THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
2022 NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships
Carver Gymnasium – Bellingham, Wash.
(All times listed AST)
Thursday, Nov. 17 – First Round
11 am: #5 Cal State San Bernardino (20-6) vs. #4 Cal Poly Pomona (23-5)
1:30 pm: #8 Chaminade (24-7) vs #1 Alaska Anchorage (27-2)
4 pm: #6 Sonoma State (21-8) vs #3 Cal State Los Angeles (21-6)
6:30 pm: #7 Central Washington (16-10) vs. #2 Western Washington (21-5)
Friday, Nov. 18 – Semifinals
4 pm: Sonoma/CSULA winner vs. CWU/WWU winner
6:30 pm: CSUSB/CPP winner vs Chaminade/UAA winner
Saturday, Nov. 19 – Final
6 pm: Semifinals winners (winner advances to national quarterfinals, Dec. 1 in Seattle)
 
LIVE VIDEO: All matches free at youtube.com/user/WWUVikingsAthletics/streams
LIVE STATS: Thursday at wwuvikings.com/sidearmstats/wvball
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAVolleyball Twitter feed for in-match updates
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2022 stats)
S—Ellen Floyd, 5-10, Sr. (10.06 aps, .249 att%, 2.94 dps, 0.47 bps, 0.45 ace/set)
RS—Eve Stephens, 6-1, Sr. (4.79 kps, .359 att%, 2.66 dps, 0.87 bps, 0.53 ace/set)
OH—Lisa Jaunet, 5-10, Sr. (2.82 kps, .238 att%)
OH—Nicole Blue, 5-9, So. (1.85 kps, .196 att%, 0.94 dps, 0.38 bps)
MB—Isabel Evans, 6-3, So. (1.13 kps, .266 att%, 1.02 bps)
MB—Leilani Elder, 5-10, So. (1.31 kps, .276 att%, 0.99 bps)
L—Talia Leauanae, 5-8, Sr. (3.77 dps, 0.46 ace/set, 0.60 aps)
 
WEST REGION PREVIEW: The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team aims for the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships title and an NCAA Elite Eight berth when it travels to Bellingham, Wash., for this week's eight-team event ... the top-seeded Seawolves face a rematch with 8th-seeded Chaminade (24-7) in the first round Thursday at 1:30 p.m., having defeated the Silverswords 25-15, 25-20, 25-22 on Aug. 20 in Honolulu ... should the Seawolves advance, they would play the winner of the Cal Poly Pomona/Cal State San Bernardino match on Friday, with the championship match set for Saturday night.
 
UAA NCAA HISTORY: UAA is making its eighth NCAA appearance in nine seasons and 11th in the last 13 seasons (not including the 2020 pandemic year) ... this marks UAA's 13th overall NCAA Tournament trip (1989, 1990, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021), with its overall record at 8-12 … the Seawolves earned their deepest by making the 2016 National Title Match and winning multiple matches for the first time that year ... the Seawolves have won three of their last five First Round matches and are 4-8 all-time in the opening round ... in 2021, UAA was seeded No. 8 and lost at top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino, 3-1, in the First Round.
 
SCOUTING THE 'SWORDS: Pacific West Conference champion Chaminade (24-7) comes into Thursday's match with eight straight wins, capturing its league title by four matches with a 19-1 mark ... with five players averaging at least 1.99 kills per set, the Silverswords feature a balanced offensive attack, led by Sasha Colombo (2.62 kps, .308 att%, 0.67 bps) and Lataisia Saulala (1.99 kps, .330 att%, 1.01 bps).
 
THE SERIES...
vs Chaminade: CU leads 14-13 overall, 5-1 on neutral courts
Streak: UAA 2
Last: UAA 3-0 (8/20/22 at CU)
Notes: With 27 meetings, CU is UAA's most common non-GNAC opponent, although this will mark the teams' first NCAA Tournament meeting ... UAA has won five of eight since Chris Green took over as head coach in 2008 ... the last nine meetings have also been played in Hawaii ... series started in 1989.
 
vs Cal Poly Pomona: CPP leads 8-2 overall, 3-1 neutral
Streak: UAA 2
Last: UAA 3-0 (9/5/15 at UAA)
Notes: Teams have never met in the NCAA Tournament and have played only twice (2013 & 2015) since 2001 ... series started in 1983, with Pomona taking the first eight meetings.
 
vs CSUSB: CSUSB leads 11-3 overall, 3-2 neutral
Streak: CSUSB 4
Last: CSUSB 3-1 (12/2/21 at CSUSB, NCAA 1st Rd.)
Notes: A meeting Friday would be the sixth NCAA Tournament meeting between the teams, with CSUSB having won first-round contests in 2011 and 2021, and second-round tilts in 2009, 2015 and 2019 ... UAA's last win was a 3-2 neutral-court victory in Rohnert Park, Calif., Sept. 8, 2016, during the Seawolves' NCAA Runner-up season ... series dates to 1993, though 11 of the 13 meetings have come since 2009.
 
STROLLIN' THE POLLS: The Seawolves are in the AVCA Div. II Top 25 poll for the 12th straight week and in the top 10 for the seventh week in a row, moving up to No. 4 on Monday ... the No. 4 ranking is UAA's highest ever in a regular-season poll ... UAA is one of two GNAC teams in the top 25, along with No. 8 Western Washington, while West Region foes Cal State San Bernardino (16), Cal State LA (19) and Cal Poly Pomona (20) are also in the rankings.
 
AVCA NCAA Div. II Top 25 Coaches Poll - Nov. 14
Rk School [1st-Pl. Votes]   Rec.  Pts.  LW
 1 MSU Denver [44]          25-1  1155  1
 2 Wayne State (Neb.) [2]   29-1  1141  2
 3 Concordia-St. Paul       24-4  1060  3
 4 Alaska Anchorage [1]     25-2   945  6
 5 Tampa                    24-3   873  4
 6 Minnesota Duluth         25-3   989  5
 7 St. Cloud State          23-5   748  8
 8 Western Washington       19-5   775  9
 9 West Texas A&M           27-4   757  11
10 Southwest Minnesota St.  23-5   855  7
16 Cal State San Bernardino 20-6   428  15
19 Cal State LA             21-6   321  18
20 Cal Poly Pomona          23-5   300  23
Receiving Votes: 27) Chaminade 72; 29) Central Washington 27.
 
GNAC CHAMPS: The Seawolves earned the program's fourth GNAC title – all outright – with last week's road sweeps of Western Oregon and Saint Martin's ... UAA's other titles came in 2009, 2015 and 2016, when the Seawolves advanced all the way to the NCAA Div. II National Title Match ... this marks the sixth league title in program history, along with the Continental Divide Conference crown in 1990 and a shared Pac West Conference title in 1992.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves' 2.39 aces per set and .274 team attack percentage rank 7th and 8th, respectively, in the NCAA Div. II national stats, along with top-60 ranks in blocks per set (28th, 2.28), opponent attack pct. (40th, .147), kills per set (55th, 13.10) and assists per set (56th, 12.09) ... UAA leads the GNAC in attack percentage, opponent attack pct., and aces, while ranking 2nd in digs (14.91) ... at 27-2, UAA has now tied the 2015 team for the second-most wins in program history and clinched no worse than a tie for the fewest losses ... the Seawolves' 13-0 home record was their first perfect mark since moving into the Alaska Airlines Center in 2014 and the program's first since going 14-0 at the UAA Sports Complex in 1989 ... UAA has held three opponents to negative hitting percentages this year, with the -.022 allowed vs. Western ranking as the third-lowest in 20 years of GNAC play ... UAA's .488 attack pct. against Emmanuel and the .427 mark against Lubbock Christian rank as the program's 2nd- and 5th-best hitting percentages since the rally-scoring era began in 2001 ... the Seawolves have claimed their 15th consecutive winning season, extending the program record that began with Chris Green's arrival at UAA in 2008 ... UAA has also clinched its 13th straight winning conference record and 13th straight top-4 GNAC finish ... the Seawolves have won a record 15 straight matches at the Alaska Airlines Center, improving to 94-19 (.832) since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014 and 141-31 (.820) at home since 2009 ... with a 3-0 mark this year, the Seawolves have improved to 25-18 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014 and 34-45 overall against ranked opponents under Green; prior to Green's arrival, UAA had lost 32 straight to ranked foes.
 
EVE OF DESTRUCTION: Now a four-time unanimous All-GNAC performer, Sr. RS Eve Stephens was also named Tuesday as the 2022 GNAC Player of the Year, winning the award unanimously in voting by the league's coaches ... and two-time AVCA Second Team All-American,  Stephens continues to increase her record-setting numbers as the GNAC and UAA all-time leader in both points (2,269) and kills (1,906) ... the active career kills leader in NCAA Div. II, Stephens is one of two players at any NCAA level with two AVCA National Player of the Week awards this season, while her seven GNAC player-of-the-week honors have boosted her to a league-record 14 for her career ... she holds national ranks of 2nd in points per set (5.83), 3rd in kills per set (4.79) and 30th in aces (0.53), while her .359 attack pct. is 46th nationally and fourth-best among pin hitters ... in the GNAC stats, she leads by a whopping 1.8 points and 1.3 kills per set over the No. 2 performer, along with ranks of 2nd in aces, 4th in attack pct., 14th in blocks (0.87 bps) and 17th in digs (2.66 dps)... the Palmer (Colony HS) product has 12 double-doubles this year and 39 for her career, having led the GNAC in both kills and points per set in 2019 and 2020-21 ... Stephens also holds UAA career ranks of 2nd in kills per set (3.94, 7th on GNAC list), 5th in attack pct. (.297), 3rd in aces (149, 8th on GNAC list), 3rd in block assists (359), 7th in total blocks (393), 4th in matches played (131), 4th in sets played (484) and 5th in victories (99) ... a star in the classroom as well, she is a two-time CSC Academic All-District 8 and 2021 Third Team Academic All-America honoree, currently sporting a 3.91 GPA in accounting.
 
PLAY SOME FLOYD: Now a three-time First Team All-GNAC selection and 2019 AVCA honorable mention All-American, Sr. S Ellen Floyd has led UAA to the 8th-best team attack percentage (.274) in NCAA Div. II, while ranking 41st individually with 10.06 assists per set ... the co-MVP of the Seawolf Invitational in August and a two-time GNAC Player of the Week, she holds GNAC ranks of 3rd in assists per set, 5th in aces per set (0.45) and 12th in digs per set (2.94, the most among GNAC setters) ... having already broken the UAA career record for assists (4,630) and the UAA and GNAC career marks for aces (212), Floyd enters Thursday 50 assists shy of the GNAC record (4,780, Kate Reome, CWU, 2001-04) ... the Florida native has produced at least 30 assists in 19 of 29 matches this year, helping UAA hit at least .225 on 20 occasions ... Floyd's 64 assists against Florida Southern were the most by a Seawolf since 2004, and she has produced double-digit digs in 13 matches, including a career-high 24 in the sweep of CWU ... the NCAA's active career aces leader, Floyd holds current UAA ranks of 1st in assists and aces, 3rd in assists average (9.65 aps), 3rd in aces per set (0.43), 5th in digs (1,315), t-2nd in victories (101), 3rd in matches played (133) and 3rd sets played (490, also a GNAC record) ... an classroom star as well, Floyd earned her fourth straight GNAC All-Academic nod this year and joined Eve Stephens last season to give UAA two selections to the Academic All-District 8 Team.
 
SENIOR STRENGTH: One of three Seawolves in her fifth year in Green & Gold, Sr. L Talia Leauanae has produced her finest campaign to date, earning honorable mention All-
GNAC accolades ... the Hawaiian has posted double-digit digs in 22 of 29 matches, including a UAA season-high 25 against both Western Washington and Florida Southern ... she also delivered 4 aces with no service errors in wins over both Point Loma and Arkansas-Fort Smith, and a career-high 6 aces against Northwest Nazarene ... Leauanae holds GNAC ranks of 5th in digs per set (3.77) and 4th in aces per set (0.46) ... on UAA's career lists, she stands 3rd in total digs (1,415, most by a Seawolf in the rally scoring era), 10th in digs per set (3.42), 8th in aces (124) and 17th in aces per set (0.30)... a former JC transfer, Sr. OH Lisa Jaunet has looked twice as comfortable in her second season in Green & Gold, also earning an honorable mention All-GNAC nod ... the St. Denis, France, native has had at least six kills in all but one match and double figures in 11 contests, including a career-high 25 to lead the comeback win over Point Loma ... in the GNAC stats, Jaunet ranks 8th in kills per set (2.82), 16th in points per set (2.97) and 17th in attack pct. (.238), while she is 17th on UAA's career list for kills per set (2.65).
 
MORE 'WOLF BITES: Third-year sophomore OH Nicole Blue has also shown marked improvement from her 2021 production, ripping at least five kills in 22 of 29 matches and hitting at least .300 on nine occasions ... the Southern Californian helped spark the comeback against Point Loma with 13 kills on .313 hitting, and she had a combined 16 kills on .469 hitting in the road wins at MSUB and SPU ... So. MB Leilani Elder has tallied four or more kills in 17 or her last 22 appearances and multiple blocks in 22 of 25 overall outings, topping out with career highs of 8 kills at Northwest Nazarene and 11 points (7K/3BS/2BA) against UAF ... the Kansas City native ranks 11th in the GNAC with 0.99 blocks per set ... Jr. MB Isabel Evans has risen to 9th in the GNAC with 1.02 blocks per set, boosted by a career-high 7 block assists at Central Washington and against Seattle Pacific ... So. DS Reilly Plumhoff has registered 15 aces over the last 10 matches, giving her 10 multi-ace performances this year ... the Dimond HS product ranks 11th in the league with 0.36 aces per set.
 
GREEN MACHINE: Having now led UAA to an unprecedented 15 straight winning seasons and with more than 750 combined victories at the JC and D-II levels, UAA head coach Chris Green (313-115, .731) 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 sixth GNAC Coach of the Year award in 2022 ('09, '13, '15, '16, '19) ... 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 11 of the last 13 full seasons, capturing No. 1 seeds in 2015, 2016 and 2022, 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 .776 clip (222-64) since the start of the 2013 campaign, including .824 (140-30) in league play ... Green's UAA teams have produced nine All-Americans, six 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.
 
2022 Individual Honors
NICOLE BLUE
GNAC All-Academic Team
MAKANA ELENEKI
GNAC All-Academic Team
ELLEN FLOYD
First Team All-GNAC
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Oct. 31-Nov. 6
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Oct. 3-9
Seawolf Invitational co-Most Outstanding Player
Preseason All-GNAC Team
LISA JAUNET
All-GNAC Honorable Mention
GNAC All-Academic Team (4.00 GPA)
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
TALIA LEAUANAE
All-GNAC Honorable Mention
GNAC All-Academic Team
REILLY PLUMHOFF
GNAC All-Academic Team
EVE STEPHENS
GNAC Player of the Year (unanimous)
First Team All-GNAC
AVCA D-II National Player of the Week, Oct. 18-24
AVCA D-II National Player of the Week, Aug. 30-Sept. 5
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Oct. 31-Nov. 6
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Oct. 17-23
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Oct. 3-9
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 19-25
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 12-18
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Aug. 29-Sept. 4
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Aug. 15-21
Ice Block Classic MVP
Seawolf Invitational co-Most Outstanding Player
GNAC All-Academic Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2022
INDIVIDUAL
Career
Most Points — 2,269 by Eve Stephens, 2018-current (old record: 1,973 by Jen Szczerbinski, 1988-90, 1992)
Most Kills — 1,906 by Eve Stephens, 2018-current (old record: 1,691 by Jen Szczerbinski, 1988-90, 1992)
Most Attacks — 4,780 by Eve Stephens, 2018-current (old record: 4,511 by Jen Szczerbinski, 1988-90, 1992)
Most Assists — 4,730 by Ellen Floyd, 2018-current (old record: 3,920 by Morgan Hooe, 2013-16)
Most Aces — 212 by Ellen Floyd, 2018-current (extends record set in 2021)
Match
Most Kills (rally-scoring era/since 2001) — 33 by Eve Stephens at Western Washington, 10/22 (old record: 32 by Rhea Cardwell at Central Washington, 11/13/08)
TEAM
Match
Highest Attack Pct. vs. Non-Conference Opponent, Rally-Scoring Era (since 2001) — .488 (46-4-86) vs Emmanuel, Ga., 8/26 (old record: .444 vs Concord, 9/6/19)
Fewest Blocks Allowed — 0 at Hawaii Pacific, Aug. 19 (ties record last accomplished vs. Northwest Nazarene, 10/9/21)
MISC.
Largest Home Crowd: 3,888 vs Central Washington, 11/5 (old record: 2,710 vs Western Washington, 12/3/16; also breaks NCAA Div. II regular-season attendance record of 3,520, Omaha at Neb.-Kearney, 10/15/96)