THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Seawolf Invitational
Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
(all times Alaska Daylight Time)
Thursday, Sept. 4
4 pm: Cal State San Marcos (0-0) vs Alaska Fairbanks (3-1)
7 pm: Biola (0-0) vs Alaska Anchorage (4-0)
Friday, Sept. 5
9:30 am: Minot State (0-0) vs Cal State San Marcos
Noon: Alaska Fairbanks vs Biola
5 pm: Biola vs Minot State
7:30 pm: Cal State San Marcos vs Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, Sept. 6
9 am: Minot State vs Alaska Fairbanks
11:30 am: Biola vs Cal State San Marcos
2 pm: Minot State vs Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: New this year, all UAA volleyball and basketball contests will be 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: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/wvball
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2025 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, So. (7.00 aps, 2.93 dps, 0.47 bps, 0.73 kps)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Jr. (2.88 kps, .220 att%, 2.65 dps, 0.41 bps)
OH—Tia Allen, 5-11, Sr. (1.94 kps, .110 att%, 3.41 dps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-1, Fr. (1.38 kps, .188 att%, 0.75 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Jr. (1.35 kps, .222 att%, 1.18 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, So. (1.29 kps, .100 att%, 1.06 bps)
L—Madison Galloway, 5-4, Sr. (4.24 dps, 0.54 aps, .978 rec%)
 
HOME CHALLENGES: UAA looks to continue its hot start with three matches in the Seawolf Invitational at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves face a pair of fellow NCAA West Region foes, playing Biola on Thursday and Cal State San Marcos on Friday, before closing the tourney Saturday with an out-of-region match against Minot State.
 
THE SERIES...
vs Biola: UAA leads 3-1 overall, 2-0 in Anchorage
Last: BU 3-0 (9/9/23 at UAF) / Streak: BU 1
Notes: This will mark the teams' third meeting in the Seawolf Invitational, with UAA winning 3-1 UAA in 2019 (first series meeting) and 3-2 in 2021.
 
vs CSUSM: UAA leads 2-0 overall (first meeting Anchorage)
Last: UAA 3-1 (9/12/19 at CSUSB)
Notes: First two meetings were both at the NCAA D2 West Region Showcase, in 2018 (UAA won 3-2 at Concordia Irvine) and 2019 (UAA 3-1 at Cal State San Bernardino).
 
vs Minot State: First meeting
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Biola, from Los Angeles, is picked sixth of 13 teams in the Pacific West Conference preseason poll ... the Eagles return six starters from last year's team that went 9-19 overall and 7-13 (10th of 14) PWC ... Cal State San Marcos is picked seventh of 12 teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association poll ... the Cougars are looking to improve on records of 9-16 overall and 7-11 (8th) CCAA ... Minot State, from North Dakota, is picked last in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference poll ... the Beavers are trying to improve on 2024 marks of 2-25 overall/0-16 NSIC.
 
CHALLENGE CHAMPS: The Seawolves got off to a perfect start with a 4-0 record at home in last week's Alaska/Hawaii Challenge, presented by Alaska Airlines ... after rolling to a 25-18, 25-19, 25-13 sweep of Hawaii Pacific in the opener, the Seawolves passed their first big test Thursday night with a 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 16-25, 15-10 squeaker over Hawaii Hilo, led by 20 kills and 16 digs from Jr. OH Lee Ivakina ... So. S Hannah Trotter (48 assists), Sr. OH Tia Allen (24 digs) and So. MB Martina Riba (7 blocks) all recorded career highs as UAA outhit the Vulcans .400 to .083 in the final frame ... on Friday, Allen had 12 kills and Sr. L Madison Galloway made 22 digs to help earn UAA's first win over a ranked team since 2022, defeating No. 9 Chaminade 26-24, 20-25, 25-23, 25-27, 15-7 ... Ivakina had 10 kills and Fr. RS Bailee Tucker finished with nine kills and seven blocks assists to help UAA to another dominant fifth-set effort (.500 to -.154) ... Ivakina recorded her second double-double in Saturday's championship match against Hilo with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Galloway collected 19 digs in the 26-24, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 victory ... Allen and Galloway were both named to the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team.
 
TEAM NOTES: 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 110-27 (.803) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 157-39 (.801) at home since 2009.
 
TIP-TOP TIA: The Seawolves' lone representative on the GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team, Sr. OH Tia Allen started the season with all-tournament honors in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge, posting 1.94 kps and 3.41 dps in UAA's four victories ... 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 is closing in on career 1,000 marks in both kills (885) and digs (908), while also needing just 20 more aces to reach 100 in that category.
 
MAD MONEY: UAA's lone fourth-year player, Sr. L Madison Galloway picked up 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 22 digs in the win over No.9 Chaminade, the Pensacola, Fla., native became the 18th Seawolf to reach 1,000 digs ... Galloway currently stands 15th on the program list, about to pass both of her coaches in Stacie Meisner (1,028, 2008-09) and Morgan Hooe (1,032, 2013-16), and needing just 60 more to reach the top 10 ... Galloway has missed just one of 347 sets her entire career, taking over as UAA's full-time libero last season and ranking fifth in the GNAC with 4.07 dps.
 
BIG BLOCKS BACK: The Seawolves' middle blocking duo of Jr. Bella Burney and So. Martina Riba combined for 2.24 blocks per set on opening weekend, helping the Seawolves hold their Hawaii foes to a combined .107 attack pct. ... Burney averaged 1.19 kps on .215 hitting and was second on the team (18th GNAC) with 0.81 bps in 2024, playing primarily on the right side ... one of three Europeans on this year's squad, Riba (Llagosetera, Spain) saw action in 10 matches as a true freshman, showing promise with 8 kills on .400 hitting in a road win over Northwest Nazarene and posting 4 blocks in a sweep of MSU Billings.
 
LEAPIN' LEE: The Seawolves have found a new full-rotation standout in Jr. OH Lee Ivakina, who premiered with a team-high 2.88 kps on .220 hitting in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge, along with 2.65 dps and seven total blocks ... from Bulgaria via Navarro (Texas) College, Ivakina had double-doubles in the both victories over Hawaii Hilo ... her 20 kills in Thursday's 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.
 
SET FOR SUCCESS: UAA features three talented setters in 2025, with redshirt sophomore Hannah Trotter the lone returner ... Trotter played in 99 of 101 sets last season, averaging 3.98 assists and 2.06 digs in a '6-2' system ... the Wisconsin native also led UAA with 0.39 aces per set (7th GNAC) ... redshirt freshman Anna McWhorter joined the program last spring as a transfer from fellow NCAA D-II program Nebraska-Kearney, while true freshman Johana Malikova brings unlimited potential from the Czech Republic.
 
EYES ON MEISNER: Former Seawolf standout Stacie Meisner is in her third turn as UAA's head coach in 2025 ... in her first two-plus seasons, Meisner has piloted the Seawolves to a 36-29 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
MADISON GALLOWAY
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, Aug. 25-31