THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
2025 NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships
Golden Gymnasium – San Diego, Calif.
(All times listed as Alaska Standard)
Thursday, Dec. 4 – First Round
10 am: #6 Western Washington (19-6) vs #3 Fresno Pacific (25-1)
12:30 pm: #7 Central Washington (18-7) vs #2 Simon Fraser (20-4)
3:30 pm: #8 Cal State San Bernardino (22-5) vs #1 Point Loma (24-4)
6 pm: #4 Alaska Anchorage (23-5) vs #5 Alaska Fairbanks (23-5)
Friday, Dec. 5 – Semifinals
3 pm: WWU/FPU winner vs CWU/SFU winner
6 pm: UAF/UAA winner vs. CSUSB/PLNU winner
Saturday, Dec. 6 – Final
6 pm: Semifinals winners (winner advances to national quarterfinals)
 
LIVE VIDEO: https://www.ncaa.com/game/6530132 (free)
LIVE STATS: plnusealions.com/sidearmstats/wvball
TICKETS: plnusealions.universitytickets.com
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2025 stats)
S—Johana Malikova, 5-10, Fr. (7.85 aps, 2.62 dps, 0.36 bps)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Jr. (3.20 kps, .198 att%, 2.83 dps, 0.52 bps)
OH—Tia Allen, 5-11, Sr. (3.25 kps, .218 att%, 3.26 dps, 0.36 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-1, Fr. (2.16 kps, .217 att%, 0.82 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Jr. (1.75 kps, .288 att%, 1.00 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, So. (1.50 kps, .223 att%, 1.18 bps, 0.25 ace/set)
L—Madison Galloway, 5-4, Sr. (4.01 dps, 0.91 aps, 0.29 ace/set, .954 rec%)
 
BACK IN THE DANCE: The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team returns to the postseason for the first time since 2022 and the first time under head coach Stacie Meisner when the 4th-seeded Seawolves meet 5th-seeded Alaska Fairbanks in the first round of the NCAA Div. II West Region Championships in San Diego on Thursday ... should it advance, UAA would play the winner between Cal State San Bernardino and Point Loma in Friday's regional semifinal ... the winner of Saturday's regional final advances to the NCAA Elite Eight national quarterfinal round, Dec. 11-13 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
 
WHERE THE PARTY'S AT: Local fans are invited to the Seawolves' NCAA watch party Thursday and every subsequent night at Buffalo Wild Wings (3400 C Street) in Anchorage.
 
THE SERIES...
vs UAF: UAA leads 80-42 overall, 1-0 neutral
Last: UAF 3-1 (10/31/25 at UAA)
Streak: UAF 4
Notes: UAF's win streak is its longest since taking five in a row from 2006-08 ... teams have never played in NCAA Tournament and have met just three times in the postseason, all coming in Pac West Conference tourney play in the mid-90s... UAA leads 9-1 at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014) ... UAA leads 32-15 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) ... teams have played at least twice per season since 1980.
 
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Ranked No. 16 in the AVCA Div. II national poll and part of the historic four-way GNAC title deadlock, Alaska Fairbanks is making its program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025 ... the Nanooks, who played virtually the exact same schedule as the Seawolves, are led by first-team All-GNAC performers Mikala Henderson (2.84 kps, .238 att%, 2.42 dps) and Tessa Onaga (4.52 dps).
 
UAA NCAA HISTORY: UAA is making its eighth NCAA appearance in nine seasons and 12th in the last 16 seasons ... this marks UAA's 14th overall NCAA Tournament trip (1989, 1990, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022), with its overall record at 8-13 … the Seawolves earned their deepest by making the 2016 National Title Match and winning multiple matches for the first time that year ... the Seawolves are 4-9 all-time in the opening round, looking to snap a two-match losing streak.
 
TEAM NOTES: After weeks on the periphery, the Seawolves have finally broken into the AVCA NCAA Div. II top-25 poll at No. 24 ... UAA has clinched the program's 17th winning record in the last 18 seasons and the 17th 20-win record in 46 years of program history ... at 23-5, the Seawolves have tied the eighth-most wins for a UAA club ... UAA's 13-1 mark equaled the program's second-best record after 14 matches, along with the 2016 and 2022 GNAC title squads ... the Seawolves rank top 100 (of 275 teams) nationally in every primary stats category ... UAA leads the GNAC defensively with 1.20 aces allowed per set ... UAA's 11 straight Alaska Airlines Center victories – from Nov. 21, 2024 to Sept. 27, 2025 – were the second-longest streak since the arena's opening in 2014 ... the Seawolves' 16 regular-season home matches this year were the most in 11 seasons of play at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA has finished top 10 nationally in average attendance every season since 2014, leading NCAA Div. II six times (2014, '15, '16, '17, '18, '24) and finishing second twice ... the Seawolves are 29-26 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, including a 4-3 mark this year ... the Seawolves are 120-29 (.804) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 167-41 (.802) at home since 2009.
 
TIP-TOP TIA: An honorable mention All-GNAC performer as a junior at UAA in 2024 and as a sophomore at Saint Martin's in 2022, Sr. OH Tia Allen has ascended to First Team All-GNAC status in her final go-round ... Allen has produced double-doubles in 17 of 28 matches, including 13 of 18 GNAC contests, and captured GNAC Player of the Week honors for her heroics at NNU and CWU in early November ... in the GNAC stats, Allen is 8th in kills (3.24 kps), 9th in points (3.69 pps) and 14th in digs (3.32 dps) ... the Clayton, Wash., native established her collegiate career high with 23 kills at Saint Martin's, notching 15-plus kills on nine occasions this year ... Allen is the 12th player in GNAC history (since 2001) to total career 1,000 marks in both kills and digs, along with 100 aces, and only the second GNAC player to reach 1200/1200/100 totals (1221/1228/108) ... the Seawolves' representative on the GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team started the year with all-tournament honors at all three non-conference events, including the Most Outstanding Player award at the Seawolf Invitational.
 
MAD MONEY: UAA's lone fourth-year player and an honorable mention All-GNAC selection, Sr. L Madison Galloway stands 8th in the league stats with 4.03 digs per set ... Galloway has registered double-figure digs in 24 of her 27 matches, 20-plus in five of her last nine, and holds a current streak of 13 straight matches with at least 15 digs ... Galloway earned an all-tourney award and her first career GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honor after posting 4.24 dps and registering a .978 (88-of-90) serve-receive on opening weekend, and repeated her GNAC DPOW award with outstanding efforts at No. 20 WWU and No. 7 SFU (career-high 27 digs, 45-of-45 serve-receive) ... the Pensacola, Fla., native has also moved into 4th place on the UAA career digs list with 1,396, along with top-20 ranks in digs per set (16th, 3.18), sets played (9th, 439), matches played (t-16th, 118) and victories (t-10th, 81) ... Galloway has missed just one match her entire career, taking over as UAA's full-time libero last season.
 
LEAPIN' LEE: Jr. OH Lee Ivakina (e-VOCK-in-ah) emerged as one of the most consistent all-around forces in the West Region in her first season as a Seawolf, earning First Team All-GNAC honors ... since premiering with all-tournament honors at both the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and Seawolf Invitational, the Bulgarian has posted double-doubles in 15 of her first 28 NCAA matches, including a 15K/14D effort against Western Oregon, 19K/16D to propel the win at No. 7 Simon Fraser, and 25K/10D in the victory over No. 14 Western Washington ... the Navarro (Texas) College transfer ranks 9th in the GNAC in kills (3.24 kps), 8th in points (3.71 pps), and 19th in digs (2.80 dps).
 
'WOLF BITES: Jr. MB Bella Burney has been a consistent force at the net, ripping at least five kills in all but two contests ... the Tumwater, Wash., product leads UAA and ranks 7th in the GNAC stats with a .286 attack pct., while she's also 10th in the league with 0.98 blocks per set ... Burney has moved into UAA's career top 20 in both block assists (12th, 230) and total blocks (15th, 251) ... So. Martina Riba was an all-tourney performer at the Seawolf Invitational and recorded plus-.400 attack percentages in both of UAA's non-conference wins in Fairbanks ... the Barcelona native has registered at least six kills in 18 matches, while hitting over .300 in 10 contests ... Riba leads UAA and ranks 5th in the GNAC (35th nationally) with 1.15 blocks per set ... Fr. RS Emma Beck delivered UAA's best attack pct (min. 12 kills) since Sept. 15, 2023 with her .520 (14-1-25) effort against Biola, and bettered that with a .538 (8-1-13) mark at MSUB ... a former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year from Kenai, Beck ranks 19th in the GNAC in both blocks (0.79 bps) and attack pct. (.230) ... Beck has produced at least six kills in 19 of the last 21 matches and double-figure kills 13 times in her first season ... Fr. S Johana Malikova ranks 4th in the league with 7.99 assists per set, while So. S Hannah Trotter is 5th with 7.21 aps ... Jr. DS/OH Elena Hansen has emerged as a key rotation piece in her first year with the program ... a transfer from Limestone, Hansen ranks 4th in the GNAC with 0.37 aces per set, while producing 1.58 digs per set as well.
 
EYES ON MEISNER: In her third season as head coach, former Seawolf standout Stacie Meisner joined an elite club as the 2025 GNAC Coach of the Year ... Meisner has piloted the Seawolves to a 55-34 overall record – improving UAA's marks this year and last – and led UAA to a share of the GNAC title ... 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.
 
2025 Individual Honors
TIA ALLEN
First Team All-GNAC
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Nov. 10-16
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Invitational Most Outstanding Player
Ice Block Classic All-Tournament Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
GNAC All-Academic Team
BELLA BURNEY
GNAC All-Academic Team
MADISON GALLOWAY
Honorable Mention All-GNAC
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Aug. 25-31
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Oct. 6-12
GNAC All-Academic Team
LEE IVAKINA
First Team All-GNAC
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
STACIE MEISNER
GNAC Coach of the Year
MARTINA RIBA
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
HANNAH TROTTER
GNAC All-Academic Team