Tars hand Seawolves first setback

Fairbanks, Alaska (Sept. 11) - Another double-double from Tia Allen was not quite enough for the UAA volleyball team Thursday as the Seawolves suffered their first loss of the season, falling 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23 to Rollins in the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves (7-1) got 17 kills, 11 digs and three block assists from their senior captain, but lost despite advantages in hitting percentage (.248 to .223) and blocks (15-6).

The Tars (5-0) were led by Marta Tsaneva's 18 kills on .438 hitting, while Cameron Grange had 11 kills and 14 digs for the Sunshine State Conference squad.

"We were able to correct some of the mistakes we were making early and hit our stride in the third set, but ultimately came up short on some big points late in that fourth set," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner. "We'll put this one behind us and get refocused for another extremely tough match tomorrow against San Bernardino."

The Seawolves had a chance to take the early lead when freshman Emma Beck and sophomore Martina Riba combined to block Rollins hitter Rylee Yarborough for a 23-22 lead in the opening set. Yarborough answered with a kill on the following point, however, and delivered an ace two points later to give the Orlando-area school a 1-0 advantage.

After getting outhit .289 to .179 in the second frame, the Seawolves flipped the script and controlled action throughout the third, outhitting the Tars .400 to .091.

UAA seemed poised to send it the distance with a 19-14 lead in the fourth, but Rollins rallied for ties at 22-22 and 23-23 on kills from Yarborough, and finished with a 3-0 run on Sara Seabrooke's match-point ace just inside the back line.

A former transfer from Saint Martin's, Allen came one shy of her UAA career high in kills, connecting at a .326 clip. It was the fourth double-double this season for the Clayton, Wash., native.

UAA also got 13 kills from junior outside hitter Lee Ivakina and seven kills from Beck. Junior middle blocker Bella Burney had five kills and six total blocks, and sophomore middle blocker Martina Riba notched a career-high eight block assists.

Sophomore setter Hannah Trotter led the Seawolves with 33 assists, along with four kills on .400 hitting and eight digs, while senior libero Madison Galloway had a match-high 16 digs.

The Seawolves return to the Patty Center on Friday at 11 a.m. ADT to face NCAA West Region rival Cal State San Bernardino. Find links to live video ($) and stats at GoSeawolves.com.