MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon volleyball team picked up its first conference win in sweeping fashion defeating Alaska on Saturday night 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) inside the New PE Building. Victory earned the Wolves (4-7, 1-1 GNAC) a split of opening matches in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
Led by 14 kills from Amanda Short and 13 kills by Alisha Bettinson, Western Oregon hit .302 as a team through the match. Bettinson recorded a .423 hitting percentage with only two hitting errors, while Leila Holt facilitated the WOU attack with 26 assists. Christie Colasurdo and Sheila Limas De La Cruz paced the defense with 20 and eight digs, respectively.
 
Alaska (0-9, 0-2 GNAC) opened the first game with a 6-1 run forcing Western to use a timeout. The stoppage proved beneficial as WOU earned a side out immediately following. On Short's serving rotation, the Wolves pulled even at 7-7. The set played even until 22-22, when WOU forced three consecutive attack errors to win, 25-22.
 
The second set had four lead changes prior to WOU holding a 17-15 advantage. Western pulled away with four points on the serve of Sydney Blankinship. A combo block from Bettinson and Paige Kelsey closed out the 25-19 game win.
 
The Nanooks came out energized in the third set and knotted the game at 18-18 with a pair of aces. The teams traded points for 19-19 and behind a final run started by two Short kills, Western took the final six points of the match.
 
Western Oregon travels to Washington next week for a pair of GNAC matches. WOU will face Saint Martin's on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. and Seattle Pacific on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. Coverage of both matches is available at portal.stretchinternet.com/WOU.