ANCHORAGE – Senior rightside hitter Eve Stephens delivered a dominant effort with 21 kills Thursday to power Alaska Anchorage to a 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 sweep of Western Washington in a battle of nationally top-15 ranked volleyball teams at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The 14th-ranked Seawolves (15-1, 5-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 32 assists and 16 digs from senior setter Ellen Floyd as they snapped the visitors' 21-match conference winning streak and claimed the lone unbeaten record thus far in league play.

The 10th-ranked Vikings (8-4, 3-1) were led by nine kills and 13 digs from senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn, but the four-time defending GNAC champions were outhit .228 to .157 as they suffered their first 3-0 GNAC loss since falling to UAA in Bellingham on Nov. 14, 2015 – a streak of 103 matches without being swept.

"I thought we did a terrific job of playing with relentless effort, executing both offensively and defensively, and answering the bell in an emotional, big-time match," said UAA head coach Chris Green. "Eve showed again tonight why she is an All-American, using not only her power but also terrific finesse to rack up those huge kills numbers, and our defense was great, really frustrating their hitters at times."

After dropping the first four points of the match and trailing 17-15 late in the opening frame, the Seawolves responded with a 7-1 run to take the early advantage. Isabel Evans gave UAA a 24-20 edge with one of her five kills, and Stephens blasted the clincher on her team's third try at set point.

The Seawolves pulled away 16-10 in the second with six straight points, forcing a Vikings timeout after consecutive kills from Evans, Floyd and Stephens twice. WWU made a late surge to get within 21-18, but senior outside hitter Lisa Jaunet slammed two of her eight kills to make it 24-19, and UAA took the frame when Heilborn hit the ball long.

UAA got nine kills on .500 hitting from Stephens in the third, erasing a 11-8 deficit with a 5-0 run. Tied 19-19, Evans and Stephens connected for consecutive kills to grab the lead for good, and Stephens delivered her final kill on the third try at match point.

With 21 kills on a night where no other player achieved double figures, Stephens climbed within five kills of equaling UAA's career record of 1,691, set by Jen Szczerbinski from 1988-92. The Palmer (Colony HS) product hit .333 and added seven digs to help the Seawolves to a 56-50 advantage in that category.

Jaunet hit .318 and sophomore middle blocker Leilani Elder had five kills on match-best .400 hitting, while UAA got 12 digs from senior libero Talia Leauanae and a season-high 10 digs from sophomore defensive specialist Reilly Plumhoff.

The Seawolves take a seven-match winning streak into Saturday's 7 p.m. tilt against Simon Fraser (5-8, 2-2 GNAC) at the Alaska Airlines Center. Surf to GoSeawolves.com for tickets and live links.