BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Eve Stephens had 18 kills and the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team got career-high efforts from fellow juniors Ellen Floyd and Eve Stephens, but the Seawolves' upset bid came up short Monday in a 25-21, 23-25, 28-26, 25-22 setback to No. 16 Western Washington at Carver Gymnasium.

The regionally 5th-ranked Seawolves (17-10, 8-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) got 49 assists, four aces and a career-high-tying 21 digs from Floyd as they fell for the second straight time against a fellow NCAA Div. II West Region ranked opponent. Maywin tied her career high with 11 kills and set a new personal best with seven total blocks as the visitors actually edged the hosts in attack percentage, .168 to .163.

The regionally 2nd-ranked Vikings (18-4, 14-1) were led by 13 kills and 21 digs from outside hitter Gabby Gunterman and 25 digs from libero Kasey Woodruff as they clinched no worse than a share of their fourth straight GNAC title.

"We asked our players to play better overall defense than we did 10 days ago, and we did," said UAA head coach Chris Green, whose team fell in three sets to WWU on Oct. 30 in Anchorage. "We blocked better and played better back-row defense than the last time. We had some chances in set 3, but couldn't quite capitalize. It was a much-improved effort over our most recent match, though, and it should help us take some positive momentum into our final three matches."

After dropping the opening set, the Seawolves responded well, jumping to a 13-7 lead in the second on back-to-back aces from Floyd. The Vikings would tie the set at 17, 19, 20 and 22, but could never take the lead. UAA gained a 24-22 edge on a Reilly Plumhoff ace, and Stephens placed a kill just inside to line to tie the match.

The Seawolves had an opportunity to take control in the third, grabbing a 11-3 lead, but the Vikings used a huge run to knot it 14-14. UAA earned a 23-20 lead when Maywin and Mahala Kaapuni blocked Chloe Roetcisoender, and a kill by Kaapuni gave the Seawolves a 24-22 advantage. WWU would fight off four set points, however, and took the frame on consecutive kills by Gunterman and Tess Biscup.

UAA fought back from an early 9-3 deficit in the fourth to draw within 18-15, but the hosts scored three straight points an hung on despite a late Seawolf rally.

Stephens added 16 digs to record her 10th double-double of the season, while Floyd's 49 assists were her second-most this year behind her 52 in a 5-set win over Biola.

Kaapuni finished with 11 kills, senior middle blocker Vera Pluharova added six kills on .545 hitting and seven total blocks, and freshman Nicole Blue tallied a career-high 16 digs in the loss.

Seawolves play their final regular-season road match Saturday at 2 p.m. when they visit Alaska Fairbanks. Surf to GoSeawolves.com for links to live video and stats.