ANCHORAGE – Eve Stephens notched a match-high 19 kills but the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team committed too many costly errors Thursday as visiting Regis earned a 21-25, 26-24, 24-26, 31-29, 15-9 victory in the opening match of the Seawolf Invitational at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The host Seawolves (0-1) also got 17 kills and a career-high five aces from senior Vanessa Hayes and a match-best 27 digs from junior libero Anjoilyn Vreeland as they lost their home opener for the first time since falling in five sets to Western Oregon in 2011.

The Rangers (1-0) – picked to finish fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – were led by 16 kills and 11 total blocks from Nikki Kennedy, along with 10 kills on .409 hitting from fellow senior middle blocker Kristen Hornung.

"Regis did an excellent job of forcing some mistakes by our hitters tonight, but that is still no excuse for committing so many errors, especially our 17 service errors," said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team combined for 51 hitting and service errors. "We will try to use this as a learning opportunity as we get ready for two more tough matches tomorrow."

UAA used six kills and four digs from Stephens – last year's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year – and two kills, three aces and 11 assists from sophomore setter Ellen Floyd to erase a 17-10 deficit in the third set. After forging ties at 22-22, 23-23 and 24-24, Hayes delivered an ace and Stephens launched a cross-court kill to put the Seawolves up 2-sets-to-1.

The Seawolves trailed early at 10-3 in the fourth set before recovering to send it into extra points again. UAA took its first lead of the frame since the opening point when Vera Pluharova blasted a kill to make it 26-25. A block by Kennedy and Caitlin Burroway would repel the first of three matches points for the Seawolves, however, and the visitors from Denver evened the match on a kill by Hornung and an attack error by UAA's Kayla McGlathery.

UAA led 6-5 in the fifth set before a 5-1 Regis run swung the momentum for the final time, and the Rangers outhit the Seawolves .263 to .077 in the final frame to seal it.

The Seawolves got 12 kills from McGlathery and 10 kills and six block assists from Pluharova, while Stephens also notched a career-high 13 digs for her first career double-double. Floyd finished with 51 assists, 10 digs, six kills on .429 hitting and five aces in the loss.

Regis faces Biola in its next invitational match, Friday at 11:30 a.m. ADT, while UAA plays Concord at 2 p.m. at the Alaska Airlines Center. Surf to AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com for ticket information.