Seniors lead hot-hitting sweep of Saints

Olympia, Wash. (Oct. 26) - Seniors Leilani Elder and Katie Birtcil blasted 10 kills apiece and the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team recorded its best hitting percentage in five seasons Saturday in a 25-20, 25-18, 25-22 sweep of Saint Martin's at the South Puget Sound Community College fieldhouse.

The Seawolves (11-10, 5-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got nine kills on .421 hitting from junior rightside hitter Larssen Anderson as they outhit the hosts .432 to .250, committing only five attack errors.

The Saints (5-14, 3-8) were led by 10 kills each from Emily Garten, Jennifer Soha and Kingsley Mason, but managed just two blocks and were outdug 48-39.

"That was an outstanding effort from everyone today," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner. "We had struggled the last couple matches, but we did great job of leaving the past behind and focusing on today. Leilani stepped up with a huge individual performance, and the whole team fed off that energy."

Despite coming in with three straight losses, the Seawolves took control from the outset against the Saints, leading throughout the first set. The team's lone fourth-year senior, Elder had five kills on as many swings in the opening set as she finished with a career-best .750 hitting percentage - No. 6 on UAA's single-match list since rally scoring began in 2001.

UAA snapped a 6-6 tie in the second set with a 7-0 run, powered by a pair of blocks from Anderson and local product Bella Burney. Burney, who played just five miles away at Tumwater High School, added an emphatic kill in the surge and finished with four kills on .375 hitting.

The Seawolves took the lead for good at 11-10 in the third and fended off a pair of Saints charges to earn the sweep. Leading 18-17, Birtcil and Elder answered with consecutive kills, and Anderson provided the kill on match point.

All six of UAA's primary hitters hit .273 or better as the .432 attack percentage ranked fifth-best on the program's list since 2001, and the best since a .444 effort against Concord on Sept. 6, 2019.

Birtcil's .588 hitting (10-1-17) was her best since joining UAA as a graduate transfer from New Mexico State this fall, and outside hitters Tia Allen and Bethany Tuchardt collected six kills apiece on .273 and .286 hitting, respectively.

Senior setter Kadyn Osborne delivered a career-high 27 assists (in a three-setter), while junior libero Madison Galloway had an errorless day with 15 digs, three assists and 16 serve receptions.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center for five of their final seven matches, beginning Thursday (7 p.m.) against Seattle Pacific. Find tickets - including for the upcoming Alaska Volleyball Day on Nov. 16 - at GoSeawolves.com.