Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The 20th-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team fell in four sets to No. 12 Alaska Anchorage 15-25, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25 in the Vikings home opener Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Whatcom Pavilion.

The Vikings fall to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in GNAC play, with five of the six losses coming against opponents ranked in the AVCA Division II national poll. Alaska Anchorage extended its winning streak to 12 consecutive matches while improving to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play.

Sophomore outside hitter Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) led the Vikings with 15 kills and 18 digs, recording her seventh double-double of the season. Junior Arielle Turner (Leavenworth, WA/Cascade) added 12 kills and sophomore middle blocker Michaela Hall (Centralia, WA) had 10 kills on a .421 hitting percentage.

In addition to Phelps, redshirt freshman Mae Thungc (Kent, WA/Kentridge) had 17 digs and junior Joellee Buckner (Colville, WA) totaled 13 digs. Junior setter Kristina Tribley (Wenatchee, WA) led Western with 21 assists.

The Seawolves received a dominating performance from sophomore outside hitter Leah Swiss, who totaled a double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. Senior setter Morgan Hooe matched her season high with 47 assists, while surpassing the 3,000 assist milestone in her career. Chrisalyn Johnson (12 kills, 4 blocks) and Erin Braun (11 kills, 5 blocks) also reached double-figures in kills for the Seawolves.

UAA opened the match with a quick 10-3 win and went on to a 25-15 victory to take the 1-0 lead. The Seawolves hit at a .483 clip in the opening set, led by 4 kills from Johnson.

The Vikings tied the match with a 25-22 win in the second set. Turner and Phelps each tallied 4 kills while Western hit .317 for the set. Swiss led all players with 8 kills in the set.

With the match tied 1-1, the Vikings were in good shape with a 16-10 lead midway through the third set. But the Seawolves didn't back down and went on a 8-2 run to tie the game at 18-18. UAA continued their third-set surge finishing with a 7-2 run (15-4 overall run) to go up 2-1.

UAA again used a sizeable run to take the fourth set 25-20. WWU led early 10-8, but UAA answered with an 8-0 run to grab an 16-10 advantage.

The Vikings (5-6 overall, 1-2 GNAC) return to conference play Saturday hosting Alaska Fairbanks at 7 pm at Whatcom Pavilion.