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.