Thursday, December 10, 2015
by Blake Timm

PORTLAND, Ore. – When Alaska Anchorage welcomed 1,023 fans into the Alaska Airlines Center for the final match of the SpringHill Suites Invitational against Cal Poly Pomona in September, little did they know that it was only the beginning of a rapidly growing following.

The Seawolves got only better and better as the season rolled on and the crowds only got bigger and bigger. By the end of September, four crowds of over 1,000 fans watched Alaska Anchorage volleyball matches, with the last three matches breaking arena attendance records.

Three crowds of over 1,500 came out for three October matches. And with the Seawolves on the cusp of winning the GNAC championship, a raucous 2,002 fans filled the seats on Nov. 7 to see UAA beat Northwest Nazarene in four sets.

And to think Alaska Anchorage head coach Chris Green was worried about what the atmosphere would become when the school moved into the state-of-the-art arena, which seats 5,000, to start the 2014 season.

“I was worried that the Alaska Airlines Center might be too big for volleyball,” Green said. “I thought the large arena would swallow up the noise and the crowd would look small. But I’m glad to say that did not happen. It has been so loud at times, it was hard to give instructions in timeout huddles.”

Alaska Anchorage welcomed an average of 1,481 fans to the Alaska Airlines Center for 16 matches. That was not only the most in NCAA Division II this season, but the best average attendance for any women’s volleyball program outside of Division I. Six of the top-10 crowds in Division II this season have been in Anchorage, topped by the 2,627 who saw the Seawolves’ beat Dixie State in the West Region Tournament on Dec. 4.

Outside of Division I, that single match figure was topped only by the 3,000 who saw perennial rivals Juniata and Wittenberg battle it out in the Division III Tournament on Nov. 15.

Solid fan support for volleyball was not only apparent in Anchorage, but throughout GNAC Country. Three conference schools finished in the top-20 in Division II in average attendance. Northwest Nazarene ranked 15th with an average of 571 fans per game, while Central Washington finished 17th with 509 fans per game. A total of five GNAC schools ranked in the top-50 in average attendance and Concordia, in their first year as a GNAC school, was 51st.

While Alaska Anchorage celebrated their record crowds early, it was a rivalry match in the Lower 48 that set the record pace. A loud crowd of 1,687 packed Central Washington’s Nicholson Pavilion on Sept. 24 to watch their Wildcats play the hated cross-state rivals from Western Washington. The crowd broke the previous attendance record, also involving the two rivals, by over 300.

While the Vikings won in five sets and sent the crowd home unhappy, it provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience for players on both benches.

“The atmosphere was certainly electric,” said Central Washington head coach Mario Andaya following the match. “The students and fans were in full force and they witnessed a thrilling match. To have standing room only in Nicholson Pavilion was as good as it gets for college volleyball at any level. We are very fortunate to have the student body and the local community we have.”

QUALITY BRINGS QUANTITY
It’s a well-known axiom in the athletics world that if you want to fill seats, it helps to win. The volleyball programs in the GNAC have done their part to attract those fans. Of the league’s 11 programs, six finished with records above .500. Four of those programs were in the top-10 in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings at some point of the season and three, Alaska Anchorage, Western Washington and Central Washington, earned invitations to the West Region Tournament.

Alaska Anchorage, the No. 1 regional seed, earned the right to host the tournament and the fans came out to not only support their team but seven of the best in the country. The tournament averaged 1,033 fans per match, with the most coming to the Seawolves’ two matches. Western Washington’s semifinal match against UC San Diego, which was the lead-in to the Seawolves’ semifinal match, drew 800.

Tim McDiffett, senior associate athletic director at Alaska Anchorage, said much of the crowd support has to do with the quality of play fans have the opportunity to see. “Coach Green has put together a quality program. They’ve won, they’ve done it with a lot of homegrown student-athletes and the team is very connected to the community on many different levels,” McDiffett said.

The difference in the crowds is not lost on players like Katelynn Zanders, the 2015 GNAC Player of the Year. “There is something so special about people both young and old calling out your name and cheering for you on every point,” the Alaska Anchorage senior said. “There’s nothing like the rush you get when the crowd goes wild after a great play. Playing at the collegiate level in front of a huge crowd is like nothing you will ever imagine.”

Both McDiffett and Green are quick to point out that they are blessed to be playing in a building that rivals many Division I arenas. Built with the annual GCI Great Alaska Shootout in mind, the Alaska Airlines Center has provided a great in-game experience for both fans and players alike.

“We play in a first-rate facility with great amenities and we work hard to utilize our state-of-the-art video and audio systems to engage and entertain fans of all ages,” McDiffett said. “All of those things working together has resulted in tremendous support for which we are very grateful.”

“I think our players were especially excited knowing that the crowd could be bigger than the last,” Green said. “Playing in an electric atmosphere was something that made playing at home very special for our players.”