MONMOUTH, Ore.—Completing the first half the GNAC schedule, the University of Alaska Anchorage defeated Western Oregon University, 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21), inside the New P.E. Building on Saturday. 

Looking to snap a nine-match skid against Anchorage (12-7, 7-3 GNAC), Western Oregon (6-11, 2-8 GNAC) scored the first four points of the match and soon snared a 20-8 advantage in the opening set.

The defending GNAC champion Seawolves rallied back with a 10-3 run but an Alisha Bettinson kill gave the Wolves set-point with six chances at 24-19. A kill by Leah Swiss was all the Seawolves could muster as Bettinson returned with the final point of the set, giving the Wolves the first set win over UAA since 2015.

In the second, UAA jumped out to a 7-1 lead with the benefit by several WOU attacking errors. The wolves weathered the storm and cut the deficit to 13-12 behind a pair of Mariella Vandenkooy kills. Later in the set with the Seawolves nursing a 19-17 advantage, UAA used block by Vanessa Haynes, Anais Vargas and Casey Davenport to create a 23-19-gap to force a WOU timeout.

An Alaska attacking error and yet another Vandenkooy kill forced a UAA timeout with the score resting at 23-21. From there, WOU's Sydney Blankinship partnered with setter Leila Holt on a block to pull the Wolves to within one (24-23), but a Haynes cut short the comeback with a Davenport-assisted kill.

Committing just three errors, the Seawolves returned from the break with a win in the third in wire-to-wire fashion after hitting .500 in the set.

Attacking errors stifled the Wolves in the fourth, putting the home side in an early 4-0 hole, but Katherine Huntington and Jenna Compton led a spark which turned into a two-point WOU lead at 12-10. 

The Wolves surrendered the lead for good on a Haynes kill (15-14), yet remained within striking distance until the end of the match. A Compton swing pulled WOU to within two (23-21) before Swiss and the Seawolves finished the match with the final two points.

"The thing is we are playing good ball," head coach Tommy Gott said. "We are doing some good things by pushing, building and creating, but carrying that energy over is holding us back. We have shown that we are competing and as long as we keep executing, especially on the defensive side, we will avoid putting ourselves in those holes and things will change."

Overall, UAA outhit the Wolves .199 to .148 with Swiss and Haynes each providing 13 kills. Vandenkooy paced the WOU attack with 18 kills while Bettinson and Huntington each had seven terminations. The Seawolves gained an edge at the front with a 9.0-to-3.0 profit in total blocks.

The Wolves will hit the road next week by facing Central Washington on Oct. 19 and Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 21. The next home game for WOU will take place on Oct. 26 when the team hosts Western Washington University.