BURNABY, B.C. – In one of the biggest regular-season wins in Simon Fraser volleyball history, the Red Leafs beat ninth-ranked Alaska Anchorage 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23) Thursday night at the West Gym in Burnaby, B.C.
 
The loss was just the second for the Seawolves (21-2, 11-1 GNAC) this season, and it snapped their 11-match Great Northwest Athletic Conference winning streak to begin the year. Dating back to 2021, Anchorage had triumphed in 13-consecutive league games entering tonight. The Red Leafs improved to 8-12 overall, and 5-6 in the GNAC. The result means the teams split the season series after their September matchup went 3-1 to the Seawolves.
 
"Anchorage has been having a really great season so being able to beat them, in front of a home crowd, feels good and is a testament to the work our team has been doing," said SFU head coach Gina Schmidt, whose squad fell in five sets to No. 11 Western Washington last Saturday. "We've had a lot of close matches this year, and we know we're capable of this, so it is nice to finally get the results from all the hard work we've put in.
 
"The Seawolves are a very good offensive team, so if they're fully in system, there's a lot of weapons. I felt we did a great job from the service line, putting pressure on them. Offensively, we know Alaska's going to get their kills, so we had to match that with our own offence. Our blocking defence and our offence did well, it was an all-around team effort."
 
Highlighting that effort was a balanced offensive attack that saw four SFU players reach double digits in kills. Junior middle Kalyn Hartmann led the way with 13 and an attack percentage of .440. Sophomores Jocelyn Sherman, an outside hitter, and Brooke Dexter, an opposite, had a dozen kills each. Sherman added six aces from the service line and a solo block to end the night with a team-best 19 points. Dexter had three aces and five block assists for 17.5 points.
 
Sophomore middle Abby Willett had 10 kills, a game-high six block assists and a solo effort to post 14 points. Freshman setter Eva Person had 44 assists, while junior libero Kalissa Beltran had 16 digs.
 
UAA was paced by its superstar Eve Stephens, who posted 22 kills and 14 digs. Ellen Floyd had 43 assists and 16 digs to lead her team in those categories.
 
In total, the Red Leafs outblocked the Seawolves 11-5, and had a 12-8 advantage in service aces. Canada's NCAA team had a .237 attack percentage while Alaska posted a .221 mark.
 
"It feels unreal, I'm so proud of this team, and I'm so proud of our performance tonight," said Dexter, whose hometown is Anchorage. "We've been waiting for a big win like this for a long time. Everybody on the court was on the same page the whole time."
 

Looking to extend the match, the Seawolves used a 6-1 run to take a 12-8 edge in the fourth set, forcing the SFU coaching staff to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Anchorage won the next point to lead 13-8. The hosts later put together a 5-0 run to go back ahead 17-16. Then a Person ace made it 23-20 for SFU. But like they did all night, the Seawolves fought back, levelling the score at 23-23 on a block. Schmidt made a substitution to bring sophomore outside hitter Davida Hill back on the floor. She responded by knocking down a kill to set up match point. Then Dexter and Willett teamed up for a block to clinch the upset victory for the Red Leafs.
 
"What stands out to me is the first timeout (head coach) Gina (Schmidt) called in the fourth set," said Dexter. "We were down four points, and she said, 'Right now, make the decision to win this fourth set,' and I think we all listened and made that decision."
 
The third set saw SFU lead from start to finish, but that didn't mean there were no momentum swings. With Sherman on the service line, the Red Leafs won the opening seven points of the third. Sherman recorded three aces as part of the run. UAA cut its deficit to 11-7, before SFU answered with a 7-2 surge that included a pair of Dexter-Willett blocks, and one from Hartmann. Again, the Seawolves replied, getting to within two points on a handful of occasions after that, including at 24-22, but a Willett kill ended the comeback attempt in set 3.
 
The second set featured nine tie scores, with the last coming at 13-13. Alaska Anchorage created some separation and went ahead 22-17 on a Nicole Blue kill. SFU fought off three set points after going down 24-20 but Leilani Elder finally closed it out with a kill.
 
In the opening set, the Red Leafs led 12-11 before reeling off seven of the next eight points. The run included a pair of aces, and kills from Willett, Hartmann, Dexter and Kolof. A later Hartmann kill extended the gap to 21-13, pushing UAA to call a timeout.
 
The Seawolves regrouped and went on a 10-2 run, with a Stevens-Isabel Evans combination block capping it off to tie the score at 23-23. The Red Leafs were able to turn things around, and won the next two points on kills from Willett and Kolof. Up to that point, it was just the fifth set Alaska had lost in a dozen GNAC outings this season.
 

SFU will host Alaska Fairbanks Saturday at 4 p.m. on the West Gym floor. Tickets are available at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-volleyball-vs-university-of-alaska-fairbanks-tickets-358928563997
 
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
 
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