Volleyball | 10/30/2008 2:08:59 PM
Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. - The No. 24 ranked Western Oregon University volleyball team swept Alaska Fairbanks, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's third place team, 25-18, 30-28 and 25-14, Thursday, Oct. 30, at Fairbanks.
With the win, Western Oregon moved to 17-2 on the season and continues to lead the GNAC by one match with a 10-1 record. The loss drops Alaska Fairbanks (14-7, 8-4) into a tie with Northwest Nazarene for fourth place in the GNAC.
The Wolves used a .283 to .125 hitting advantage to earn the victory on the road. Lisa Martini had eight kills on 12 attempts with only one error for a team-leading .583 hitting percentage. She also led the team with five partial blocks as Western Oregon dominated Alaska Fairbanks in blocks 11-3. Stacey Bennett was the only Wolf with double figure kills as she recorded 11 kills and one error for a .357 hitting percentage. Danielle English was the team-leader in digs with 14, as no other Western Oregon player recorded more than seven. Amy Herron had 21 assists and Jorden Burrows 19 as the Wolves also won the assist category, 44-39.
The second set was the critical set of the match. After a Western Oregon timeout with the match tied at 17 apiece, the two teams exchanged points, with neither side having more than a one point advantage, until Alaska Fairbanks found itself with a 28-27 lead. Senior Kayla Mainer then delivered two kills for the Wolves and Sylvia Herrold ended the set on a service ace to give WOU 30-28 set win and the 2-0 match advantage.
Western Oregon then used that momentum and a 7-0 run in the third set as they were able to pick up the road win
"We played really, really well after a long day of travel," said head coach Brad Saindon. "That second set could have gone either way but we battled them to the bitter end. It was a great victory for us."
The Wolves however were unable to gain any ground in the conference tonight as No. 12 Western Washington defeated Seattle Pacific in four sets.
The Western Oregon volleyball team will have another long day of travel tomorrow as it heads to Anchorage to face the Seawolves Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7:00 p.m. (ast)
