UAA delivers Halloween sweep of SPU

Anchorage (Oct. 31) - Senior Tia Allen delivered 10 kills and junior libero Madison Galloway made 15 kills to help the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a defensive-minded 25-19, 25-20, 26-24 sweep of Seattle Pacific on Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (12-10, 6-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got eight kills and 12 digs from senior outside hitter Katie Birtcil as they outhit the defending GNAC champs .148 to .100, sweeping the season series.

The Falcons (6-14, 6-6) were led by nine kills from senior Sydney Perry, but the visitors saw their four-match winning streak halted despite outblocking UAA 12-6.

"It wasn't pretty winning with the hitting percentages we had in the last two sets, but we showed tremendous grit, especially late in the third," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner, whose team moved into the top half of the GNAC standings with six matches remaining.

It wasn't pretty winning with the hitting percentages we had in the last two sets, but we showed tremendous grit, especially late in the third

UAA head coach Stacie Meisner

After beating the Falcons in four sets Oct. 5 in Seattle, UAA came out hot in the rematch, jumping to a 7-1 lead behind a pair of kills by Allen. SPU rallied to pull ahead 12-11 on a block by Perry and Allison Wilks, before the Seawolves retook control. Leading 18-17, Allen, Bella Burney and Larssen Anderson combined for five straight kills, and UAA would clinch it on a Falcon setting error.

The Seawolves led wire-to-wire in the second, starting 4-0 behind two aces from Birtcil. SPU remained within striking distance, however, and earned a four-point run to force a Seawolf timeout at 18-17. Meisner's crew responded with a kill by Allen and a kill and ace by freshman Hannah Trotter, sparking a 7-3 run to end the set.

UAA looked well on its way to a sweep with a 14-7 lead in the third, before SPU forged a 6-0 run. SPU took a 19-18 lead on consecutive kills by Perry and Sophia Chambers, and Perry slammed a kill to earn set point at 24-20. The Falcons' momentum fizzled, though, thanks to a kill by Bethany Tuchardt and a block from Birtcil and Leilani Elder that forced a timeout. SPU's Hannah Hair hit wide on the next rally, and Birtcil tied it with a kill. Kadyn Osborne gave UAA the lead with her second ace, then set Elder for the winning spike on the first try at match point.

Allen hit .194 and made nine digs, while Burney finished with six kills and a team-best .333 hitting percentage. Elder had seven kills and led the Seawolves with five total blocks.

Looking to become the first Seawolf since 2018 to average at least 4.00 digs per set, Galloway improved her numbers in that category, along with five assists and a pair of aces.

Osborne tallied 16 assists and six digs, and Trotter had 11 assists and 10 digs.

The Seawolves' season sweep was their ninth over the Falcons in the past 11 seasons, pulling ahead now 35-32 in the all-time series.

UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday for a 7 p.m. first serve against Montana State Billings. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.

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