Vikings got off to a strong start in set two, but three straight aces by Viotto knotted the score at 16-all. There were four ties after that, the last at 23-23 before two kills gave UAA a 2-0 lead.

Western trailed by as much as five in the third set and was down 21-17 before going on an 8-1 run for the win to trail 2-1.

The Vikings led 16-9 in the fourth set before the Seawolves went on a 13-3 run to lead 22-19. Western scored three straight points to tie it at 22-all, but UAA ended the set and match with three consecutive kills.

The Seawolves hit .221 to .140 for Western.

The loss was the Vikings' third straight to UAA after posting 17 consecutive wins in the series. They lead 23-10.

Western next is at Simon Fraser, which is in its first year as a member of the GNAC, on Saturday, Oct. 2 (7 p.m.).

Matthisen returns to form as Seawolves handle Vikings

UAA: Hot-and-cold season continues as team tops No. 15 Western Washington.

Anchorage Daily News, sports@adn.com

One week after a disheartening loss to their archrival, the UAA volleyball team and outside hitter Jackie Matthisen returned to form Saturday to knock off 15th-ranked Western Washington at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

Matthisen delivered 10 kills, 16 digs, one ace and was in on four blocks to lead UAA to a 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22 win over the Vikings in a battle between two of the top teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

In the week between the loss to UAF and the win over Western Washington, UAA picked up a GNAC win over Simon Fraser, a league newcomer that came to Anchorage without any wins. That victory was somewhat expected, but Saturday's wasn't -- Western Washington was undefeated in the conference before meeting the Seawolves.

With the win, UAA moves to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the GNAC going into a road match Thursday against Seattle Pacific, another strong GNAC team.

"We were looking at the possibility of going 2 and 4 in the league going into October, so having tonight's win over Western Washington is a good win," UAA coach Chris Green said. "It's a confidence-builder too. It might get us to turn the corner."

Green was especially pleased to see Matthisen turn in a sharp performance.

"She's been struggling the last two weeks, so it was nice to see the old Jackie," he said. "After (the UAF) match, she was a little frustrated."

UAA also got a boost from McKenzie Moss (14 digs), Nikkie Viotto (19 digs) and setters Sioban Johansen and Adriana Aukusitino combined for 41 assists.

"Our setters were maybe the most consistent they've been all year," Green said.

The Seawolves came up with 12 blocks, an effort led by freshman Robyn Burton, who had one solo block and five assists.

Western Washington (8-2, 5-1) was led by Megan Amundson's 13 kills and 11 digs.

In other GNAC action Saturday, Simon Fraser broke through for its first win by dropping the Nanooks 25-20, 16-25, 23-25, 25-20, 11-15 in Fairbanks.