THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thur., Sept. 8 – 7 pm – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Saint Martin's (9-0, 0-0 GNAC) at #16 Alaska Anchorage (10-1, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Sat., Sept. 10 – 7 pm – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Western Oregon (4-4, 0-0 GNAC [9/8 @UAF]) at #16 Alaska Anchorage
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
PARKING: UAA permit or paid parking required. For details, surf to goseawolves.com/sports/2021/8/25/parking-information.aspx
LIVE VIDEO: youtube.com/c/UAASeawolves
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.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. (11.18 aps, .232 att%, 2.61 dps, 0.42 ace/set)
RS—Eve Stephens, 6-1, Sr. (4.84 kps, .409 att%, 2.45 dps, 0.58 bps)
OH—Lisa Jaunet, 5-10, Sr. (3.21 kps, .301 att%, 0.84 dps)
OH—Nicole Blue, 5-9, So. (2.29 kps, .288 att%, 1.08 dps, 0.39 bps)
MB—Isabel Evans, 6-3, So. (1.43 kps, .453 att%, 0.81 bps)
MB—Leilani Elder, 5-10, So. (1.32 kps, .379 att%, 0.73 bps)
L—Talia Leauanae, 5-8, Sr. (4.29 dps, 0.47 ace/set, 0.76 aps)
 
GNAC OPENERS ON TAP: The 16th-ranked Alaska Anchorage volleyball team gets under way with the 18-match Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule this week when they host unbeaten Saint Martin's on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center ... both contests start at 7 p.m. ADT.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: At 9-0, Saint Martin's is not only off to its fastest start in program history, the Saints are just one win shy of matching their most overall victories since the founding of the GNAC in 2001 ... the Lacey, Wash., program is led by Tia Allen (3.48 kps, .163 att%, 3.03 dps) and setter Karla Soto (9.69 aps, 2.38 dps) ... Western Oregon went 2-2 at both of its season-opening events, with all eight of its matches being neutral-court affairs ... the Wolves are led by Madison Hornback (2.70 kps, .251 att%, 2.50 dps) and Ella Nordquist (2.26 kps, .340 att%).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SMU: UAA leads 39-4 overall, 19-1 at UAA
Streak: UAA 27
Last: UAA 3-0 (11/20/21 at UAA)
Notes: UAA's 27-match win streak is the longest in program history against any opponent, though six of the last eight meetings have gone four or five sets (the Sept. 16, 2021 contest in Lacey was the first 5-setter in series history) ... the Seawolves have won 81 of 90 sets during the streak, which started in 2008 ... UAA has won 13 straight at home, including a 7-0 mark at the Alaska Airlines Center ... SMU swept the 2007 series with a pair of 3-0 wins ... UAA leads 36-4 in GNAC matches (since 2001) and 27-0 under Chris Green ... teams played first two matches as Pac West Conference opponents in 1998 and 1999.
 
vs WOU: UAA leads 28-15 overall, 14-7 at UAA
Streak: UAA 17
Last: UAA 3-0 (11/18/21 at UAA)
Notes: The Seawolves have swept the last four meetings – the longest such streak for either team in the series ... UAA has won eight straight in Anchorage, including all seven meetings at the Alaska Airlines Center ... WOU's last win was Oct. 20, 2012 at the UAA Sports Complex ... UAA leads 26-14 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) and 19-7 under head coach Chris Green (since 2008) ... series started in 1981 but teams did not play again until 1999.
 
INTO THE POLLS: The Seawolves remained in the AVCA Div. II Top 25 poll for the second straight week, moving up four spots to No. 16 in Tuesday's poll ... UAA is one of two GNAC teams in the rankings, along with No. 11 Western Washington, while Alaska Fairbanks, Central Washington and non-conference foe Point Loma are among teams receiving votes.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK: The Seawolves went 3-1 at last week's Ice Block Classic in Fairbanks to close the non-conference portion of their schedule ... UAA started with a 25-8, 25-21, 25-19 sweep of Findlay on Thursday behind 20 kills (.528) from tourney MVP Eve Stephens, plus 39 assists from Sr. S Ellen Floyd ... the Seawolves suffered their first loss Friday in a 3-2 (15-12) setback to previous unbeaten Florida Southern, despite career-highs of 31 kills from Stephens and 64 assists from Floyd ... UAA rebounded to sweep Black Hills State 25-13, 25-20, 25-19 later in the day, paced by 13 kills from Sr. OH Lisa Jaunet and 22 digs from Sr. L Talia Leauanae ... the finale was a 25-17, 25-15, 20-25, 25-20 triumph over Arkansas-Fort Smith, getting 19 kills (.383), 16 digs and a career-high-tying 6 aces from Stephens, plus 20 digs from Leauanae.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves' .332 team attack percentage leads the nation, along with top-25 ranks in assists  per set (10th, 13.11) and kills per set (14th, 14.03); UAA leads the GNAC in all three categories and is second in the league with 2.26 aces per set ... UAA's 8-0 start was the third-best in program history behind the 14-0 start of the 2015 GNAC title squad and the 10-0 start for the 1988 club... the -.033 attack percentage allowed against Hawaii Hilo was UAA's best defensive mark since holding Concord to -.082 hitting on Sept. 6, 2019 ... 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 are aiming for their 15th consecutive winning season, hoping to extend the program record that began with Chris Green's arrival at UAA in 2008 ... UAA is also on program-best streaks with 12 straight winning conference records and 12 straight top-4 GNAC finishes ... the Seawolves are 85-19 (.817) at the Alaska Airlines Center since its opening in Sept. 2014 and 132-31 (.810) at home since 2009; UAA has never lost three straight matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves are 23-18 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014 and 32-45 overall vs. ranked opponents under Green; prior to Green's arrival, UAA had lost 32 straight to ranked foes.
 
EVE OF DESTRUCTION: A three-time unanimous All-GNAC performer and two-time AVCA Second Team All-American, Sr. RS Eve Stephens continues to rack up numbers at a record-setting pace ... the career active kills leader in NCAA Div. II, Stephens was named the AVCA National Player of the Week and GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for her effort in Fairbanks, earning her ninth such league honor (No. 2 all-time) ... after producing 80 kills last week, she holds national ranks of 3rd in points per set (5.76) and 5th in kills per set (4.84), while her 0.55 aces per set rank 4th in the GNAC ... the Palmer (Colony HS) product has 33 double-doubles for her career, having led the GNAC in both kills and points per set in 2019 and 2020-21 ... with 1,905 points and 1,611 kills, Stephens has risen to the top two on both the UAA and GNAC career lists in each category; she broke the GNAC points record last week and needs just 17 kills to tie that mark this week ... on UAA's career lists, Stephens ranks 2nd in points (68 shy of record), 2nd in kills (80 shy of record), 2nd in kills per set (3.82), 7th in attack pct. (.291), 7th in block assists (303), 9th in total blocks (328) and 8th in victories (82) ... a star in the classroom as well, she is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 and 2021 Third Team Academic All-America honoree.
 
PLAY SOME FLOYD: A two-time All-GNAC selection and 2019 AVCA honorable mention All-American, Sr. S Ellen Floyd has led UAA to the best team attack percentage (.332) in NCAA Div. II thus far, while ranking 11th individually with 11.18 assists per set ... the co-MVP of the Seawolf Invitational, she holds early GNAC ranks of 2nd in assists per set, 12th in aces per set (0.42) and 19th in digs per set (2.61) ... having already broken the UAA career records for assists (4,149) and aces (83), Floyd has her sights on both GNAC marks, currently at 4th and 3rd on those respecive lists ... the Florida native has produced at least 35 assists in the last eight contests, helping UAA hit no lower than .240 as a team all season, and her 16 digs against Fort Smith were her fourth double-digit effort this year ... Floyd's 64 assists against Florida Southern were the most by a Seawolf since 2004 ... on UAA's career lists, Floyd currently sits 1st in assists (4,149) and aces (183), 3rd in assists average (9.69 aps), 3rd in aces per set (0.43), 9th in digs (1,120) and 7th in victories (84) ... with a 3.86 GPA in accounting, Floyd earned her third straight GNAC All-Academic nod last year and joined Eve Stephens to give UAA two of the eight selections to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Team.
 
SENIOR STRENGTH: One of three Seawolves in her fifth year in Green & Gold, Sr. L Talia Leauanae is producing her finest campaign to date ... the Hawaiian has posted double-digit digs in 10 of 11 matches, including a UAA season-high 25  against Florida Southern and 22 in the sweep of Black Hills State ... she also delivered 4 aces with no service errors  in wins over both Point Loma and Arkansas-Fort Smith ... with 5.35 digs per set last week in Fairbanks, Leauanae now holds GNAC ranks of 2nd in digs per set (4.29) and 8th in aces per set (0.47) ... on UAA's career lists, she stands 5th in total digs (1,201), 11th in digs per set (3.41) and 20th in aces per set (0.27) ... a former JC transfer, Sr. OH Lisa Jaunet appears twice as comfortable in her second season in Green & Gold, producing nearly one more kill per set and hitting 116 points higher than her .185 attack pct. from 2021 ... the St. Denis, France, native has had at least seven kills in each match and double figures in five contests, producing 10 on .563 hitting against Lubbock Christian, eight on career-best .667 hitting against Emmanuel and a career-high 25 to to lead the comeback win over Point Loma last week ... in the GNAC stats, Jaunet ranks 5th in kills per set (3.21), 8th in points per set (3.30) and 12th in attack pct. (.301).
 
MORE 'WOLF BITES: Third-year sophomore OH Nicole Blue has also shown marked improvement from her 2021 production, ripping at least five kills in every match and hitting at least .300 on six occasions ... the Southern Californian helped spark the comeback against Point Loma with 13 kills on .313 hitting, and she had 12 kills on .300 hitting in the win over Ark.-Fort Smith ... she also leads the Seawolves with a .966 reception pct., not committing a reception error over the last six matches ... Blue ranks 18th in the GNAC with a .288 attack pct. and 20h with 2.29 kills per set ... another pair of sophomores have taken over in the middle this year, with returnee Leilani Elder and JC transfer Isabel Evans combining for 2.75 kills per set on .425 hitting and 1.66 blocks per set ... Elder broke out with at least five kills and two blocks in all four matches of the Seawolf Invitational, averaging 1.64 kps on .425 hitting and 0.71 bps, highlighted by 6 kills on .600 hitting against Lubbock Christian ... meanwhile, Evans has recorded at least .250 hitting in 10 of 11 matches since transfering from Williston State College, including five .500-plus efforts ... the Montanan hit a  UAA season-best .714 with 10 kills against Florida Southern,  .600 in the win over Hawaii Pacific and .667 in the sweep of No. 25 Chaminade.
 
GREEN MACHINE: Having led UAA to an unprecedented 14 straight winning seasons and with more than 750 combined victories at the JC and D-II levels, UAA head coach Chris Green (296-114, .722) has established himself as the most successful coach in program history and one of the top mentors in the NCAA Div. II ranks, earning five GNAC Coach of the Year awards ('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 10 of the last 12 full seasons, capturing No. 1 seeds in 2015 and 2016, 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 .765 clip (205-63) since the start of the 2013 campaign, including .809 (123-29) in league play ... Green's UAA teams have produced nine All-Americans, five 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
ELLEN FLOYD
Seawolf Invitational co-Most Outstanding Player
Preseason All-GNAC Team
LISA JAUNET
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
EVE STEPHENS
AVCA D-II National Player of the Week, Aug. 30-Sept. 5
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Aug. 29-Sept. 4
Ice Block Classic MVP
Seawolf Invitational co-Most Outstanding Player
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Aug. 15-21
Preseason All-GNAC Team
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2022
INDIVIDUAL
Career
Most Assists — 4,149 by Ellen Floyd, 2018-current (old record: 3,920 by Morgan Hooe, 2013-16)
Most Aces — 183 by Ellen Floyd, 2018-current (extends record set in 2021)
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)