ANCHORAGE – Alaska Anchorage seniors Julia Mackey and Caitlin Hanson combined for 21 kills Saturday as No. 10 Alaska Anchorage fended off Simon Fraser for a 25-15, 25-9, 25-23 volleyball sweep in front of a record crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
The Seawolves (16-2, 8-2 GNAC) also got a career-high 19 digs from libero Taylor Noga as they remained unbeaten in 11 all-time meetings against the Clan.
 
The Clan (9-9, 5-5) was led by seven kills from middle blocker Tessa May and 10 digs from libero Alison McKay, but they were out-hit .237 to .050, out-blocked 10-3 and out-dug 62-45 by the hosts.
 
A record crowd of 1,837 also watched as Mackey became the seventh player in Seawolf history to record 1,000 career kills, hitting the magic number in the third set to give UAA a 16-14 lead. SFU would bounce back, however, rallying for four straight points to tie it 23-23. Following a timeout, the Seawolves responded with the next two points.
 
The Clan opened up slowly against the Seawolves in the first set allowing Anchorage to take a 12-7 lead that continued on to a 9-point deficit at 11-20. SFU battled back to gain 4 more points but couldn't come back quite enough, losing 15-25.
 
The second set proved even more of a struggle for SFU. Despite initial kills by hitters Jessica Young, Tessa May, and Christine Howlett, Anchorage attackers Hanson and Mackey took control of the match. When Young went down with an injury, freshman Lauren Fridman stepped in for the Clan. SFU attempted to pull it together but weren't able to come back from an 11-point deficit and lost 9-25.
 
The third set was a turnaround for SFU. With captain Devon May back on the floor, the Clan battled hard for a point-for-point game. With outside hitter Emma Jennings and Tessa May killing balls for the Clan and McKay and Bratsberg keeping the team alive defensively, the team kept up with the Seawolves until a tie of 23-23. From that point, UAA hitter Erin Braun put down a kill for Anchorage, and the Seawolves took the set and the match 25-23.
 
"UAA showed why they're a top ranked team tonight. We didn't come out with the intensity or level of execution necessary to compete in the first two sets," said Clan head coach Gina Schmidt. "I was happy with the way we responded in the third set so hopefully we can build off that for the next time we play them."
 
The Clan returns home this week to take on the Central Washington Wildcats Thursday at 7 PM in the West Gym.
 
-- @SFUClan --