ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (Sept. 16) – Bethany Tuchardt tallied a career-high 16 kills and the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team overcame a third-set hiccup Saturday to complete an unbeaten weekend, beating  tournament co-host Henderson State 25-23, 25-15, 9-25, 25-17 in the Reddie-Tiger Invitational at Duke Wells Center.

The Seawolves (9-7) also got 13 kills from senior Nicole Blue and 10 apiece from freshmen Bella Burney and Trinity Tatupu as they earned their second win of the day, along with a  3-0 morning sweep of Arkansas-Monticello (see recap below).

The Reddies (9-3) were led by 14 kills on .419 hitting from Violeta Mendoza Quintana, but the Great American Conference team saw its eight-match winning streak snapped.

"We came into this trip pretty banged up and with a lot of people having to play new roles or slightly out of position, so we're obviously extremely pleased with our results," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner. "Both of our true freshmen – Bella and Trinity – keep getting more comfortable with the speed of the game, and we also got a nice effort today from Sydney Johnson along the back row."

UAA forged the victory by taking the lone close set of the match, winning an opener that featured 14 ties and six lead changes. Tuchardt notched seven kills on .538 hitting in the frame, and Blue snapped a 22-22 tie with kills on three of the last four rallies.

After splitting the next two sets, UAA overcame an 11-10 deficit in the fourth to pull away. A transfer from Highline (Wash.) College, Tuchardt had six more kills in the fourth and finished with a .429 hitting percentage – her second .400-plus effort in the last three matches.

Burney hit a team-best .500, while Johnson – sliding into the main defensive specialist role – delivered career highs of 11 digs and four aces. Makana Eleneki had 30 assists and fellow junior setter Kadyn Osborne added 19 assists and four kills.

The match was UAA's 2023 non-conference finale and its first ever meeting against Henderson State.

The Seawolves return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday (6 pm ADT) at Western Washington.

SATURDAY MATCH 1: UAA 3, Arkansas-Monticello 0
Senior Nicole Blue had 11 kills and broke a program record with eight aces as the Seawolves blanked the Cotton Blossoms, 25-12, 25-15, 25-11 at the Duke Wells Center.

UAA outhit Monticello .306 to -.049 to record its seventh-best opponent attack percentage since NCAA volleyball went to rally scoring in 2001.

Sophomore libero Madison Galloway had a match-high eight digs and added three aces as the Seawolves served up 14 aces – their most since Oct. 22, 2019 – with nary an error.

Blue's eight aces were one off the overall school record (9 by Tegan Bosard vs Western New Mexico, 10/27/97) and broke the mark for any three- or four-set match since 2001.