Volleyball | 9/20/2012 9:49:00 PM
Box Score
MONMOUTH, Ore. – In front of a raucous crowd to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, the Western Oregon volleyball team cruised to a 25-19, 25-20, 25-22 straight-set victory over Alaska Anchorage in action on Thursday night. With the victory, WOU moves to 8-2 on the season, 1-0 in league play, while Alaska Anchorage falls to 7-4 overall, 2-1 in conference play.
“First off, what an absolutely tremendous crowd we had tonight,” head coach
Brad Saindon said. “It lifted our entire team and I know it is something we will always remember. It was just a great night all-around and the crowd played a big part.”
The Wolves used solid and steady play on the front line to defeat the Seawolves in straight sets. Although kills were fairly even in the match (41-39 WOU), the Wolves committed only nine attack errors compared to 21 for the Seawolves.
“I think the real key to the match was how we were able to limit our mistakes,” Saindon said. “We did a great job of executing our plan and we came out with a victory over a high-quality opponent.”
Danielle Reese led the way with a double-double for the Wolves, posting a team-leading 13 kills while collecting 14 digs. The senior also managed four service aces and a block assist to finish the contest with 17.5 points.
Samantha Ward added 10 kills for Western Oregon while
Krissi Kemper collected eight kills on a team-leading .438 attack percentage.
Becky Blees added six kills for the Wolves with a .429 hitting percentage.
LesLyne Satele posted a team-leading 21 assists while
Jordin Ramos added 14 assists in the victory.
For the match, Western Oregon posted a .267 attack percentage while limiting Alaska Anchorage to just a .137 percentage, including a .074 attack percentage in the deciding third set. Blees led the defensive effort for the Wolves, recording a team-leading six block assists.
After holding the lead throughout the majority of the first two sets, the Wolves found themselves down 13-9 in the third set. However, with Ward at serve, WOU rattled off the next eight points and never trailed again to pick up their third straight victory over the Seawolves.
Western Oregon will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 22, as the Wolves host Alaska Fairbanks at 7:00 p.m.
