SEATTLE – Seniors Eve Stephens and Lisa Jaunet combined for 33 kills and the 14th-ranked Alaska Anchorage volleyball team used a big fifth-set run Saturday to earn a 25-21, 25-17, 16-25, 24-26, 15-12 victory over Seattle Pacific at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

Fellow seniors Ellen Floyd and Talia Leauanae tallied 41 assists and 17 digs, respectively, for the Seawolves (14-1, 4-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), while Stephens had 20 kills, three aces and 11 digs on an afternoon when she became her program's career points leader.

Playing their fifth ranked opponent this season, the Falcons (3-9, 1-3) were led by 14 kills apiece from Ashley Antoniak and Maddie Pruden, but the hosts were outblocked 15-5 and hurt by 13 service errors, despite outdigging the Seawolves 70-61.

"That was a gritty win against a good team," said head coach Chris Green, who captured his 300th victory in his 15th season at UAA. "Our block came alive and helped us get the win, and our pin hitters did a good job offensively."

Having swept their first three GNAC contests, the Seawolves snapped a 19-19 tie late in the opening set on a kill by Stephens. A Leauanae ace helped forge a 23-21 advantage before Jaunet and Isabel Evans delivered consecutive kills to end it.

UAA dominated the second set behind Stephens, who ripped six kills on seven attacks. The Colony High School product would claim her program's career points record in the next frame, surpassing the 1,973 points by Jen Szczerbinski from 1988-92, and finishing the day at 1,981.

Despite the deficit, the Falcons came alive in the third and fourth sets, hitting .351 and .318 in those frames. UAA fought off three set points to tie the fourth at 24-24 on a kill by Nicole Blue, but SPU responded with kills from Hannah Hair and Antoniak to send it the distance.

The fifth was an ugly offensive effort by both teams, with UAA's block making the difference. The Seawolves had five stuffs in the final frame, leading to eight attack errors and one ball-handling error by the hosts. UAA built a 10-2 lead and hung on to claim match point on a kill by sophomore Leilani Elder.

Blue finished with seven kills on match-best .500 hitting, while Elder posted a career-high eight block assists and Evans had a career-best six block assists.

With the victory, UAA equals its best 15-match start to a season (14-1 in 2015 and 2016) and sets up a big home week at the Alaska Airlines Center. The Seawolves face currently 9th-ranked and defending GNAC and NCAA Div. II West Region champion Western Washington on Thursday, followed by fellow 2021 NCAA Tournament squad Simon Fraser on Saturday. Both contests start at 7 p.m. ADT, with tickets available at GoSeawolves.com.