MONMOUTH, Ore. – The third set went overtime while Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference match featured 23 ties and 12 lead changes, but the Western Oregon volleyball dropped a three-set decision to 11^th-ranked Alaska Anchorage at the New P.E. Building.
 
Set scores were 21-25, 19-25, 24-26.
 
Junior Alisha Bettinson paced the Wolves (9-14, 6-10 GNAC) with 16 kills, while sophomore Amanda Short had 10 kills. Senior Paige Orth had nine kills on 17 swings to post a team-best .412 hitting percentage. Senior libero Christie Colasurdo had 21 digs and sophomore setter Maddie Mehciz posted a double-double on the night with 39 assists and 10 digs.
 
The first set featured a dull five ties and two lead changes compared to what transpired in the second set. WOU raced out to a 6-2 lead over the Seawolves (25-2, 14-1 GNAC) before UAA matched that run to tie the game at 8-all. During the opening stretch, Sydney Blankinship put down the first kill while Mariella Vandenkooy had consecutive kills following a pair of UAA hitting errors. With a slim 11-10 lead, the Wolves saw the ranked Seawolves register six straight points to seize the momentum of the set. A late 3-0 rally including kills from Blankinship on an overpass and Short could not push WOU in a 25-21 set loss. The Wolves were outhit in the opening game .263-.186.
 
Game two was tightly contested for the first 34 points, with 13 ties and eight lead changes. Neither team led by more than two points. Trailing 17-16 after a Bettinson kill, Alaska Anchorage went on a 4-0 rally that included three untimely errors from the Wolves. UAA closed out the 25-19 set win winning the final five points. Both teams dipped in hitting during the game, with UAA holding a .216 to .108 advantage.
 
Western Oregon played its best set on the offensive side in the third with Bettinson notching seven of her 16 kills during the game. The Wolves led 6-2 and extended it to a 16-11 on successive kills from Short and Bettinson. After a UAA timeout, the teams traded points until Western had an 18-13 lead. A kill gave UAA the sideout and they tacked on two points via WOU hitting errors to close the deficit to two, 18-16. The Seawolves knotted the third game at 22-all with a combo block and took their first lead with a second-ball kill from setter Morgan Hooe. A service error after a Western Oregon timeout put the game at a 23-all stalemate. UAA earned their first match point with a Chrisalyn Johnson kill before Bettinson followed suit to make it 24-all. UAA would take the match scoring the final two points on a Hooe kill and a WOU attack error to earn their 15^th GNAC win in 16 matches. The Seawolves had just three errors to hit .304 for the game while Western Oregon had 18 team kills for a .261 clip.
 
The Wolves return home on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a GNAC match against in-state foe Concordia.