ANCHORAGE (Sept. 26) – Senior Katie Birtcil-Tipton paced a balanced attack with 12 kills and 15 digs Thursday to help the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team win its home-opening match, 25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 25-15, over Saint Martin's at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (7-6, 1-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got nine kills apiece from Bethany Tuchardt, Bella Burney and Leilani Elder, while freshman setter Hannah Trotter had a flawless effort with two kills, three aces, 11 digs and a career-high 26 assists.

The Saints (3-8, 1-2) were led by Emily Garten's 18 kills on .400 hitting, but the rest of the visitors were held to a combined .085 attack percentage.

"I liked our resilience after we fell so far behind in the third set," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner, whose team enjoyed statistical edges attack percentage (.273 to .166), digs (80-65) and blocks (9-5). "Even though we still lost the set, we were able to get through that little dip and regain some momentum, which we capitalized on in the fourth."

Playing their first match at home after 12 away from the Alaska Airlines Center, the Seawolves surged late to take the opening set. Trailing 20-19, UAA got four straight assists from senior setter Kadyn Osborne – including a pair to Birtcil-Tipton – and used a 6-1 run to end it.

The Seawolves led 4-0 and 6-1 early in the second as they pulled away with .370 hitting in the frame.

UAA trailed 19-8 in the third before nearly completing an epic comeback. Burney and Avery Northcutt combined to block Emmy Hansen to slice the Saints' lead to 23-22, but Tia Allen and Birtcil-Tipton hit long on the final two points to set it to the fourth.

The visitors from Lacey, Wash., took a 5-3 early in the final set before the Seawolves pulled away. Elder and Birtcil-Tipton combined on a block that made it 14-8, and Sydney Johnson's second ace stretched it to a 20-10 advantage.

Playing against her old team, Allen finished with seven kills on .200 hitting and a UAA career-high 17 digs.

Elder led the match with five total blocks, and Osborne had 20 assists and 14 digs.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday to face Western Oregon in another 7 p.m. opening serve. The match will be pink-themed and sponsored by Aurora Integrative Oncology Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Surf to GoSeawolves.com for tickets and links to live video and stats.