THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thursday, Sept. 18 — 6 pm ADT — Brougham Pavilion — Seattle, WA
Alaska Anchorage (9-1, 0-0 GNAC) at Seattle Pacific (5-3, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Sept. 20 — 11 am ADT — Alterowitz Gymnasium — Billings, MT
Alaska Anchorage at Montana State Billings (1-3, 0-0 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO: New this year, all UAA volleyball and basketball home contests and GNAC road contests are streamed through the new GNAC Network portal at Hudl – gnacnetwork.com/uaaseawolves ... fans can choose between a single event ($12), a 30-day subscription ($25) or a yearly subscription ($120).
 
LIVE STATS: Thursday at spufalcons.com/sidearmstats/wvball
                       Saturday at msubsports.com/sidearmstats/wvball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2025 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, So. (7.77 aps, 2.77 dps, 0.70 kps, .250 att%, 0.53 bps)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Jr. (2.85 kps, .212 att%, 3.00 dps, 0.58 bps)
OH—Tia Allen, 5-11, Sr. (2.93 kps, .189 att%, 3.30 dps, 0.30 ace/set)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-1, Fr. (2.19 kps, .207 att%, 0.87 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Jr. (1.38 kps, .236 att%, 1.08 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, So. (1.50 kps, .217 att%, 1.28 bps, 0.33 ace/set)
L—Madison Galloway, 5-4, Sr. (3.75 dps, 0.73 aps, 0.30 ace/set, .964 rec%)
 
GNAC'S BACK: After completing their non-conference season with a 9-1 mark, the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team travels to longtime rivals Seattle Pacific (Thur., 6 pm ADT) and Montana State Billings (Sat., 11 am ADT) this week to begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play ... the GNAC had one of its most successful non-league slates ever, going 49-26 overall and 46-10 by the top seven clubs.
 
THE SERIES...
vs SPU: UAA leads 35-32 overall, 17-16 in Seattle
Last: UAA 3-1 (10/31/24 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 2
Notes: UAA swept last year's season series for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons, winning each match in four sets ... UAA took 16 of 17 meetings between 2013-21 ... UAA leads 29-17 in GNAC matches (since 2001) ... first meetings came in 1991 as members of the Pac West ... SPU is UAA's third-most common opponent, trailing only MSU Billings (70 meetings) and UAF (120).
 
vs MSUB: UAA leads 59-11 overall, 28-6 in Billings
Last: UAA 3-0 (11/2/24 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 12
Notes: The Seawolves have won 27 of the past 28 meetings, including eight straight sweeps since the pandemic ...  MSUB's lone win over the last decade was a 3-1 upset in UAA's 2017 home finale ... teams have not played a 5-setter since 2008 ... UAA leads 28-6 since MSUB joined the GNAC in 2007 ... MSUB is UAA's second-most common opponent, trailing only UAF (120) … teams met twice per season every year from 1985-2000 as members of the Pac West.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Picked eighth in the GNAC preseason poll, Seattle Pacific got off to a 4-0 start before going 1-3 at last week's Nighthawk Classic in Nampa, Idaho ... SPU has gone 4-2 against West Region opponents so far, led by Fr. OH Megan Omlid (3.55 kps, .176 att%, 2.76 dps) and Jr. S Sophia Chambers (8.72 aps, 2.14 dps) ... picked last in the preseason poll, Montana State Billings will be trying to stop a 28-match GNAC losing skid when it hosts UAF on Thursday night ... the Yellowjackets are 0-2 against NCAA competition thus far, earning their win last week against Brandon (Manitoba) University ... MSUB is led by Addison Holcomb (2.53 kps, .051 att%, 2.73 dps) and Jordin Taulua (2.33 kps, .150 att%).
 
ROCKIN' THE BLOCK: Despite suffering its first loss of the season on Thursday, the Seawolves finished the non-conference season strong at last week's Ice Block Classic in Fairbanks, earning subsequent victories over Cal State San Bernardino and Rockhurst ... in the opener, Sr. OH Tia Allen had 17 kills and 12 digs, but the Seawolves lost 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23 to Rollins despite outhitting (.242 to .227) and outblocking (15-6) the Floridians ... on Friday, UAA bounced back behind 13 kills from Allen, a career-high 17 digs from Jr. OH Lee Ivakina, and 33 assists, 12 digs and 3 kills on .333 hitting from So. S Hannah Trotter in a 25-21, 25-20, 25-18 sweep of CSUSB ... So. MB Martina Riba added 6 kills on career-best .455 hitting and 4 block assists in the key West Region victory ... on Saturday, Ivakina had 12 kills, 11 digs and 5 block assists to outlast Rockhurst 25-20, 25-22, 26-28, 25-23, rallying from a 13-7 deficit in the fourth ... Fr. RS Emma Beck led UAA with 13 kills, while Riba had 9 kills on .429 hitting, 7 total blocks and 3 aces ... Allen was named to the Classic's all-tournament team.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves received 58 votes in this week's AVCA NCAA Div. II top-25 poll, putting them five spots out of the rankings ... UAA's 9-1 mark equals the program's third-best record after 10 matches, trailing only the 2015 (10-0) and 1988 (10-0) teams ... the Seawolves rank 22nd nationally in blocks per set (2.51) and 34th in opponent attack pct. (.132), while they are the only team in the GNAC allowing fewer than one ace per set (0.95) ... along with the last two matches last year, UAA's nine straight Alaska Airlines Center victories tie the second-longest streak since the arena's opening in 2014 ... the Seawolves' 16 regular-season home matches this year are 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 five times (2014, '15, '16, '17, '18, '24) and finishing second twice ... the Seawolves are 26-23 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, halting a six-match losing skid with their Aug. 29 win over No. 9 Chaminade ... the Seawolves are 113-27 (.807) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 160-39 (.804) at home since 2009.
 
TIP-TOP TIA: The Seawolves' lone representative on the GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team, Sr. OH Tia Allen has started the season with all-tournament honors at all three events, including the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and was the Most Outstanding Player award ... an honorable mention All-GNAC performer as a junior at UAA in 2024 and as a sophomore at Saint Martin's in 2022, the Clayton, Wash., native has already established a UAA career-best 18 kills against Cal State San Marcos and an overall career-high .462 attack pct against Minot State, producing double-doubles in four of 10 matches ... in the early GNAC stats, Allen is 10th in kills (2.94 kps), 12th in points (3.39 ppg) and 15th in digs (3.30) ... Allen is on the verge of becoming the 12th player in GNAC history (since 2001) to achieve career 1,000 marks in both kills (969) and digs (982), along with 100 aces (89).
 
MAD MONEY: UAA's lone fourth-year player, Sr. L Madison Galloway ranks 9th in the early GNAC stats with 3.75 digs per set ... 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 ... with last week's effort, the Pensacola, Fla., native moved into 10th place on UAA career digs list with 1,103, along with top-20 ranks in digs per set (18th, 2.99) and victories (t-18th, 68) ... Galloway has missed just one of 370 sets her entire career, taking over as UAA's full-time libero last season.
 
LEAPIN' LEE: The Seawolves have found a new full-rotation standout in Jr. OH Lee Ivakina (e-VOCK-in-ah), who premiered with all-tournament honors at both the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and Seawolf Invitational ... from Bulgaria via Navarro (Texas) College, Ivakina has posted double-doubles in five of her first 10 NCAA matches, including 13 kills and 13 digs against Biola and a 15/12 effort against Cal State San Marcos ... her 20 kills in the 5-set win over Hilo were five more than any Seawolf had in 2024 and just UAA's second 20-kill effort over the last three seasons ... Ivakina ranks 11th in the GNAC in both kps (2.85) and pps (3.40), along with 16th in dps (3.00).
 
'WOLF BITES: Jr. MB Bella Burney has been a consistent force at the net, ripping at least four kills and committing no more than three attack errors in each match thus far ... Burney leads UAA and ranks 10th in the early GNAC stats with a .236 attack pct and is 8th in blocks with 1.08 bps ... So. Martina Riba was an all-tourney performer at the Seawolf Invitational and recorded plus-.400 attack percentages in both of UAA's wins last week in Fairbanks ... the Barcelona native has registered at least six kills in eight of 10 matches and has made at least three total blocks in nine contests, currently ranking 5th in the league with 1.28 bps ... 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 ... a former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year from Kenai, Beck also had 13-kill efforts to propel wins over Cal State San Marcos and Rockhurst, while her 0.87 blocks per set rank 14th in the GNAC ... So. S Hannah Trotter is 5th in the GNAC with 7.77 assists per set, along with solid numbers of 2.77 dps and 0.53 bps ... Fr. S Johana Malikova ranks 7th in the league with 7.05 assists per set, dishing a season-high 45 in the win over San Marcos ... the Seawolves have found a new serving specialist in Jr. DS/OH Elena Hansen ... a transfer from Limestone, Hansen leads UAA and ranks 5th in the GNAC with 0.47 aces per set.
 
EYES ON MEISNER: Former Seawolf standout Stacie Meisner is in her third turn as UAA's head coach in 2025 ... Meisner has piloted the Seawolves to a 41-30 record, including a 16-12 overall mark and 5th-place Great Northwest Athletic Conference finish 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.
 
2025 Individual Honors
TIA ALLEN
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Invitational Most Outstanding Player
Ice Block Classic All-Tournament Team
MADISON GALLOWAY
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Aug. 25-31
LEE IVAKINA
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
MARTINA RIBA
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team