NAMPA, Idaho (Nov. 13) – Senior outside hitter Tia Allen had 14 kills and 20 digs Thursday as the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team used a balanced attack to earn its 20th victory, defeating Northwest Nazarene 25-16, 28-26, 22-25, 25-20 at the Johnson Sports Center.

The Seawolves (20-5, 11-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 31 assists and a career-high 20 digs from freshman setter Johana Malikova to earn a sweep of the season series and their 14th victory in the last 15 series meetings.

The Nighthawks (6-16, 5-10) got a match-high 23 kills from outside hitter Abby Black, but were outhit .224 to .144 and outdug 80-68.

"Our team showed its toughness again and got a really important conference road win in a difficult environment," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner. "When things don't go perfectly, they don't panic, and tonight they came back and played terrific volleyball in the fourth to close out the match."

One day after premiering at No. 3 in the NCAA Div. II West Region rankings, the Seawolves lived up to their billing in the opening set. UAA outhit the hosts .233 to .024 in the first, racing to the lead behind four kills from Allen.

The victory hinged on a second set that initially appeared to be another blowout, with UAA going ahead 21-14 on back-to-back errors by Black. NNU rallied to send the set to extra points, however, getting a pair of aces from Black during a 9-2 run. Despite being denied on three straight set points, the Seawolves would never surrender the lead and finally claimed a 2-0 advantage on back-to-back kills from Emma Beck and Bella Burney.

UAA made its own comeback in the third, rallying from a 14-7 hole to tie it 15-15, and eventually take the lead at 21-20 on an ace by Hannah Trotter. NNU stayed alive with a 5-1 surge, though, getting a kill from Black and two from Madi Smith.

Trailing 5-4 to begin the fourth, UAA outside hitter Lee Ivakina notched one of her 12 kills to spark a 6-0 run. The Seawolves did not trail again, although the Nighthawks came back to forge ties at 14-14 and 16-16. Trotter and Burney notched consecutive kills, Ivakina served an ace to make it 19-16, and Burney had another kill for a 21-16 edge. Freshman Trinity Byrne and sophomore Martina Riba kept the lead comfortable with kills of their own, and Allen ended it with a kill off the Nighthawks' block on match point.

Burney had 10 kills on .261 hitting and seven block assists, while Beck had 10 kills and six block assists. UAA also got a huge offensive boost from Byrne as the Post Falls, Idaho, native had three kills on .500 hitting and two block assists in the clinching set.

Senior libero Madison Galloway made 20 digs, and Riba finished with five kills and four block assists.

The Seawolves travel to Ellensburg, Wash., for their final regular-season road match Saturday, facing GNAC leader Central Washington (17-5, 13-2) at 6 p.m. AST. Find live links at GoSeawolves.com.