ANCHORAGE –
Ellen Floyd dished 39 assists and
Eve Stephens ripped 13 kills Saturday to lead the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 25-20, 25-13, 25-17 sweep of Saint Martin's in the regular-season finale at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The regionally 8th-ranked Seawolves (19-11, 12-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 10 kills from outside hitter
Lisa Jaunet as they likely clinched an NCAA Tournament berth with the victory.
The Saints (10-18, 3-15) were led by eight kills from outside hitter Tia Allen as the visitors from Lacey, Wash., were outhit .374 to .108.
"I thought our passing became better as each set progressed tonight, and Ellen put some beautiful sets right where they needed to be for our hitters," said UAA head coach
Chris Green, whose team finished in second-place tie with Central Washington in the GNAC standings. "Eve also did a nice job of finding openings in the defense and converting her opportunities. We had been coming off a tough stretch on the road, but our team really came together this week and was motivated to finish strong and keep our season alive. Hopefully our name will come up on the West Region bracket when the field is announced Monday."
UAA overcame early deficits in the first and second sets, and slowly pulled away throughout each frame. Leading just 21-19 late in the first, Jaunet ripped consecutive kills to widen the gap, and the Seawolves answered an Allen kill with kills from Floyd and Stephens to end it.
UAA hit .344 or higher in each set, and wasn't seriously challenged in the final two.
Stephens – who moved into No. 2 on the program's career kills list in Thursday's win over Western Oregon – hit .458 and added seven digs, pushing her all-time total to 1,411 kills. Junior middle blocker
Akor Maywin had six kills on .600 hitting, and senior middle blocker
Vera Pluharova added six kills on .417 hitting and two blocks in her final home match.
Floyd and freshman defensive specialist
Reilly Plumhoff led UAA with nine digs apiece, while Plumhoff accounted for half of her team's six aces.
UAA also got a lift in the final set from sophomore outside hitter
Ceyna Kahraman, who ripped the first four kills of her Seawolf career on just seven swings.
The announcement of the NCAA Div. II national playoff field, including the West Regional Championships bracket, will be made Monday at 3:30 p.m. at ncaa.com. Should UAA be selected, it would mark its ninth qualification in the last 11 seasons.
NOTES: UAA extended its longest winning streak against any opponent, stretching it 27 in a row over SMU … Maywin hit over .500 for the second match in a row … Pluharova moved into a tie for No. 7 on UAA's career wins list, now with 81 victories.