THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
2019 NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships
Dec. 5-7 — The Den — San Bernardino, Calif.
(All times Alaska Standard)
Thursday, Dec. 5 - Quarterfinals
11 am: #6 Azusa Pacific (26-4) vs. #3 Cal State LA (20-8)
1:30 pm: #7 Hawaii Hilo (23-7) vs. #2 Western Washington (26-2)
4 pm: #5 UC San Diego (18-8) vs. #4 Alaska Anchorage (22-6)
6:30 pm: #8 Central Washington (18-10) vs. #1 Cal State San Bernardino (27-0)
Friday, Dec. 6 – Semifinals
4 pm: APU/CSULA winner vs. UHH/WWU winner
6:30 pm: UCSD/UAA winner vs. CWU/CSUSB winner
Saturday, Dec. 7 – Final
6 pm: Semifinals winners (winner advances to NCAA DII Elite Eight, Dec. 12-14 in Denver)
 
VIDEO: ccaanetwork.com
 
LIVE STATS: csusbathletics.com/sidearmstats/wvball
 
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, 0.58 kps, .080 att%, 2.73 dps, 0.73 bps)
RS—Eve Stephens, 6-1, So. (3.90 kps, .253 att%, 2.29 dps, 0.85 bps)
MB—Kayla McGlathery, 6-0, Jr. (2.27 kps, .300 att%, 1.11 bps)
MB—Vera Pluharova, 6-2, Jr. (1.27 kps, .280 att%, 1.25 bps)
OH—Vanessa Hayes, 5-11, Sr. (2.96 kps, .216 att%, 1.30 dps, 0.48 ace/set)
DS—Anjoilyn Vreeland, 5-6, Jr. (2.84 dps, 0.31 ace/set)
L—Talia Leauanae, 5-8, So. (3.67 dps, 0.68 aps, 0.22 ace/set)
 
BACK IN THE HUNT: The 4th-seeded Seawolves make their return to the NCAA Tournament this week after a one-year absence, taking on 5th-seeded UC San Diego in the first round Thursday on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino ... should the Seawolves advance, they would play the winner of 8th-seeded Central Washington and CSUSB on Friday evening, with the winner of that match advancing to Saturday's regional title contest ... the winner of the West Region will advance along with the other seven regional champions to the NCAA Elite Eight in Denver, Dec. 12-14.
 
THE SERIES
    vs. UCSD: UCSD leads 5-0 overall, 2-0 on neutral courts
Last: UCSD 3-1 (9-7-19 at UAA)
Notes: This marks teams' first meeting in NCAA Tournament ... the two previous neutral-court meetings came at the 2017 Seaside Invitational at Point Loma and the 2010 Western Oregon Invitational in Monmouth ... UCSD swept the first meeting, Sept. 5, 2009 in La Jolla, Calif.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS: Making its final NCAA Div. II Tournament appearance in volleyball before making the jump to Div. I next year, UC San Diego holds an 18-8 overall record after going 12-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association ... the Tritons, who defeated UAA 3-1 on Sept. 7 in Anchorage, are led by Sr. MB All-America candidate Jessica Rieble (2.56 kps, .401 att%, 1.13 bps) and pin hitters Trinity Casteneda (2.44 kps, .199 att%) and Gina Cortesi (2.36 kps, .200 att%, 2.12 dps, 0.50 bps).
 
SEAWOLF NCAA HISTORY: UAA is making its sixth NCAA appearance in seven years and ninth in the last 11 seasons ... this marks UAA's 11th overall NCAA Tournament trip (1989, 1990, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), with its overall record at 7-10 … the Seawolves earned their deepest by making the 2016 National Title Match and winning multiple matches for the first time that year ... UAA had won two straight First Round matches before losing to Western Washington as the No. 7 seed two years ago in Riverside, Calif. ... this year's No. 4 seed is the Seawolves' highest aside from the No. 1 seeds in 2015 and 2016 and the No. 2 seed in 2014 ... UAA was the No. 5 seed in 2009 when it earned its first NCAA win with a 5-set 1st Round victory over Hawaii-Hilo in San Bernardino.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the GNAC with 2.17 aces per set and ranks 2nd in blocks per set (2.56) and attack pct. (.236) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves rank 6th in blocking, 8th in aces and 31st in attack pct. ... UAA's 237 total aces are the most for a Seawolf club since the 1996 team served 243 in a 33-match season ... the Seawolves are 71-16 (.816) at the Alaska Airlines Center since its opening in Sept. 2014 and 117-27 (.813) 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 program-best streaks of 11 straight winning conference records and top-4 GNAC finishes ... the Seawolves are 20-14 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014 and 30-41 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: So. RS Eve Stephens has followed her GNAC Freshman of the Year campaign by claiming her second straight unanimous All-GNAC award in 2019 ... also a candidate for a second consecutive all-region award, Stephens' other honors this year include all-tournament 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 (3.97) and points per set (4.70), along with ranks of 14th in blocking (0.88 bps) and 11th in attack pct. (.265) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, she is 14th in points (4th among underclassmen) and 30th in kills ... playing all rotations after being subbed on the back row last year, Stephens has recorded a team-high 11 double-doubles, averaging 2.29 dps ... on UAA's career lists, the Palmer native currently ranks 4th in kills per set (3.56) and 5th in attack pct. (.292), and she already stands 19th in program history with 740 kills in just 54 career matches ... a star in the classroom as well, Stephens is a candidate for Academic All-America honors, having already been voted CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 with her GNAC-best 4.00 GPA in accounting.
 
HAYES MAKER: After producing some huge performances late in the season, Sr. OH Vanessa Hayes was rewarded by league coaches with her First Team All-GNAC honors ... having converted from the middle to the outside before her junior season, Hayes improved her numbers this year to 2.97 kills per set on .221 hitting ... the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for Nov. 4-10, Hayes has been a double threat with 0.48 aces per set (t-3rd in GNAC, t-24th nationally), and threatening the UAA record of 59 (currently at 52) aces in a season ... Hayes holds other league ranks of 10th in points per set (3.64) and 11th 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 19 of 28 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 (283), 10th in total blocks (305), 11th in kills (962), 8th in matches played (123), 3rd in sets played (470) and 4th in victories (96).
 
THE ELLEN SHOW: So. S Ellen Floyd has engineered UAA's offensive improvement to the reward of being tabbed First Team All-GNAC in 2019 ... currently 2nd in the GNAC and 37th nationally with 10.23 assists per set, she bettered 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 added GNAC Offensive and AVCA Sports Imports Div. II National Player of the Week honors for her play in the wins at Western Washington and Simon Fraser ...  Floyd already stands 7th on UAA's career list with 1,990 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 Northwest Nazarene; she is  4th in Seawolf history in terms of career assists average at 9.30 aps ... along with the third-highest digs average (2.73 dps) on the team and an impressive 0.72 blocks per set, she also ranks 5th in the GNAC and 53rd nationally with 0.44 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 6th nationally in that category ... in her second year as a starter, Pluharova ranks 3rd in the league and 21st nationally with 1.24 bps, while McGlathery is 5th in the GNAC and 50th nationally with 1.13 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, earning honorable mention All-GNAC recognition in 2019; the Idaho native also ranks 5th in the league with a .300 attack percentage ... meanwhile, Pluharova has recorded at least 6 kills on .300 hitting in seven 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 12th in the GNAC with 3.76 digs per set, following efforts of 28 digs (career high) in the loss to Simon Fraser, 17 digs in the home 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 2.84 dps, posting double-digit digs in 13 of 28 matches ... Vreeland stands 15th on UAA's career list with 3.09 dps, and she 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 a UAA freshman record 52 aces ... the Texan is tied for 2nd in the GNAC and 24th nationally (4th among freshmen) with 0.48 aces per set, serving at least one ace in 23 of 28 matches.
 
GREEN MACHINE: Having led UAA to an unprecedented 11 straight winning seasons, UAA head coach Chris Green (255-96, .726) has established himself as the most successful coach in program history and one of the top mentors in the NCAA Div. II ranks, earning his fifth GNAC Coach of the Year award in 2019  ('09, '13, '15, '16) ... the 2016 AVCA D-II National Coach of the Year and 3-time AVCA D-II West Region Coach of the Year (2009, '15, '16), Green has led UAA to NCAA Tournament berths in eight of the last 10 seasons, capturing No. 1 seeds in 2015 and 2016, and piloting the Seawolves to the national title match in 2016 ... in the 28 years before Green's arrival, the Seawolves made two NCAAs ... UAA has won at a .785 clip (164-45) since the start of the 2013 campaign, including .828 (111-23) 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.
 
2019 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
ELLEN FLOYD
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
D2 West Region Showcase All-Tournament Team
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Nov. 11-17
AVCA Sports Imports Div. II National Player of the Week, Nov. 12-18
First Team All-GNAC
CHRIS GREEN
GNAC Coach of the Year
VANESSA HAYES
GNAC Preseason Team
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Nov. 4-10
First Team All-GNAC
JALISA INGRAM
GNAC All-Academic Team
TALIA LEAUANAE
GNAC All-Academic Team
KAYLA McGLATHERY
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 30-Oct. 6
Honorable Mention All-GNAC
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)
CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Team
First Team All-GNAC (unanimous)
ANJOILYN VREELAND
GNAC All-Academic Team
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2019
INDIVIDUAL
Match
Most Aces* — 7, Anjoilyn Vreeland vs Alaska Fairbanks, 10/22 (old record: 6, several times)
Season
Most Aces, Freshman ­– 52, Maggie Schlueter (old record: 40, Leah Swiss, 2015)
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 — 24 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