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SFU women nail down winning spike in Alaska trip

The Simon Fraser University women’s volleyball team made if five in a row, eking out a 3-2 victory over the University of Alaska-Fairbanks on Saturday in the northern state.
Tays Chevrier
Simon Fraser University's Julia Tays, at left, and Nicole Chevrier provide a net-front presence in recent Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The team returned from Alaska with two more victories, coming from behind to beat both the Nanooks and the Seawolves.

The Simon Fraser University women’s volleyball team made if five in a row, eking out a 3-2 victory over the University of Alaska-Fairbanks on Saturday in the northern state.

Coupled with Thursday’s four-match upset of the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves, the Clan returned from their northern rival on a hot streak.

After dropping the first set on Saturday in Fairbanks, SFU bounced back to beat the Nanooks in a tight exchange that made it 11 straight matches over Alaska, dating back to 2012.

Down after losing the opening set 17-25, the Burnaby squad found its footing with twin wins of 25-21. Not to be outdone, the hosts pushed back in the fourth with a 21-25 score of their own, forcing a deciding game that SFU took by a 17-15 margin.

In the deciding set, Alaska turned an 11-7 deficit around and led 13-14, but SFU tied it on a service error. The two sides traded points, with a kill by Farnaaz Johal and an attacking error locking it up for the Clan.

SFU, which sits 11-7 overall and 7-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference, got 17 kills and a .238 attacking percentage from Johal, and a pair of double-doubles from Kirsten Pinkney (10 kills, 18 digs) and Julia Tays (47 assists, 14 digs).

A few days earlier, the Clan rallied after the Seawolves stormed out with a 25-23, 14-25 edge.

In the decisive set, the visitors grabbed control early and silenced the Alaska rallies in quick procession.

Back-to-back 25-23 cliffhangers set the stage as SFU capped its comeback with a 15-11 win.

The third set was where Pinkney helped turn the tide against the Seawolves. Down 23-21, SFU took a timeout, then counted a pair of back-to-back kills from the Red Deer native. The situation was repeated again in the fourth set, with Alaska nearing a winning point. Trailing 23-22, SFU drew even on Vosloh’s shot, then reclaimed the lead on Tamara Clarke’s kill. An attacking error by the Seawolves sent it to a fifth set.

Burnaby’s Bianca Te collected an impressive 38 digs over the five sets, while freshman Camryn Vosloh racked up 17 kills in a match that saw Alaska’s five-game win streak snapped. It was also SFU’s first win in 10 regular season trips to Anchorage.

SFU hosts Western Oregon on Thursday, 7 p.m. for the annual Pink night game.