As a high school athlete, Nikkie Viotto's volleyball dreams extended further than the friendly confines of Eagle River High School's gymnasium.

But she didn't have to travel far to make them come true. A few miles down the Glenn Highway at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Viotto is experiencing a fantasy freshman season with the red-hot, game-winning Seawolves.

Eagle River High graduate and UAA freshman volleyball player Nikkie Viotto, center, leaps and shouts as her teammates score a point against Northwest Nazarene Nov. 12 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. Viotto not only is having a phenomenal freshman season, but she also has the reputation for being the team's chief cheerleader. Joshua Borough

The 5-foot-8 defensive specialist is UAA's lone freshman starter who has made an instant impact this season. She helped the Seawolves earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990 and a No. 5 ranking in the West Region. The Seawolves fell in the second round of the Division II West Regional Championships Friday, but still end the season on a high.

"It's always good to start off my four years here winning," said Viotto, a 2009 Eagle River graduate. "We knew from the first day of practice we had something special."

UAA captured its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference title on Nov. 12. Two days later, the magic continued as the Seawolves rolled to their 12th-straight victory by wrapping up their regular-season schedule with a win over Seattle Pacific before the second-largest crowd (803) in program history.

Playing in front of hometown fans was a primary reason why Viotto chose the Seawolves (22-7, 14-2 GNAC) over other colleges.

"Our crowd is a huge support," she said. "People know you here. They come from Eagle River and Chugiak just to support us.

"I have all my aunts and uncles and friends come to support us," she added. "My brother and his girlfriend bring their friends, who bring their friends, who bring their friends. The whole crowd just builds up."

In the fourth game against Seattle Pacific on Nov. 14, with the Seawolves trailing, the crowd built up a chant, "U-A-A! U-A-A! U-A-A!" It gave Viotto goose bumps.

"It's awesome to know that everyone is there for you," she said. "Regardless of what's happening, we play our hardest because they come to see us play our hardest. They believe in us."

As an outside hitter most of her career, Viotto wanted offense to be her ticket to playing college volleyball. She had a knack for smacking down the kill, volleyball's most glamorous statistical category.

But as it turned out, UAA coach Chris Green recruited Viotto for her skill in the sport's most underrated, thankless, grueling tasks - the dig. In a little more than a year, Viotto has switched from an offensive threat to a defensive guru.

"I feel like I'm a hitter at heart," she said. "But for me, now that I can't give that to my team, I've gotten so much more into digging. It's become a part of me and I work hard at it everyday.

"It's like a totally different game."

The idea of switching from offensive attacker to defensive digger sprang from nowhere last year at Alaska's biggest high school volleyball tournament, the West High Spiketacular, when Viotto was a senior hitter for Eagle River.

Green was in attendance to scout for local talent. Surprisingly, all it took for Viotto to make a lasting impression on the first-year UAA coach was one volley.

"I saw Nikkie make one dig, and it was a great dig," Green said. "Then I watched her the rest of the game, and I liked what she was doing."

Viotto was shocked at first of Green's revelation that she could someday play defense for the Seawolves. Other than playing libero for her Midnight Sun Volleyball club team, she had little experience on defense.

"I've always been an OK passer," Viotto said. "But I've never been told my defense was good."

Switching positions wasn't a surprise for Bobbi Jo Mason, Viotto's high school coach.

"Nikkie has always been a phenomenal defensive player," Mason said. "For her, it wasn't a difficult switch."

At Eagle River, Viotto was Mason's main outside hitter. But considering the smaller size of the school - it has the lowest enrollment of all eight high schools in Anchorage - the Wolves lacked the depth most teams had, Mason said. So Viotto would play anywhere Mason needed her.

"She's got such a team attitude," Mason said. "She just accepts the role you give her. She was always my go-to kid."

Still, switching positions didn't come easy, Viotto said. People who know Viotto know she has a lot of energy, and laying down kills was the best way to channel that energy.

But considering she stands at 5-foot-8, Viotto knew her height fit the bill for a defensive specialist, rather than an outside hitter. Most outside hitters hover around 6 feet or taller.

"She was a great front-row player for Eagle River, but she's a little shorter," Green said. "She's become a great defensive player who reads the ball well."

Green attributed Viotto's success to having a positive attitude.

"I know I can't make the same impact as our hitters have," Viotto said. "But giving my all on defense is what helps them to do well."

Other than accepting her new role as defensive specialist, Viotto has taken on another role: She has become the team's vocal leader.

"She is amazing," Green said. "Even when she's out of the game, she's amazing and we love it. We love her enthusiasm. She gets excited about every little good thing that happens out there."

It's hard to rattle Viotto, which shows an uncanny level of maturity and confidence for a freshman, Green said. Those two qualities, plus her new skills on defense, gives UAA promise for the next three seasons, Green said.

"She'll definitely be a defensive star by the time she leaves here."

Star contributor Kevin Klott can be reached at editor@alaskastar.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Wednesday, November 25, 2009.