ANCHORAGE (Aug. 28) – Junior outside hitter Lee Ivakina had 20 kills and freshman Bailee Tucker delivered five of her 11 kills in the fifth set Thursday to lift the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 16-25, 15-10 victory over Hawaii Hilo in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge, presented by Alaska Airlines.

The Seawolves (2-0) also got a career-high 48 assists and four kills from sophomore setter Hannah Trotter as they outhit the visitors .400 to .083 in the deciding frame.

The Vulcans (0-1) put four players in double-figure kills, led by 16 kills and 21 digs from outside hitter Alohi Garcia and 48 assists from setter Emerson Reinke.

"We started out strong and then hit a dip in the middle of the match, but we showed tremendous resilience to finish it off against a very good team," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner. "That was a gritty win and a total team effort."

The Seawolves controlled the opening set after splitting the first 10 points, never letting the Vulcans closer than 20-17 in the latter stages, and getting a pair of late kills from Ivakina to clinch it.

UAA played from behind throughout the second frame, digging its way out of a 9-1 hole to eventually win it. The Seawolves trailed 22-18 when Meisner subbed in new serving specialist Elena Hansen to spark the final surge. After four straight Hilo attack errors, Hansen served an ace, followed by a kill from Tia Allen to make it 24-22. The visitors survived the next point before Garcia committed another attack error on set point.

The Seawolves had a chance for the sweep, but the Vulcans pulled out a third set that featured 13 ties and three lead changes. UAA rallied for ties at 23-23 and 24-24 on an ace from libero Madison Galloway and a kill from Ivakina, but could never claim the advantage as Hilo's Malu Garcia delivered back-to-back kills to keep the match alive.

The Vulcans dominated the fourth set and started strong in the fifth with a 5-2 lead before the hosts took control for good. Tucker – a rightside hitter from Layton, Utah – ripped kills on three of the next four rallies to start a 6-0 Seawolf run before the teams switched sides. Hilo drew back within 11-10 on a kill from Malu Garcia, but UAA finished with a 4-0 run to end the match, getting a block from Tucker and Bella Burney for a 13-10 edge and another kill from Tucker on match point.

Ivakina added 16 digs as the Bulgarian and Navarro (Texas) College transfer recorded her first double-double as a Seawolf, hitting .237 on the night.

Allen had eight kills and a career-high 24 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Martina Riba notched six kills and a career-high seven total blocks.

Trotter also had 18 digs, while Galloway finished with 22 digs, 44-of-45 receiving and two aces.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center on Friday for a 1 p.m. tilt against No. 9 Chaminade (0-1) in their next Alaska/Hawaii Challenge match. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.