THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...

Thu. Nov. 14 — 6 pm AST — Carver Gymnasium — Bellingham, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage (18-6, 13-3 GNAC) at #4 Western Washington (23-1, 15-1 GNAC)
&
Sat., Nov. 16 — 6 pm AST — SFU West Gymnasium — Burnaby, B.C.
Alaska Anchorage at Simon Fraser (16-8, 12-4 GNAC [11/14 vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO & STATS: gnac.tv
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAVolleyball Twitter feed for in-match updates.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2019 stats)
S—Ellen Floyd, 5-10, So. (10.16 aps, 0.56 kps, .092 att%, 2.68 dps, 0.70 bps)
RS—Eve Stephens, 6-1, So. (3.83 kps, .245 att%, 2.26 dps, 0.83 bps)
MB—Kayla McGlathery, 6-0, Jr. (2.30 kps, .314 att%, 1.11 bps)
MB—Vera Pluharova, 6-2, Jr. (1.25 kps, .289 att%, 1.27 bps)
OH—Vanessa Hayes, 5-11, Sr. (2.93 kps, .221 att%, 1.28 dps, 0.51 ace/set)
DS—Anjoilyn Vreeland, 5-6, Jr. (2.83 dps, 0.30 ace/set)
L—Talia Leauanae, 5-8, So. (3.81 dps, 0.70 aps, 0.22 ace/set)
 
GNAC, PLAYOFF RACES ON THE LINE: With four matches left in the regular season, the Seawolves face their final and toughest road trip of the season, meeting league leader Western Washington and 3rd-place Simon Fraser with both the GNAC title and the NCAA playoff chase hanging in the balance ... trailing WWU by two matches, the Seawolves likely need to win their last four matches and hope for an additional Vikings loss to tie for the title and earn the league's automatic bid ... meanwhile, Simon Fraser is shooting for a season sweep of UAA and trying to leapfrog the Seawolves in both the GNAC standings and NCAA Div. II West Region rankings, which determine which eight teams qualify for the national tournament.
 
OREGON DOMINANCE CONTINUES: The Seawolves ran their winning streak to 14 in a row against Western Oregon and remained perfect in 10 all-time meetings against Concordia-Portland with a pair of victories last week at the Alaska Airlines Center ... on Thursday, Sr. OH Vanessa Hayes ripped a 3-set career-high of 17 kills on .417 hitting to propel a 25-15, 25-21, 25-16 victory over WOU ... Jr. MB Jalisa Ingram collected a career-high 6 kills on .750 hitting and 4 total blocks, and So. S Ellen Floyd delivered 30 assists, 9 digs and 3 block assists as UAA won the first match ever played in the AAC's auxiliary gymnasium ... on Saturday, Hayes notched an overall career-high 19 kills on .459 hitting and Jr. MB Kayla McGlathery returned from a one-match absence with 11 kills and 10 total blocks, earning her first career double-double ... Floyd finished with 40 assists, 15 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces and 4 block assists, and Ingram came through again with 5 kills on .500 hitting and a career-high 5 total blocks.
 
THE SERIES
vs. WWU: WWU leads 36-18 overall, 14-6 in Bellingham
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 3-1 (10-19-19 at UAA)
Notes: UAA snapped a 5-match losing skid against WWU with last month's victory in Anchorage ... WWU has won the last two meetings in Bellingham ... the last seven matches have all gone exactly four sets, including UAA's NCAA Regional finals victory in 2016 and WWU's NCAA First Round victory in 2017 ... there have been five 5-setters and only one sweep among the last 15 meetings ... the road team has won 11 of the last 17 meetings ... the Seawolves are 11-15 against WWU under Chris Green (since 2008) ... WWU won 17 straight from 2001-08 … WWU leads 27-10 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) … teams have met every year since 2000 … series started in 1980.
 
vs. SFU: UAA leads 17-2 overall, 8-1 in Burnaby
Streak: SFU 1
Last: SFU 3-2 (10-17-19 at UAA)
Notes: Teams have split the last four meetings after UAA won the first 15 matches in series history ... UAA swept the 2018 season series, including a 3-1 win in Burnaby ... three of the last six matches have gone five sets ... SFU's first victory was a 3-0 sweep in Burnaby, Nov. 4, 2017 ... SFU joined the GNAC in 2010.
 
SCOUTING THE FOES: Two-time defending GNAC champ and 2018 NCAA runner-up Western Washington (ranked 4th nationally and 2nd in the West Region) has ripped off six straight wins – five by sweep – since seeing its 47-match GNAC win streak snapped Oct. 19 in Anchorage ... the Vikings are led by All-America middle blocker and GNAC Preseason Player of the Year Kayleigh Haper (3.16 kps, .386 att%, GNAC-best 1.39 bps), Fr. OH Calley Heilborn (3.32 kps, .254 att%, 3.89 dps, 0.65 bps) and Fr. S Malia Aleaga (GNAC-best 11.79 aps) ... ranked 7th in the initial West Region poll, Simon Fraser has won 10 of its last 11 to recover from a 6-7 start ... having gone 11-0 against its last 11 unranked opponents, the Clan are led by Kirsten Pinckney (3.05 kps, .178 att%), Betsie de Beer (2.98 kps, .234 att%, 2.86 dps) and S Julia Tays (9.62 aps).
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the GNAC with 2.22 aces per set and ranks 2nd in blocks per set (2.51), attack pct. (.233) and opponent attack pct. (.154) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves rank 6th in aces, 7th in blocking and 44th in attack pct. ... the Seawolves are 69-16 (.812) at the Alaska Airlines Center since its opening in Sept. 2014 and 115-27 (.810) at home since 2009; UAA has never lost consecutive matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA has reached the 20-win plateau 14 times in 39 years and six times in 11 years under Chris Green ... the Seawolves have clinched their 12th straight winning season, extending the program record that began with Green's arrival at UAA in 2008 ... UAA has also extended a program-best streak of 11 straight winning conference records and is on pace for its 11th straight and top-4 GNAC finish ... the Seawolves are 19-14 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014 and 29-41 overall vs. ranked opponents under Green; prior to Green's arrival, UAA had lost 32 straight to ranked foes ... UAA set an Alaska Airlines Center record for attack percentage in the 25-8, 25-12, 25-12 win over Concord, hitting .444 (37-9-63), while the Mountain Lions' 32 points were the second-fewest allowed by a Seawolf club since 25-point rally scoring took effect in 2008.
 
ROCKIN' EVE: Rightside hitter Eve Stephens delivered one of the best rookie seasons in Seawolf history last year, claiming unanimous First Team All-GNAC, Second Team All-West Region and GNAC Freshman of the Year honors, and this year she started with All-GNAC Preseason Team, all-tournament honors at both the D2 West Region Showcase and Seawolf Invitational, and GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 16-22 ... in the GNAC stats, the former Colony High School star leads the way in kills per set (3.83) and points per set (4.53), along with ranks of 14th in blocking (0.83 bps) and 16th in attack pct. (.245) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, she is 28th in points and 35th in kills ... playing all rotations after being subbed on the back row last year, Stephens has recorded a team-high 10 double-doubles, averaging 2.26 dps ... on UAA's career lists, the Palmer native currently ranks 5th in kills per set (3.47) and 8th in attack pct. (.283), and last week she broke into the top 20 in total kills, now with 688 in just 51 career matches ... a star in the classroom as well, Stephens earned her first GNAC All-Academic Team honor with a league-best 4.00 GPA.
 
HAYES MAKER: Sr. OH Vanessa Hayes made the move from middle blocker to outside hitter last year and showed steady improvement, averaging 2.56 kps on .189 hitting ... a Preseason All-GNAC selection and the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Hayes has looked like a veteran on the outside this year, hitting .221 and collecting 2.93 kills per set ... a double threat with 0.53 aces per set (2nd in GNAC, 15th nationally), Hayes holds other league ranks of 9th in points per set (3.62) and 13th in kills per set ... the Oregon native earned her third career double-double with 14 kills and a career-high 13 digs in the 5-set win over Biola and has produced double-digit kills in 16 of 24 matches this year, including successive career highs of 18 kills in the 4-set win over No. 2 Western Washington and 19 kills in the 4-set win over Concordia-Portland  ... a starter on UAA's 2016 NCAA Runner-Up squad, she ranks in UAA's career top 20 lists in multiple categories, currently at 6th in block assists (278), 10th in total blocks (299), 12th in kills (913), 13th in matches played (119), 5th in sets played (455) and 4th in victories (92).
 
THE ELLEN SHOW: So. S Ellen Floyd has  dished 10.17 assists per set to rank 2nd in the conference and 40th nationally, improving her average to 10.65 aps in GNAC matches ... having started the year with all-tournament honors at both the Seawolf Invitational and D2 West Region Showcase, the Florida native already stands 8th on UAA's career list with 1,830 assists, boosted by season-high 52-assist efforts in 4-set wins over Saint Martin's and MSU Billings, and 51 in the 4-set victory at NW Nazarene; she is  4th in Seawolf history in terms of career assists average at 9.20 aps ... along with the third-highest digs average on the team (2.68 dps), she also ranks 4th in the GNAC and 36th nationally with 0.47 aces per set.
 
MORE 'WOLF BITES:  Jr. MB Vera Pluharova and Jr. MB Kayla McGlathery give UAA two front-liners among the GNAC's top-10 blocking leaders and are a huge reason the Seawolves rank 7th nationally in that category ... now in her second year as a starter, Pluharova ranks 2nd in the league and 12th nationally with 1.27 bps, while McGlathery is 5th in the GNAC and 51st nationally with 1.11 bps ... the 2014 GNAC Newcomer of the Year and an all-league pick, McGlathery has returned to the Seawolves this season after taking four years off from the sport and also currently ranks 4th in the league with a .314 attack percentage (.354 in GNAC matches) ... meanwhile, Pluharova has recorded at least 6 kills on .300 hitting in six matches, including 9 kills (.438) in the road sweep of Concordia and a career-high 11 kills (.474) in the 5-set win over UAF ... the Seawolves are well stocked at the libero and DS positions, with So. Talia Leauanae and Jr. Anjoilyn Vreeland sharing time in both roles  ... Leauanae ranks 11th in the GNAC with 3.81 digs per set, following recent efforts of 28 digs (career high) in the loss to Simon Fraser, 17 digs in the upset of Western Washington, 24 in the win over UAF and 21 in the road win at NNU ... a former Dimond High standout, Vreeland is second on the team with 2.83 dps, posting double-digit digs in 11 of 24 matches ... Vreeland stands 15th on UAA's career list with 3.11 dps, and she recently broke a program record with 7 aces in the win over UAF ... Fr. DS Maggie Schlueter has made her debut after a redshirt campaign and shown off a dangerous serve, producing 47 aces and just 36 errors ... the Texan is 3rd in the GNAC and ranks 24th nationally with 0.50 aces per set, serving at least one ace in 20 of 24 matches.
 
GREEN MACHINE: Having led UAA to an unprecedented 11 straight winning seasons, UAA head coach Chris Green (251-96, .723) has established himself as the most successful coach in program history and one of the top mentors in the NCAA Div. II ranks, earning the 2016 AVCA D-II National Coach of the Year award ... a 4-time GNAC Coach of the Year (2009, '13, '15, '16) and 3-time AVCA D-II West Region Coach of the Year (2009, '15, '16), Green has led UAA to NCAA Tournament berths in seven of the last nine seasons, capturing No. 1 seeds in 2015 and 2016; in the 28 years before Green's arrival, the Seawolves made two NCAAs ... UAA has won at a .780 clip (160-45) since the start of the 2013 campaign, including .823 (107-23) in league play ... Green's UAA teams have produced six All-Americans, five GNAC Players of the Year, six GNAC Newcomers of the Year and five GNAC Freshmen of the Year ... hired in Feb. 2008 as the sixth coach in UAA Volleyball history, Green spent the previous nine seasons (1999-07) as the head coach at Western Nebraska Community College, where he built a powerhouse program ... among his list of accomplishments at WNCC were a 453-55 record, the 2007 NJCAA Div. I national championship, 2006 NJCAA runner-up, and four straight 'Final 4' berths ... the Cougars finished in the top 10 at the national tournament in all of Green's seasons, producing a total of 10 first-team and six second-team All-America certificates ... in 2011, he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.
 
BEST OF THE WEST: The Seawolves premiered at No. 4 in the initial version of the NCAA Div. II West Region rankings on Nov. 6, with the second of three polls set to come out Nov. 13 ... the final public rankings will be unveiled Nov. 20, leading to the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m. AST ... the GNAC, CCAA and Pac West Conference champions qualify automatically, along with the next five highest ranked teams.
 
NCAA Div. II West Region Volleyball Rankings
Nov. 6, 2019 (records through Nov. 3)
Rk Team                   vs West vs DII Conf.
 1 Cal State San Bernardino  18-0   21-0 CCAA
 2 Western Washington        17-1   21-1 GNAC
 3 Cal State LA              14-3   15-6 CCAA
 4 Alaska Anchorage          15-6   16-6 GNAC
 5 UC San Diego              14-7   15-7 CCAA
 6 Central Washington        12-6   14-8 GNAC
 7 Simon Fraser              14-7   14-8 GNAC
 8 Cal State San Marcos      14-8   13-8 CCAA
 9 Hawaii Hilo               17-6   18-6 PWC
10 Azusa Pacific             18-4   18-4 PWC
 
2019 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
ELLEN FLOYD
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
D2 West Region Showcase All-Tournament Team
GNAC All-Academic Team
VANESSA HAYES
GNAC Preseason Team
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Nov. 4-10
JALISA INGRAM
GNAC All-Academic Team
TALIA LEAUANAE
GNAC All-Academic Team
KAYLA McGLATHERY
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 30-Oct. 6
VERA PLUHAROVA
GNAC All-Academic Team
EVE STEPHENS
GNAC Preseason Team
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
D2 West Region Showcase All-Tournament Team
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 16-22
GNAC All-Academic Team (highest GPA)
ANJOILYN VREELAND
GNAC All-Academic Team
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2019
INDIVIDUAL
Most Aces* — 7, Anjoilyn Vreeland vs Alaska Fairbanks, 10/22 (old record: 6, several times)
Match
TEAM
Match
Fewest Points Allowed, Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014) — 32 vs Concord, 9/6 (old record: 34 vs MSU Billings, 9/24/15)
Best Hitting Pct., Home Match^ — .444 (37-9-63) vs Concord, 9/6 (old record: .437 vs MSU Billings, 9/21/13)
Misc.
Most Consecutive Wins vs. Opponent — 23 vs Saint Martin's (extends record)
Most Consecutive Winning Seasons — 12 (2008-19, extends record)
Most Consecutive Winning Conference Records ­— 11 (2009-19, extends record)
^since rally scoring implemented in 2001
*since 25-point rally-scoring system implemented in 2008