Box Score NAMPA, Idaho – Setter Ellen Floyd dished 51 assists and fellow sophomore Eve Stephens delivered 19 kills to fend off a Northwest Nazarene rally late in the fourth set Thursday, helping the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 25-22 victory at the Johnson Sports Center.

The Seawolves (16-2, 11-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 13 kills from senior Vanessa Hayes as they won their fourth straight match and ninth in their last 10 outings. Junior middle blocker Kayla McGlathery added 10 kills – including match point – and five block assists.

The Nighthawks (10-10, 6-7) were led by 18 kills and 20 digs from outside hitter Brooke Foster, but the hosts were outhit .206 to .130 as they lost their fifth straight to the Seawolves and ninth in the last 10 meetings.

"Other than some inconsistent play in the third, I thought we showed a good deal of poise tonight against a dangerous opponent," said UAA head coach Chris Green. "Ellen made excellent decisions on her sets, and Eve and Kayla came through with some clutch kills when they made that late run. It's always a relief to earn a tough road win like this, and we've got another challenge coming up Saturday (at Central Washington)."

Trying for their first back-to-back wins in Nampa since 2009-10, the Seawolves dug an early 6-2 hole in the first before answering with an 8-2 surge. UAA slowly stretched its advantage the rest of the way behind six kills from Stephens in the frame, and clinched it on an NNU attack error.

Despite building a 13-9 edge midway through the second and never trailing, UAA could not pull away, with the hosts catching up at 15-15, 17-17, 18-18. Green called timeout after an NNU ace knotted it 21-21, and the Seawolves responded in impressive fashion, using a Nighthawk attack error and a kill by Stephens to take the lead again. An NNU timeout did not slow the momentum as Floyd served an ace and then set Stephens for the clinching kill.

The Seawolves rallied from a 20-13 deficit to draw within 21-19 late in the third, but the Nighthawks got three kills from Foster in the last four rallies to set the match to a fourth set.

After trailing briefly at the outset, UAA pulled ahead for a 13-7 lead in the fourth on one of Vera Pluharova's five kills, and went up 20-14 on a Hayes spike. Another NNU surge drew the hosts within 20-19 and 21-20, but Stephens answered both times with kills, and dropped in a soft shot to make it 23-20. Foster kept her team close with her final kill and, after the teams traded service errors, McGlathery ripped a laser that ricocheted off the Nighthawk block to end it.

Floyd topped the 50-assist plateau for the third time this season and served a team-high three aces, while freshman outside hitter Hannah Pembroke tallied 10 kills and three block assists. Pluharova, the GNAC's second-leading blocker, finished five block assists.

With the victory, the Seawolves pull back within one match of idle Western Washington (20-1, 12-1) atop the GNAC standings, with seven contests left for each team.

UAA finishes a three-match road swing Saturday against Central Washington at 6 p.m. ADT in Ellensburg. That match can be seen live at gnac.tv.