Saturday, December 3, 2016

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Morgan Hooe dished a career-high 60 assists and outside hitter Leah Swiss smashed 21 kills Friday to help top-seeded Alaska Anchorage fend off an upset bid by 5th-seeded Northwest Nazarene and prevail 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10 in the NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships semifinals at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The nationally 9th-ranked Seawolves (31-2) also got 15 kills and 19 digs from outside hitter Chrisalyn Johnson as they erased a 9-5 deficit in the fifth set, taking 10 of the last 11 points to advance to the program’s first-ever regional final.

Regular-season league champion UAA will face runner-up Western Washington (23-7) in Saturday’s all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference final at 7 p.m. AST at the Alaska Airlines Center. The teams split during the regular season, with each winning on the road. The Vikings enter the match with an 8-0 record in the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Crusaders (21-8) were led by 15 kills and six blocks from junior middle blocker Madi Farrell, while outside hitter Kendra Bodine had 13 kills and 17 digs. NNU, which was trying to avenge two regular-season defeats to the Seawolves, was playing in its first-ever NCAA regional semifinal.

UAA seemed on the way to a less dramatic victory with an 18-13 lead in the fourth set before the Crusaders answered with six of the next seven points to tie it. An ace by Bodine and a kill by Cami Heninger gave NNU a 23-20 edge and earned set point on another Heninger kill.

NNU continued its momentum into the rubber set, taking an 8-4 lead at the switchover and a 9-5 advantage on Bodine’s final kill. The Seawolves seemed to flip a switch at that point, however, with Swiss notching four straight kills to tie it, followed by a block by Hooe and Erin Braun for a 10-9 lead.

After a Crusader timeout, Braun delivered her 12th and final kill, and Swiss completed an 8-0 surge with another smash. NNU drew within 13-10 on a Braun attack error before the Seawolves clinched it on another Swiss kill and another block by Braun and Hooe.

In addition to her career-high assist total, Hooe – the NCAA D-II West Region and GNAC Player of the Year – also tied her career high with five total blocks, along with five kills and 14 digs. Meanwhile, Braun accounted for 12 kills, a career-high seven digs a UAA season-best nine total blocks.