ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
University of Alaska Anchorage senior Cortney Lundberg tallied eight kills and eight blocks to lead the UAA volleyball team, ranked No. 24 in Division II, to a season-opening three-game sweep over Drury to begin the Extended Stay Deluxe Invitational.UAA won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in Chris Green's second season as head coach, and showed little signs of a dropoff in the season debut. The Seawolves swept the Panthers, of Springfield, Missouri in three straight games, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-16.
Lundberg's effort was supplemented by seven kills apiece by juniors McKenzie Moss and Jackie Matthisen. Siobhan Johansen and Adriana Aukusitino shared the bulk of the setting duties, with Aukusitino notching 15 assists and Johansen adding 11.
"I think we played a little nervous," said coach Chris Green, whose Seawolves went 23 and 8 last season.
"Our passing and setting needs improvement, but our blocking was the deciding factor out there," added Green.
Indeed, UAA enjoyed a 10-4 advantage in blocks for the night. The Seawolves entertain the Panthers again Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Contact Kevin Wells at kwells@ktuu.com
