ANCHORAGE – Eve Stephens and Vanessa Hayes each tallied double-doubles Friday as the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team pulled away with strong third and fourth sets to defeat Biola, 25-16, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20, in the Seawolf Invitational at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (2-1) got 16 kills, 11 digs and seven block assists from Stephens, while Hayes tallied 14 kills, 10 digs and four aces in the first-ever meeting between the NCAA Div. II West Region foes. Sophomore setter Ellen Floyd finished with 41 assists to help UAA out-hit the visitors from Los Angeles, .231 to .105.

The Eagles (0-2) – coming off a 30-6 campaign and competing in their first full season of eligibility for the NCAA Div. II national tournament – were led by 14 kills and seven digs from outside hitter Sabrina Winslow, along with a match-high 29 digs from libero Sami Hover.

"We continued to improve for the third straight match," said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team got in the win column with a sweep of Concord in Friday's 2 p.m. match. "We knew Biola was very talented coming in, and our players did a terrific job of following the game plan we laid out for them. This was a solid team win that could be helpful in the long run in the playoff race, but we can't lose focus with an excellent UC San Diego team on tap tomorrow."

After sweeping Concord for their first win earlier Friday, the Seawolves carried that momentum into the first set against Biola, connecting for a .393 attack percentage that included five kills from Hayes.

UAA led 15-11 midway through the second frame before the Eagles roared back. Knotted at 24-24, Biola took advantage of a Seawolf service error and got an ace from Winslow to tie the match one set apiece.

Nursing a 5-4 lead early in set three, the Seawolves took command with five of the next six rallies. A Winslow kill kept it within a 12-8 margin, but UAA reeled off a 9-0 run, sparked by a Hayes kill and a solo block from junior Vera Pluharova.

Despite controlling the early portion of set four, Biola could not fend off another UAA rally as the Seawolves flipped a 15-12 deficit into a 19-15 lead. Stephens picked up two of her kills during the deciding surge, and the Eagles would not get closer than three points the rest of the way.

Pluharova notched five kills and seven total blocks, while fellow middle blocker Kayla McGlathery had six kills and eight total blocks. Four Seawolves tallied double-digit digs, with libero Anjoilyn Vreeland accounting for 12 and freshman defensive specialist Katie Hoeffner notching 10.

Hayes and freshman Maggie Schlueter combined for seven of UAA's 11 aces.

UAA closes the Seawolf Invitational Saturday against another NCAA Div. II West Region opponent in UC San Diego. The tournament finale is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Alaska Airlines Center.

For tickets, visit AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com.