ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Sophomore Riley Podowicz continued her impressive play of late against nationally-ranked teams, as she collected a career-best 12 kills in a 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 10-25, 12-25) loss at No. 13 Alaska Anchorage in Great Northwest Volleyball action on Tuesday night.
Podowicz entered Tuesday's match fresh off of a career-best tying 11-kill performance against then No. 16-ranked Western Washington. The sophomore bested that outing on Tuesday, as Podowicz collected a career-high 12 kills and hit a team-leading .214 in the loss. It is the third career double-digit kill match for the Olympia, Washington native, as she now has collected 23 kills in a pair of matches against Top 25 teams in the past four days.
Head coach Brian Scott credits a move to the right side for Podowicz's recent offensive outburst.
"A few matches ago we moved Riley to the right side because we thought she could carry a bigger offensive load, and she has proved that she can," said Scott. "By moving to the right side, she still has the opportunity to block team's best hitter, but she is getting a lot more swings than she was when she played middle. She's done a great job in that role, and the switch has really paid off for our team offensively."
No. 13-ranked Alaska Anchorage (17-2, 9-2 GNAC) spoiled Podowicz's career night, as the Seawolves captured the four-set victory at home. Alaska (2-16, 2-9) battled throughout the night, and was able to capture a 25-23 set victory against the No. 13-ranked team in country. It was the second time in the last two matches against UAA that the Nanooks have been able to take a set from the Seawolves, as they also won the first set in their Sept. 22 matchup in Fairbanks.
"We are still learning how to perform like we did in the second set on a consistent basis," expressed Scott. "We've seen moments throughout the year with how good we can be. There is definitely a learning curve with repeating performances like we had in the second set tonight, but that will come with time. The more consistent our play is, the more success we'll see."
Senior Sam Harthun continued her offensive dominance of late, as the outside hitter posted a match-best 16 kills. Tonight's performance marks Harthun's sixth 15-plus kill effort in her last seven matches, as the senior is now 51 kills away from Mallory Bergstrom's all-time school record of 1,363. Harthun was one dig shy of her second-consecutive double-double, as she and junior Meagan Olsen tied for the team lead in digs with nine apiece. As a team, Alaska picked up 44 digs, one shy of matching UAA's 45 team digs.
Senior Miranda Grieser enjoyed her second-straight 30-plus assists night, as the Maple Valley, Washington native passed out 31 helpers on the night. Lilah Hudson also continued her strong defensive play of late, as the junior picked up a team-best three assisted blocks.
With the victory, the Seawolves complete the season sweep of the Nanooks. Katelynn Zanders (13) and Julia Mackey (10) paced the UAA offensive attack, as each player picked up double-digit kills to lead the No. 13-ranked team in the nation to a .291-.031 hitting percentage advantage over Alaska.
The Nanooks continue their season-long four match road trip on Thursday, as they travel to the Lower 48 looking to avenge an early season loss to Montana State Billings. First serve from Billings, Montana is set for 5 p.m.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter of like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
