ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Sophomore Eve Stephens tied her career high with 23 kills but it was not enough Saturday for the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team as host Central Washington recovered for a 25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10 victory at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Seawolves (16-6, 11-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 45 assists and a career-high 21 digs from sophomore setter Ellen Floyd in the loss, which ends a four-match winning streak and knocks them two matches behind Western Washington in the league standings with six matches remaining.

The Wildcats (14-8, 9-5) were led by 18 kills from Bridgette Webb and 23 digs from libero Kyla Morgan as the hosts earned a split of the regular-season series, avenging their 3-0 loss in Anchorage last month.

"We played some excellent volleyball during the middle of the match," said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team hit .273 in the second set and .361 in the third set. "But we can't afford to let up against a quality opponent, and Central took advantage. We will regroup and try to get back on track next week at home."

After taking the lead with their impressive third-set win, the Seawolves looked ready to close it out when they jumped ahead 8-4 in set four. Central Washington rallied for four straight points, however, and UAA found itself trailing 23-18 before a late comeback attempt. A block by Floyd and Kayla McGlathery drew the visitors within 24-22, but Floyd committed an attack error on the next rally.

A 2-1 Seawolf lead quickly evaporated in set five as the hosts claimed an 8-4 advantage. UAA sliced it to a 9-8 score before Central pulled away with the next five rallies.

Stephens tied her career high in kills for the third time – doing it on a career-high 67 attacks – and added 14 digs to record her sixth consecutive double-double and 10th this season. Senior outside hitter Vanessa Hayes added 12 kills and McGlathery, a junior middle blocker, had 10 kills and eight total blocks.

Floyd topped her previous career high of 18 digs and produced four kills, three aces and four block assists in the loss.

With the first NCAA Div. II West Region rankings set for Wednesday, UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center on Thursday (7 p.m.) for a match against Western Oregon. Call 907-786-1562 or visit AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com for tickets.