BURNABY, British Columbia (Oct. 22) – Outside hitters
Lee Ivakina and
Kyana Gabriel combined for 32 kills and 31 digs and setter
Hannah Trotter dished 43 assists Thursday, helping the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 22-25, 16-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-11 upset of No. 21 Simon Fraser at the SFU West Gymnasium.
The Seawolves (15-7, 8-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 11 kills on .323 hitting from rightside hitter
Emma Beck and 16 digs and three aces from
Mary Nahinu as they earned a split of the season series and their second win over a ranked opponent this year.
The Red Leafs (11-6, 8-3) were led by 23 kills and 12 digs from Brooklyn Robinson, but the Canadians could not retain their momentum after the first two sets.
"I couldn't be more proud of the way our group responded and overcame adversity tonight," said UAA head coach
Morgan Hooe. "Every one of our players made the necessary adjustments and executed great team volleyball against an excellent opponent in a tough environment."
After falling to the Red Leafs 3-1 a month ago in Anchorage, UAA could not get rolling offensively to start the rematch. SFU outhit UAA .219 to .143 in the first two sets and limited the visitors to .147 in the third, but the Seawolves found other ways to get back into the flow, using four blocks and three aces to control set three.
Ivakina posted three of her four blocks in the third and found her offensive touch in the fourth, blasting six kills on .312 hitting in that frame. In a set that featured 12 ties and six lead changes, the Seawolves took the largest lead at 19-16. The Red Leafs responded with the next five points and used a run of kills by Megan Hawkins to go up 23-22, prompting Hooe to use her final timeout. UAA answered when Gabriel converted a dish from Trotter and combined with
Martina Riba on a block of Robinson to take the lead. SFU called its final timeout, but Riba was there on set point to put away an overpass by the Red Leafs.
UAA never trailed in set five, racing to a 5-1 lead and making it 10-2 on consecutive aces from Riba. Hawkins and Robinson helped repel four match points after it was 14-7, before Ivakina found court with a back-row attack to seal it.
Ivakina finished with 18 kills and 14 digs to claim her ninth double-double this season, while Gabriel's 14 kills and 17 digs were good for her sixth double-double. Beck reached double-figure kills for the second time this year, and Trotter managed six kills on .385 hitting and 12 digs in addition to running the offense.
Senior
Bella Burney led UAA with five block assists, and Riba had five kills, four blocks assists and a career-high-tying eight digs.
Thursday's match marked UAA's final volleyball trip to Burnaby, with Simon Fraser set to leave the NCAA for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association in 2027-28.
The Seawolves finish their road trip Saturday with a 6 p.m. ADT opening serve against Western Washington (9-8, 6-5) in Bellingham. Find links to live video and stats at GoSeawolves.com.
