North Pole’s Ainsley Smith helped UAF win its first-ever NCAA Tournament match Thursday. Photo courtesy of NCAA
They say beating the same team three times in the same season is one of the more difficult things to pull off in sports, but nobody told the UAF volleyball team.
Rather than drop their guard, the 16th-ranked Nanooks came out swinging and knocked out UAA with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-15 victory Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in San Diego.
There was no letdown, just a beatdown, as UAF (24-5) became the first team to sweep the 24th-ranked Seawolves (23-6) this season.
This was the first-ever trip to the national tournament for the Nanooks and the first time UAF and UAA met in a postseason match since 1993, when they faced off in the Pac West playoffs.
UAF leaned on late runs in each of the first two sets before stepping on the gas to truck the Seawolves in the third, carrying momentum into the West Region semifinals Friday against No. 1 seed and tournament host Point Loma at 6 p.m. AST. Point Loma (25-4) survived a five-set thriller over Cal State San Bernardino to advance.
In other first-round matches, Central Washington (19-7) upset No. 2 seeded Simon Fraser in five sets while Fresno Pacific (26-1) swept Western Washington to give the GNAC two teams in the Round of 32.
Thursday’s UAA-UAF match was the 122nd meeting since 1984, but this was the first time the Nanooks won in the postseason. They had previously lost all three playoff meetings in conference tournaments in 1987, 1992 and 1993.
UAF’s Presley Engelauf and Elena Guc stuff a shot at the net. Photo courtesy of NCAA
In 2001, both Alaska schools joined the GNAC, which does not offer a conference tournament for volleyball. The only way they can meet in the postseason is at the NCAA Tournament.
It was a big moment for Alaska volleyball. Both teams have locals in the rotation – UAF’s Ainsley Smith of North Pole and UAA’s Emma Beck of Kenai and Eleasha Sapon of Anchorage.
Smith finished with 17 assists, eight digs and one kill while Beck had two kills and one block assist and Sapon served up a near-ace in the second during that led to an error as UAA pulled within 21-17.
Mikala Henderson led the offense with 14 kills and Cynphany Henderson bagged a triple-double with 10 kills, 20 assists and 10 digs. The Nanooks controlled the match at the net with an 11-4 advantage in total blocks and 65-43 edge in digs.
In the first set, Fairbanks used a 6-0 run to seize a 14-10 lead. And after UAA pulled even at 20, the Nanooks ended the set with a 5-1 run capped by Mikala Henderson’s clean kill.
Lee Ivakina was one of the few bright spots for UAA. Photo courtesy of NCAA
In the second set, Peri Hoshock delivered the point of the match after a stab volley off the net extended the play that ended moments later after her solo stuff. That kicked off 6-2 run that put the Nanooks in front 15-8.
UAA’s Lee Ivakina led the offense with eight kills while freshmen Trinity Byrne (six kills) and Johana Malikova (14 assists, 10 digs) played well in their first taste of the playoffs.
UAA’s 23 victories tied for the eighth-most in program history dating back to 1980, while the NCAA Tournament appearance was its 14th overall and the eighth in the last 11 seasons.
UAF 25 25 25
UAA 21 18 15
Attack percentage – UAF .287 (C. Henderson .364, Lyons .286, Guc .222), UAA .102 (Burney .267, Ivakina .208, Bryne .154). Kills – 51 (M. Henderson 14, C. Henderson 10, Lyons 9), UAA 30 (Ivakina 8, Byrne 6, Allen 5, Burney 5). Assists – UAF 48 (C. Henderson 20, Smith 17), UAA 28 (Malikova 14, Trotter 12). Digs – UAF 65 (Onaga 12, Lyons 11, C. Henderson 10, Lynn 10), UAA 43 (Malikova 10, Allen 9, Galloway 8). Solo blocks – UAF 3 (M. Henderson 2, Hoshock), UAA 0. Aces – UAF 1 (Onaga), UAA 2 (Allen, Hansen). A – 102.
