The Seawolves wrapped up the season in style, going 6-2 down the stretch. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
The Seawolves sent an early Christmas present up north.
The UAA volleyball team swept Simon Fraser on Saturday in a victory coupled with UAF’s win earlier in the day over Western Washington moved the Nanooks into a second-place tie in the GNAC on the final day of the regular season.
Central Washington won the league title with a 16-2 mark, followed by UAF and Simon Fraser at 13-5. UAA ended up in a fifth-place tie with Seattle Pacific at 10-8.
The GNAC does not provide a postseason conference championship for volleyball, even though other leagues do. The final West Region rankings will determine which eight teams advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
This week’s rankings had Simon Fraser seventh and UAF tenth, meaning Saturday’s result may have sealed the fate of both teams.
The good news for UAF is that ninth-ranked Cal State San Bernardino lost in the first round of the CCAA Championships. The bad news is eighth-ranked Stanislaus State advanced to the finals of the CCAA Tournament.
UAF coach Brian Scott has the Nanooks in position to earn a postseason berth. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
In Fairbanks, UAF wore down Western Washington 29-27, 28-26, 25-17 behind Karlie Nielson’s 12 kills and a front line that made two solo blocks and racked up 24 block assists.
North Pole native Ainsley Smith produced a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs.
In Anchorage, UAA won 25-13, 25-17, 25-20 over Simon Fraser thanks to a .368 attack percentage. Katie Birtcil led the way with 13 kills and 13 digs while Tia Allen had 10 kills and eight digs.
Local setter Kadyn Osborne out of Dimond High engineered the offense with 20 assists to go with one kill and three digs.
UAA ended the season by winning six of its final eight matches, including the last six straight sets.
Simon Fraser’s Brooke Dexter of Anchorage bagged 11 kills and seven digs. The former Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year has 1,280 career kills – the third most in the GNAC by an Alaskan, trailing only former UAA bangers Eve Stephens (Colony High) and Katelynn Zanders (South High).
Anchorage’s Brooke Dexter of Simon Fraser is met by a Seawolf defensive double team. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
GNAC TEAM OVERALL 16-2 Central Washington 18-6 13-5 UAF Nanooks 21-7 13-5 Simon Fraser 17-8 11-7 Western Washington 12-12 10-8 UAA Seawolves 16-12 10-8 Seattle Pacific 10-16 7-11 Western Oregon 15-12 6-12 NW Nazarene 9-17 4-14 Saint Martin’s 6-20 0-18 MSU Billings 7-27 SATURDAY
UAF 3, Western Washington 0
UAA 3, Simon Fraser 0
Seattle Pacific 3, MSU Billings 1
NW Nazarene 3, Saint Martin’s 0
Central Washington 3, Western Oregon 0
END REGULAR SEASON
