THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thursday, Nov. 4 – Johnson Sports Center – Nampa, Idaho – 5 pm ADT
Alaska Anchorage (16-8, 9-3 GNAC) at Northwest Nazarene (5-15, 2-10 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Nov. 6 – Nicholson Pavilion – Ellensburg, Wash. – 6 pm ADT
Alaska Anchorage at Central Washington (11-7, 7-5 GNAC [11/4 vs UAF])
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Monday, Nov. 8 – Carver Gymnasium – Bellingham, Wash. – 6 pm AST
Alaska Anchorage at #18 Western Washington (15-4, 11-1 GNAC [2 matches pending])
 
LIVE VIDEO: Free on YouTube ... find links at the UAA Volleyball schedule page
 
LIVE STATS: Thursday at nnusports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
                       Saturday at wildcatsports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
                       Monday at wwuvikings.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAVolleyball Twitter feed for in-match updates
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2021 stats)
S—Ellen Floyd, 5-10, Jr. (10.07 aps, 0.86 kps, .107 att%, 2.98 dps, 0.53 bps, 0.47 ace/set)
RS—Eve Stephens, 6-1, Jr. (3.81 kps, .258 att%, 2.25 dps, 0.73 bps, 0.42 ace/set)
OH—Lisa Jaunet, 5-10, So. (2.59 kps, .206 att%)
MB—Vera Pluharova, 6-2, Sr. (1.89 kps, .327 att%, 1.07 bps)
MB—Akor Maywin, 6-2, Jr. (1.26 kps, .307 att%, 0.86 bps)
DS—Reilly Plumhoff, 5-5, Fr. (1.97 dps, 0.58 aps, 0.21 ace/set)
L—Talia Leauanae, 5-8, Jr. (3.84 dps, 0.51 ace/set, 0.59 aps)
 
THE SERIES...
vs NNU: UAA leads 22-19 overall; NNU leads 13-7 in Nampa
Last: UAA 3-0 (10/9/21 at UAA) / Streak: UAA 6
Notes: UAA has won 10 of the last 11 meetings, with NNU's last victory coming in Nampa in 2017 ... UAA has won two straight in Nampa, including a 3-1 win in 2019 ... UAA's current 6-match winning streak is its longest against NNU ... nine of the last 12 and 19 of the last 23 matches have been 4- or 5-set aff airs ... UAA is 18-8 vs. NNU under Chris Green ... UAA leads 21-18 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) … NNU won first meeting in 2000, 3-1, in Nampa.
 
vs CWU: UAA leads 29-21 overall; tied 12-12 in Ellensburg
Last: UAA 3-2 (10/7/21 at UAA) / Streak: UAA 3
Notes: UAA has won four of the last five meetings, including a pair of 3-1 pandemic-season victories last spring in Ellensburg ... the last four meetings have all gone four of five sets ... UAA is 20-7 vs. CWU under head coach Chris Green ... of the 27 meetings since 2008, 11 have gone 5 sets and seven have gone 4 sets, with the Seawolves winning 16 of those 18 contests ... UAA leads the GNAC series 20-19 (since 2001) … teams have met every season since 1999 ... first meeting was a 2-1 UAA neutral-court win in 1980 ... teams did not meet between 1983-98.
 
vs WWU: WWU leads 37-19 overall, 14-7 in Bellingham
Last: WWU 3-0 (10/30/21 at UAA) / Streak: WWU 1
Notes: WWU has won six of the last eight meetings, although UAA took the last contest in Bellingham, 3-2, on Nov. 14, 2019 ... last week's 3-0 WWU win was the first sweep for either team since 2015 and the Vikings' first since 2012 ... there have been six 5-setters and only two sweeps among the last 17 meetings ... the road team has won 13 of the last 19 meetings ... the Seawolves are 12-16 against WWU under Chris Green (since 2008) ... WWU won 17 straight from 2001-08 … WWU leads 28-11 in GNAC meetings … teams have met every year since 2000 …  series started in 1980.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Northwest Nazarene has dropped three straight GNAC contests since beating Saint Martin's and Western Oregon at home in mid-October, although the Nighthawks took Simon Fraser to five recently ... NNU is led by Natalie Sullivan (3.88 kps, .193 att%, 2.53 dps) and Brooke Foster (2.90 kps, .163 att%, 2.12 dps) ... Central Washington has struggled on the road but brings an 8-match home winning streak into its Thursday contest vs. UAF ... the Wildcats are led by Ashley Kaufman (2.96 kps, .180 att%, 2.40 dps) and Tia Andaya (2.13 kps, .163 at%, 5.04 aps, 2.35 dps, 0.62 bps) ... three-time defending GNAC champ Western Washington has rolled to 10 straight victories as it prepares for dates against SMU and WOU this week ... the Vikings are led by Calley Heilborn (3.29 kps, .203 att%, 4.20 dps) and Malia Aleaga (10.46 aps).
 
RARE HOME SETBACKS: After 96 all-time matches at the Alaska Airlines Center, the Seawolves suffered their first consecutive home setbacks in their new arena, losing last week to Simon Fraser (23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-11) and 19th-ranked Western Washington (25-22, 25-23, 25-19) ... against SFU, Fr. OH/DS Nicole Blue came off the bench with 10 kills on .421 hitting, but UAA was held to .067 hitting and outdug 71-56 ... on Saturday, the Seawolves got 11 kills from So. OH Lisa Jaunet as they were swept by the Vikings for the first time since 2012 ... Jr. S Ellen Floyd had 34 assists, 3 kills and 15 digs, and Jr. L Talia Leauanae tied her own UAA season-high (and GNAC 3-set season-best) 25 digs despite the loss.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the GNAC statistics with 2.11 aces per set (19th nationally) and .152 opponent attack pct., while ranking 2nd in attack pct. (.224) ... the Seawolves have secured their 14th consecutive winning season, extending the program record that began with Chris Green's arrival at UAA in 2008 ... UAA returned to the NCAA Div. II national poll Oct. 11 & 18 for the first time since Sept. 25, 2017, which was the last of a program-record 32 consecutive weeks in the rankings ... the Seawolves' 14-match GNAC winning streak (11/7/19 to 10/16/21) was the program's second-longest, trailing only the 22 straight from Oct. 17, 2015 to Oct. 20, 2016 ... the eight straight GNAC wins in one season were UAA's most since going on 11- and 8-match win streaks in the 2016 NCAA runner-up season ...  the Seawolves are 79-19 (.806) at the Alaska Airlines Center since its opening in Sept. 2014 and 126-31 (.803) at home since 2009; UAA has never lost three straight matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA has reached the 20-win plateau 14 times in its 39 full seasons and seven times in 12 full seasons under Green ... UAA is also trying to extend program-best streaks of 11 straight winning conference records and top-4 GNAC finishes ... the Seawolves are 21-16 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014 and 31-43 overall vs. ranked opponents under Green; prior to Green's arrival, UAA had lost 32 straight to ranked foes.
 
STEPHENS ON POINT: In her fourth season in Green & Gold, Jr. RS Eve Stephens has continued to rack up numbers at a record-setting pace ... the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year has earned two GNAC offensive player-of-the-week accolades, along with all-tournament honors at the Seawolf Invitational and the Nanook Classic ... the 2019 AVCA Second Team All-American and two-time unanimous All-GNAC honoree ranks 2nd in the GNAC with 4.62 points per set (19th nationally), along with league ranks of 3rd in kills per set (3.81), 4th in aces per set (0.42) and 12th in hitting pct. (.258) ... the Palmer (Colony HS) product has ekght double-doubles this year and 26 for her career after leading the GNAC in both kills and points per set in 2019 and 2020-21 ... with 1,329 career kills, Stephens has already risen to No. 3 on UAA's career list and needs 63 more to catch Katelynn Zanders (1,392, 2012-15) for No. 2 ... on UAA's other career lists, she currently ranks 3rd in kps (3.72), 8th in attack percentage (.281), 9th in block assists (264), 13th in total blocks (281) and 15th in victories (69) ... a star in the classroom as well, the accounting major was voted CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 in 2019 and earned her third straight Academic All-GNAC honor this year, producing a 3.67 overall GPA.
 
THINK FLOYD: Another preseason All-GNAC pick, Jr. S Ellen Floyd started the season with GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for her effort in Hawaii and was an all-tournament pick at the Seawolf Invitational ... the 2019 All-GNAC selection and AVCA honorable mention All-American stands 3rd in the GNAC with 10.07 assists per set, along with ranks of 3rd in aces per set (0.47) and 16th in digs per set (2.98) – all while piloting an offense that has outhit its opponents .224 to .152 ... she has produced double-digit digs in 15 of 24 outings, finishing with 17 digs and tying her career high with 7 kills in the win over Chaminade, and tallying 52 assists and 19 digs in the win over Biola ... with another season remaining, Floyd is on pace to break UAA's all-time assists and aces records, already standing 4th with 3,472 assists and 2nd with 154 aces (needs eight to tie Jen Szczerbinski, 1988-92) ... her other career ranks stand at 3rd in assists average (9.51 aps), 3rd in aces per set (0.422) and t-13th in victories (71) ... a candidate for CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, Floyd also earned her third straight GNAC All-Academic nod this year with a UAA-best 3.86 overall GPA in accounting.
 
'WOLF BITES: Following her GNAC Defensive Player of the Week performance against Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene, Sr. MB Vera Pluharova has continued her fine play by tallying 9 kills on .571 hitting against UAF, tying her career high with 9 block assists at SPU, and tying another career best with 11 kills on .474 hitting at MSUB ... the 4-year starter ranks 2nd in the GNAC with a .327 attack pct. and is 7th with 1.07 blocks per set ... Pluharova ranks 5th on UAA's career list in blocks per set (1.11), plus 2nd in block assists (376), 5th in total blocks (424), 10th in attack pct. (.275) and t-9th in victories (77) ... the Czech has hit .700 or better in three matches this year, breaking the 20-year-old school record for attack percentage with a .917 (career-high-tying 11 kills, no errors, 12 attacks) performance in the second match of the year at Hawaii Pacific ... Jr. L Talia Leauanae is one of four Seawolves with three-plus years of experience in Green & Gold, and she has produced well with 3.84 digs per set (9th in GNAC) and a league-best 0.51 aces per set (30th nationally); in league matches only, she is 2nd with 4.40 dps ... the Maui native has five matches with 20-plus digs this year, with her 25 at MSUB and against WWU currently standing as the most in any GNAC 3-set match this year ... Leauanae ranks 11th on UAA's career list with 3.31 digs per set ... So. OH Lisa Jaunet has raised her level of play in the GNAC thus far, producing 2.79 kills per set (11th in the leauge) on .265 hitting (also 11th) ... the St. Denis, France, native and State College of Florida transfer had her second-most kills (15) against Saint Martin's and posted consecutive career-best hitting percentages of .476 at Western Oregon, .500 against Seattle Pacific and .500 at Simon Fraser ... Jaunet ranks 18th in the overall GNAC stats with 2.59 kills per set ... Fr. OH Mahala Kaapuni has also come on strong in GNAC play, 19th in kills (2.45 kps) in league matches ... the Big Island product has notched at least six kills in 11 of 12 GNAC contests, including season highs of 12 at Saint Martin's and 13 at Simon Fraser.
 
GREEN MACHINE: Having led UAA to an unprecedented 14 straight winning seasons, UAA head coach Chris Green (283-109, .722) has established himself as the most successful coach in program history and one of the top mentors in the NCAA Div. II ranks, earning his fifth GNAC Coach of the Year award in 2019 ('09, '13, '15, '16) ... the 2016 AVCA D-II National Coach of the Year and 3-time AVCA D-II West Region Coach of the Year (2009, '15, '16), Green has led UAA to NCAA Tournament berths in eight of the last 10 full seasons, capturing No. 1 seeds in 2015 and 2016, and piloting the Seawolves to the national title match in 2016 ... in the 28 years before Green's arrival, the Seawolves made just two NCAA appearances ... UAA has won at a .768 clip (192-58) since the start of the 2013 campaign, including .822 (120-26) in league play ... Green's UAA teams have produced eight All-Americans, five GNAC Players of the Year, six GNAC Newcomers of the Year and five GNAC Freshmen of the Year ... hired in Feb. 2008 as the sixth coach in UAA Volleyball history, Green spent the previous nine seasons (1999-07) as the head coach at Western Nebraska Community College, where he built a powerhouse program ... among his list of accomplishments at WNCC were a 453-55 record, the 2007 NJCAA Div. I national championship, 2006 NJCAA runner-up, and four straight 'Final 4' berths ...  the Cougars finished in the top 10 at the national tournament in all of Green's seasons, producing a total of 10 first-team and six second-team All-America certificates ... in 2011, he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.
 
2021 Individual Honors
MAKANA ELENEKI
GNAC All-Academic Team
ELLEN FLOYD
GNAC All-Academic Team
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Aug. 23-29
Preseason All-GNAC Team
CEYNA KAHRAMA
GNAC All-Academic Team
TALIA LEAUANAE
GNAC All-Academic Team
VERA PLUHAROVA
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Oct. 4-10
REILLY PLUMHOFF
GNAC All-Academic Team
EVE STEPHENS
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Oct. 4-10
Nanook Classic All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Aug. 23-29
Preseason All-GNAC Team
GNAC Preseason Player of the Year
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2021
INDIVIDUAL
Match
Best Attack Pct. (min. 11 attacks) — .917 [11-0-12] by Vera Pluharova at Hawaii Pacific, Aug. 28 (old record: .909 [10-0-11] by Janelle Veith vs Seattle, 10/20/01)
TEAM
Match
Fewest Blocks Allowed — 0 vs Northwest Nazarene, Oct. 9 (breaks or ties unresearched record)
MISC.
Most Consecutive Wins vs Opponent — 26 vs Saint Martin's, 2008-current