MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon volleyball team pushed Alaska Anchorage to the brink on Saturday before the Seawolves salvaged a 3-2 (26-24, 25-17, 21-25, 16-25, 15-13) win at NPE Gym.
 
Alaska Anchorage (12-4, 7-1 GNAC) entered Saturday's match having not lost a set in the month of October, sweeping their previous three opponents and winning 11 consecutive sets going back to Sept. 28 against Montana State Billings. Western Oregon (3-12, 1-7 GNAC) would put that streak to an end in game three of the night before nearly claiming their first win over the Seawolves since 2011 in upset fashion.
 
"This week in practice it's just been a full-on grind," said junior Sianna DeCarli. "We came in Monday and hit the ground running. I think that our mentality is finally turning the corner and we're playing like winners."
 
WOU held UAA to a .194 hit percentage in the opening set, forcing six errors on 31 attacks. After trailing 22-17 in the opening set, Western compiled a 7-2 run to push the second-ranked team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to the edge. Two straight points after the 24-24 tie, however, gave the Seawolves the opening set victory.
 
Trailing 2-0 in the match, Western Oregon flipped a switch in the third game. The Wolves opened on a 10-4 run, including an 8-1 stretch after trailing 3-2 early. Sianna DeCarli capped that rally with a kill off the assist from Descinda Slaughter. DeCarli had a career-high 17 kills in the match, along with seven blocks, one dig and a .250 hitting percentage. She was one of three Wolves to finish in double figures in kills.
 
Freshman Lauren Smith tacked on 16 kills on 40 total attacks, coming just shy of a double-double with nine digs and two blocks. Smith was one of four Western players to finish the game with a hitting percentage of .350 or better.
 
The set win for Western Oregon ended the Alaska Anchorage run at 13 consecutive sets won, stretching over five matches all the way back to the end of September.
 
Western had the largest set win for either side in game four, handling the Seawolves 25-16. After establishing an early six-point lead, the Wolves' advantage dwindled to two at 10-8 forcing a timeout. After the break, WOU out-scored UAA 15-8 to claim their second straight set and force a fifth. It was the first time this season Western Oregon has gone to a fifth set and the third time for Anchorage.
 
In the decisive game, WOU held a lead as late as 5-4 before UAA scored three straight points and eight of the next 11. Eve Stephens finished off the match with her team-high 16^th kill of the night.
 
The Wolves finished with a hit percentage above .250 in four of the five sets, topping .300 twice in the match. They would also handily win the kill battle, 65-53, but serving proved an issue. WOU committed double the service errors of UAA, 16-8, and were out-matched in aces by one. Allie Spear, however, had a match-high five service aces. Spear has totaled nine aces over her last two appearances. She also added 26 digs to lead all players. 
 
"It's satisfying for sure," said Spear. "We're still not totally happy with where we're at because we didn't get the win, but we're finally feeling where we're supposed to be and getting a glimpse of what we've been taught and what we've been practicing. Everything is coming together and we're thankful for that."
Sarah Crowell achieved a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs, adding two aces and an assist. It was the first double-double of her collegiate career.
 
"We're playing aggressively, we're competing and I'm really excited to see how that carries over to the other half of the conference schedule," added Decarli. "This team is coming off of really solid performances against the two and three teams in the conference and it's showing our improvements."
 
Western Oregon now heads on the road for a four-game stretch. Next week the Wolves visit Central Washington Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. before a meeting Saturday, Oct. 19, with Northwest Nazarene at 6 p.m. PDT.