ANCHORAGE (Oct. 12) – Outside hitters Tia Allen and Katie Birtcil delivered 12 kills and 19 digs apiece, but the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team could not complete an upset bid of league-leading Central Washington, which prevailed 26-24, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (10-8, 4-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got a career-high-tying 11 kills from Leilani Elder as their three-match winning streak was halted.

The Wildcats (9-4, 7-0) – who won despite being outhit .234 to .198 – were led by 20 kills on .372 hitting from outside hitter Marianna Payne.

"We executed at a high level and played some of our best volleyball of the season tonight," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner, whose club became just the second GNAC team to take a set from Central Washington this year. "But we committed too many service errors (17), and credit to Central for executing down the stretch."

In a match that featured 40 tie scores, the Seawolves had their chance to take control in the first set, going up 23-22 on a kill by Larssen Anderson, and earning set point on a Wildcat attack error. But Emma Daoud-Hebert and Ellie Marble delivered consecutive kills to tie it, and the visitors ended with a 4-0 run on another kill by Daoud-Hebert.

A block by Birtcil and Bella Burney gave UAA a 10-9 lead in the second which it would not relinquish. The Seawolves pulled away at 19-14 and 21-16 on a kill and an ace by Anderson, and were never threatened as they outhit the Wildcats .257 to .000 in the frame.

The third set featured 12 kills and five lead changes, and the fourth had 10 ties and five lead changes, with the Wildcats taking control late both times.

Trailing 23-22 in the fourth after a timeout, UAA got a tying kill from Birtcil, however Payne smashed kills on the next two rallies to end the match.

A transfer from Saint Martin's, Allen had her best hitting effort as a Seawolf with a .389 attack percentage, while recording her team-high sixth double-double.

Elder hit .500, and Burney finished with six kills on .300 hitting and a career-high-tying six total blocks.

Anderson had seven kills, Bethany Tuchardt had six kills, and junior libero Madison Galloway collected 15 digs. UAA's setting combo of Kadyn Osborne and Hannah Trotter accounted for 44 assists and 17 digs.

The Seawolves conclude the first half of the GNAC slate Thursday at Alaska Fairbanks, with opening serve at 7 p.m. Find links to live video and stats at GoSeawolves.com.