ANCHORAGE – Junior setter Ellen Floyd had 34 assists and 15 digs but the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team could not overcome the hot hitting of 19th-ranked Western Washington in a 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 loss at the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday.

The Seawolves (16-8, 9-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) were led by 11 kills from sophomore outside hitter Lisa Jaunet as they were outhit .254 to .168 and outblocked 8-2.

The Vikings (15-4, 11-1) got 16 kills and 10 digs from outside hitter Gabby Gunterman and a combined 19 kills with only two errors from the duo of Chloe Roetcisoender and Calley Heilborn, while setter Malia Aleaga dished 41 assists to help the visitors take a two-match lead over UAA in the GNAC standings with six contests remaining.

"We showed resilience in each set, but every time we got some momentum going, Western seemed to have an answer," said UAA coach Chris Green. "It's never fun losing to your rival, but we'll get back to work this week and get ready for a big road trip."

In the first meeting of the season between the programs that have won the last five GNAC titles, the first two sets were tightly contested.

Trailing 21-18 in the opening frame, UAA got a kill from Jaunet and a WWU attack error to draw within a point. But the Vikings would answer with three straight kills, and finished it off with a kill from Tess Biscup a couple rallies later.

UAA got another big kill from Jaunet to tie the second set at 21-21, and a WWU service error gave the Seawolves a 23-22 lead. The hosts couldn't take advantage, however, as Western's Olivia Fairchild tied it with a kill of her own, and Aleaga fed Gunterman for consecutive kills and a 2-0 Vikings lead.

The Seawolves led 4-3 early in the third before the Vikings pulled away midway through the frame. WWU got a kill from Fairchild to make it 13-9 and led by at least four points the rest of the way.

Junior libero Talia Leauanae had another fine defensive performance despite the loss, with her 25 digs tying her own season-best performance in a 3-set GNAC match this year.

Freshman Mahala Kaapuni added nine kills and six digs for the Seawolves, who play their next four matches on the road, beginning Thursday (5 p.m. ADT) at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. Surf to GoSeawolves.com for links to live video and stats.