Allie Spear
Amanda Loman
3
Winner Alaska Fairbanks UAF 9-6, 6-1 GNAC
1
Western Ore. WOU 3-11, 1-6 GNAC
Winner
Alaska Fairbanks UAF
9-6, 6-1 GNAC
3
Final
1
Western Ore. WOU
3-11, 1-6 GNAC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Alaska Fairbanks UAF 25 25 28 25 (3)
Western Ore. WOU 9 20 30 20 (1)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Brian Kortz

Volleyball Shows Fight Forcing Fourth Set Before Falling Just Short to Alaska

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Down to a couple of match points in the third set, the Western Oregon University volleyball team fought back winning a marathon third set. The Wolves then came close in the fourth before Alaska was able to pull away for the 3-1 (25-9, 25-20, 28-30, 25-20) Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory Thursday night inside the New PE Building Gym.

WOU (3-11, 1-6 GNAC) was able to shake off a tough opening set to come close in the second before breaking through in a lengthy third set. The Wolves then made a push in the fourth before the Nanooks (9-6, 6-1 GNAC) were able to close the fourth on a 6-1 win to take the match.
The Wolves ended up hitting .177 for the match with 47 kills to 22 errors in 141 chances. After a rocky opening set, WOU hit .212 and .356 in sets two and three. Alaska countered with a .235 hitting percentage with 51 kills to 20 errors in 132 chances. They post identical .368 hitting percentages in both the first and third sets.

Lauren Smith and Sianna DeCarli paced the offense with 14 kills apiece, with Smith hitting .282 and DeCarli at .244. Delaney Smith was close to double-digit kills finishing with eight. Aubrey Stanton dished out 40 assists, Allie Spear had four service aces and led the way in digs with 21. Allyson Crisp and Delaney Smith each sent back three blocks.

WOU got off to a strong start in the first set moving out to a 3-1 lead with points from Lauren Smith. Alaska answered back to regain the lead and after the Wolves got close at 6-5 and later at 8-6, the Nanooks finished the set on a 17-3 run to take the opening set 25-9.

It didn't take long for the Wolves to rebound in the second set moving out to a 9-7 lead with DeCarli posting a kill and then a double-block from both DeCarli and Delaney Smith. The lead stretched out to 13-9 on a kill by Lauren Smith and again was a four-point spread at 14-10 on a double-block from Sarah Crowell and Delaney Smith. After Alaska rallied to even the set at 15, WOU went on a 3-0 spurt taking advantage of a pair of errors around a service ace from Crowell for the 18-15 lead. With the set tied at 19, Alaska closed strong using a 6-1 run to grab the set at 25-20.

The third set was a back-and-forth battle as the teams were tied at 21 when Alaska ripped off the next three points to move to match point at 24-21. That's when WOU dug deep rallying to get back into the set with Delaney Smith posting a kill and a pair of service aces by Spear evened the set at 24. WOU moved to set point at 27-26 following kills from Crowell and Crisp. When Alaska came back to even the set at 28, a kill by Delaney Smith moved WOU to another set point before an attacking error by Alaska gave WOU the 30-28 third set win.

Alaska came out strong to start the fourth set scoring the first three points and eventually held an 8-2 lead. Still trailing 12-5, the Wolves used a 4-0 run to get right back into the set with Lauren Smith, Stanton and Crisp all contributing points around a pair of Alaska errors to get back to within three at 12-9. WOU made a couple more runs later in the set pulling to within three at 17-14 on a double-block by DeCarli and Delaney Smith and then a kill by Lauren Smith at 19-16 again had WOU within three. The Wolves kept pushing getting to within one at 20-19 with Lauren Smith putting down a pair of kills and a service ace by Spear. Out of a timeout, Alaska scored the next three points to move out to a 23-19 lead and would eventually take the set at 25-20.

Three players reached double-digits to lead Alaska with Lahra Weber tallying 15 kills and adding a double-double with 11 digs. AveRee Reynolds had 13 kills and Kim Wong added 10. Cate Whiting dished out 40 assists, Makena Overbey posted 18 digs and Wong sent back five blocks.

WOU will remain at home this Saturday when they will face Alaska Anchorage beginning at 7 p.m. Alaska Anchorage improved to 11-4 overall and 6-1 in GNAC play following a 3-0 win at Concordia earlier on Thursday.
 
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