PORTLAND, Ore. – Riding a program-best streak 11 straight winning seasons, hopes are high for the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team again in 2019 as the Seawolves were picked to repeat their third-place finish in Thursday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Coming off a 21-7 mark and a 14-6 GNAC record, UAA earned 93 points in voting by the league's head coaches, edging Simon Fraser (90) for third. Defending champion and 2018 NCAA runner-up Western Washington and NCAA second-round qualifier Central Washington tied atop the poll with 114 points, although WWU nabbed seven of the 11 first-place votes.

The Seawolves – who had a program-record string of five straight NCAA Tournaments snapped last season – return four starters from 2018, with outside hitter Vanessa Hayes (2.56 kills per set) the lone senior on the roster. Sophomore right-side hitter Eve Stephens (.330 attack pct., 3.18 kps, 0.76 blocks per set) was a first-team all-league selection and the GNAC Freshman of the Year, while junior middle blocker Vera Pluharova (.211 att.%, 1.19 bps) and sophomore setter Ellen Floyd (8.33 assists per set, 2.26 digs per set) will join with junior libero Anjoilyn Vreeland (3.36 dps) to form the veteran base.

UAA premieres with a free exhibition match against the Seawolf Alumni on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. at the Alaska Airlines Center. The regular season kicks off Sept. 5-7 when UAA hosts the Seawolf Invitational.

For complete schedule and ticket information, visit GoSeawolves.com or call 907-786-1562.

2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll
Team (1st-place votes)      2018 Records        Pts
1. Western Washington (7)   30-4, 20-0 (1st)    114
2. Central Washington (4)   23-6, 16-4 (2nd)    114
3. Alaska Anchorage         21-7, 14-6 (3rd)     93
4. Simon Fraser             15-11, 12-8 (t-4th)  90
5. Alaska Fairbanks         14-13, 12-8 (t-4th)  75
6. Seattle Pacific          11-16, 9-11 (t-6th)  63
7. Northwest Nazarene       6-21, 6-14 (9th)     53
8. Concordia-Portland       12-15, 9-11 (t-6th)  50
9. Montana State Billings   13-17, 7-13 (8th)    36
10. Western Oregon          6-21, 3-17 (10th)    26
11. Saint Martin's          4-22, 2-18 (11th)    12
Points awarded on 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis