ANCHORAGE – Junior Eve Stephens tied her career high with 26 kills and senior Vera Pluharova had seven kills and nine blocks Thursday to power the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 25-16, 22-25, 21-25, 25-15, 15-10 victory over No. 25 Central Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (13-5, 6-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 43 assists, 19 digs and a career-high-tying seven kills from junior setter Ellen Floyd to extend their season-high winning streak to six in a row.

The Wildcats (8-4, 4-2) were led by 15 kills and 11 digs from Ashley Kaufman and eight kills, 18 assists and 15 digs from Tia Andaya, but the visitors were outhit .234 to .101, outdug 78-63 and outblocked 14-7.

"That was an extremely gritty win after getting down 2-1," said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team earned its first victory over a ranked foe this season. "We struggled at times in our serve-receive game, which threw off our offensive rhythm until the fourth set. Our block was also a big reason why we got this victory."

After splitting the first two sets, the visitors from Ellensburg would pull away with a late surge in the third set, winning six of the final nine points to take a 2-1 advantage.

UAA dominated the fourth, however, outhitting Central .458 to -.029 in the frame behind seven kills – on just 11 attacks – from Stephens. Pluharova also hit her stride in the fourth, tallying kills on all four of her attacks and adding a block solo and block assist.

The Seawolves never trailed in the fifth, jumping to a 3-0 lead and using a six-point run on freshman Nicole Blue's serve to make it 9-2. The Wildcats fought within 12-9 before Pluharova took over again, blasting a kill to stop Central's momentum, and teaming with Lisa Jaunet on a block to make it 14-10. Pluharova – whose nine total blocks were UAA season-high – then clinched it with an ace on match point.

Stephens's 26 kills tied her career high from last spring at Seattle Pacific, while the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and two-time All-GNAC performer moved into No. 3 on UAA's career kills list, with her current total of 1,260 surpassing Cherie Knox (1,248 kills, 1987-90).

Jaunet had 12 kills, five digs and a season-best three blocks, and freshman outside hitter Mahala Kaapuni added six kills.

Junior libero Talia Leauanae was clutch on the back row for UAA, tying her own team season-high 21 digs, along with a career-high nine assists.

Of the 27 meetings between the programs since 2008 – the first year of Green's Seawolf tenure – Thursday's contest was the 11th to go five sets.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday for the middle contest in a three-match homestand, facing Northwest Nazarene (2-11, 0-6) at 7 p.m. Surf to GoSeawolves.com for tickets. Masks are required for all attendees.