MONMOUTH, Ore. – Sophomore Eve Stephens delivered 16 kills, including match point, to help the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team avoid a major upset with a 26-24, 25-17, 21-25, 16-25, 15-13 victory over Western Oregon at the New P.E. Building on Saturday night.

The Seawolves (12-4, 7-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 12 kills on .571 hitting from junior Kayla McGlathery as they won their fifth in a row and pulled into sole possession of second place in the GNAC standings.

Outside hitter Sianna DeCarli had a match-high 17 kills for the Wolves (3-12, 1-7), who outhit the visitors .275 to .233 and outblocked them 10-8, but still fell for the 13th straight time in the head-to-head series.

"We are very lucky to escape here tonight with a win," said UAA head coach Chris Green. "I want to give Western Oregon and Coach (Stacy) Metro a lot of credit for a good performance and an excellent game plan. If it hadn't been for our good serving (13 aces, 8 errors) and their service errors (16), this might have been a different outcome. We're fortunate that this can be a learning experience with a positive result as we get ready for two huge home matches next week."

The Seawolves barely escaped the first set thanks to their serving advantage, taking the opener despite being outhit .367 to .233. Setter Ellen Floyd served two of her three aces to help UAA build a 24-21 lead, before WOU rallied for the next three points. A Seawolf timeout resulted in a perfectly executed kill down the middle by McGlathery, and UAA won when DeCarli's ensuing attack sailed wide right.

Tied 11-11 in the second, freshman Hannah Pembroke delivered three of her nine kills during an 8-1 UAA run to take control. The Seawolves hit .650 in the set, with Floyd dishing 11 of her 45 assists.

The third and fourth sets were a different story, however, seeing the hosts take early leads and pulling away. The Wolves hit .314 in the third and outblocked the Seawolves 5-1 to send it the distance in what would be a thrilling fifth set.

UAA trailed 5-4 in the final frame when McGlathery connected for back-to-back kills, and the Seawolves would not trail again. Vanessa Hayes – a senior playing her final match in her home state – caromed one off the WOU block for her 11th kill and a 13-9 lead, and Stephens ripped a kill down the line for a 14-11 edge, but the Wolves fought off two match points with a kill by Lauren Smith and an ace by Allie Spear. Floyd found Stephens for a middle attack on the ensuing rally, and the all-conference right side hitter launched it off the fingertips of the Wolves' blockers for the clincher.

McGlathery – the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week – did not commit an attack error in 21 attempts and tied Floyd and Vera Pluharova for team-high honors with four block assists. Anjoilyn Vreeland and Talia Leauanae shared libero duties and combined for 29 digs and four aces.

The five-setter marked just the third such match between the longtime conference rivals since 2006.

With the victory, UAA moved one match ahead of Alaska Fairbanks – a 3-2 loser at Concordia-Portland earlier Saturday – for second place in the GNAC standings.

UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center next week to complete the first half of league play against Simon Fraser on Thursday and nationally 2nd-ranked, unbeaten Western Washington on Saturday. Both contests begin at 7 p.m. Visit AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com for tickets.