THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
at Augustana Classic — Sanford Pentagon — Sioux Falls, S.D.
Friday, Sept. 6
8:15 am ADT: Alaska Anchorage (1-2) vs Northwest Missouri State (0-0)
12:45 pm ADT: Alaska Anchorage vs South Dakota Mines
Saturday, Sept. 7
6 am ADT: Alaska Anchorage vs Northern State
10:30 am ADT: Alaska Anchorage at Augustana

LIVE VIDEO: nsicnetwork.com/goaugie
 
LIVE STATS: goaugie.com/sidearmstats/wvball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024 stats)
S—Kadyn Osborne, 5-10, Sr. (4.75 aps, 1.75 dps)
RS—Larssen Anderson, 6-0, Jr. (2.17 kps, .380 att%, 0.58 ace/set, 0.33 bps)
OH—Katie Birtcil-Tipton, 6-0, Sr. (2.42 kps, .179 att%, 3.08 dps)
OH—Tia Allen, 5-11, Jr. (1.50 kps, .148 att%, 2.00 dps)
OH—Bethany Tuchardt, 6-2, Sr. (2.08 kps, .221 att%, 0.42 bps)
MB—Leilani Elder, 5-10, Sr. (1.09 kps, .075 att%, 0.82 bps)
L—Madison Galloway, 5-4, Jr. (3.08 dps, 0.92 aps)
 
WEEKEND PREVIEW: With its first 13 matches away from home, the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team continues its road odyssey this week when it travels to Sioux Falls, S.D., for four non-conference matches at the Augustana Classic ... this will mark UAA's first appearance at the Sanford Pentagon since the Seawolves advanced to the NCAA Div. II Title Match at the 2016 Elite Eight.
 
THE SERIES...
vs Augustana: Tied 1-1
Last: Augie 3-1, 9/7/13 at UAA
Notes: Last meeting came at the 2013 UAA Invitational .. first meeting was a 3-2 UAA victory at the 2008 Concordia Classic in St. Paul, Minn. ... this will mark the first meeting in Sioux Falls.
 
vs NW Mo./SD Mines/Northern St.: First meetings
 
EARLY JUMP: The Seawolves were one of five NCAA Div. II teams to get an early start on the 2024 season last week, going 1-2 against Pacific West Conference foes at the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in Honolulu ... in the opener, UAA got 9 kills on .438 hitting from Jr. RS Larssen Anderson, but No. 12 Chaminade won a wild second set to earn a 25-15, 30-28, 25-15 sweep ... the Seawolves bounced back that night behind 10 kills on .533 hitting from Anderson to record a 25-10, 25-13, 14-25, 25-18 victory over Hawaii Pacific ... Sr. OH Katie Birtcil-Tipton had 8 kills and 13 digs, and Sr. OH Bethany Tuchardt had 8 kills as UAA outhit HPU .287 to .109 ... in the finale, Birtcil-Tipton had her first double-double as a Seawolf with 15 kills/18 digs, but Hawaii Hilo used a late 4th-set comeback to take it, 21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-11 ... Tuchardt had 14 kills and Sr. S Kadyn Osborne had 28 assists and 10 digs in the setback.
 
RED-HOT RETURN: After missing the majority of last season with a wrist injury and taking a redshirt season, Jr. RS Larssen Anderson made a solid return, earning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for her effort in Hawaii ... the Anchorage native averaged 2.17 kills and 2.92 points per set on .380 hitting in UAA's three matches at the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in Honolulu ... the former Dimond High star posted nine kills on .438 hitting in UAA's opening-day loss to No. 12 Chaminade, before powering a 3-1 victory over Hawaii Pacific with 10 kills on career-best .533 hitting and two aces later Thursday night ... Anderson finished the weekend with seven kills and a career-high four aces in Friday's 3-2 setback against Hawaii Hilo.
 
ELDER STATESWOMAN: Sr. MB Leilani Elder returns for her final campaign as the Seawolves' lone fourth-year senior in 2024 ... the Kansas City native brings career totals of 315 kills on .223 hitting and 199 total blocks into the season, ranking just outside UAA's top 20 in hitting percentage and blocks ... as a sophomore in 2022, Elder hit .281 and produced 1.30 kps for UAA's GNAC title team that finished No. 10 in the national rankings.
 
BACK-ROW VETS: UAA's most experienced position group is the back-row combo of Jr. L Madison Galloway and Jr. DS Sydney Johnson, who bring a combined five years of experience in the program ... Galloway recorded double-digit digs in 18 matches playing primarily DS last year, ranking 15th in the GNAC with 2.84 dps ... the Floridian also led UAA with a .947 serve percentage in 488 attempts and was second on the team in reception percentage (.935) by just .001 ... meanwhile, Johnson contributed to NCAA Tournament squads in 2021 and 2022 (as a redshirt) mainly thanks to her serving skills, and looks to expand her DS role further in 2024 ... playing in all 29 matches last year prior to a late-season injury, Johnson contributed 1.64 digs and 0.37 aces per set, highlighted by a six-ace outing against MSU Billings.
 
NEVER TOO MUCH TUCHARDT: UAA's lone pin hitter with at least one full season in a Seawolf uniform, Sr. OH Bethany Tuchardt (pronounced TOO-hart) started her NCAA career with double-digit kills in 17 matches last year ... the Washington native ranked second on the team and 14th in the GNAC with 2.53 kills and 2.84 points per set, and had UAA's fourth-most blocks per set at 0.56.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves are 25-23 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, now with a six-match losing skid after their loss to Chaminade ... UAA's 2024 records of 16-17 overall and 8-10 GNAC came agonizing close, but the program's strings of 15 straight winning seasons and 14 straight winning conference records were halted in 2023 ... the GNAC champions in 2022, UAA also saw a streak of 14 straight top-4 GNAC finishes come to an end ... the Seawolves are 102-24 (.810) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 149-36 (.800) at home since 2009.
 
EYES ON MEISNER: After six seasons as the program's top assistant, former Seawolf standout Stacie Meisner returns for her second turn as UAA's head coach in 2024 ... in her six years on former mentor Chris Green's staff, Meisner helped the Seawolves achieve a 119-42 record and NCAA Tournament appearances in four of the five seasons not affected by Covid ... UAA went a combined 74-20 in the GNAC during her assistant-coaching tenures, finishing no worse than third place and capturing the league title in 2022 ... Meisner began her collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant on UAA's 2011 club that went 18-9 and earned an NCAA berth ... she rejoined UAA in the same capacity in 2018 and was promoted to top assistant in 2019 ... UAA's starting libero from 2008-09, helping spark the program's turnaround; in 2009, she led UAA with 4.54 digs and 0.36 aces per set as the Seawolves won their first GNAC title, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and equaled the best record in school history at 23-8 ... an honorable mention All-GNAC and academic all-conference honoree, she finished No. 2 in digs per set (4.53) and No. 3 in aces per set (.357) on UAA's career lists ... also a JC star at Western Nebraska CC in 2006-07, Meisner graduated from UAA with magna cum laude honors in English in 2011, before earning her Master of Arts in English from UAA in 2015.
 
2024 Individual Honors
LARSSEN ANDERSON
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Aug. 25-31