THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Friday, Oct. 30 — 7 pm ADT — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Alaska Fairbanks (11-12, 3-10 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (16-7, 9-4 GNAC)
 
SWEET TREAT OF A RIVALRY AHEAD: The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team looks to keep its GNAC title and playoff hopes alive this week when it hosts a single match, welcoming Alaska Fairbanks for a Friday 7 p.m. showdown at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA enters the week in fourth place in the 10-team league, while UAF is looking to dig out of ninth place ... the evening is themed Trick-or-Treat With the Seawolves, presented by GCI ... youth 18-and-under in costume get free admission with the purchase of an accompanying adult ticket.
 
LIVE VIDEO: All contests are streamed through the GNAC Network portal at Hudl – gnacnetwork.com/uaaseawolves ... fans can choose between a single event ($14), a 30-day subscription ($25) or a yearly subscription ($120).
 
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/wvball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, Sr. (8.42 aps, 2.82 dps, 0.84 kps, .295 att%)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.46 kps, .217 att%, 2.64 dps, 0.59 bps)
OH—Kyana Gabriel, 5-10, Jr. (2.83 kps, .198 att%, 2.54 dps, 0.43 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-11, Jr. (1.59 kps, .215 att%, 0.54 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (2.16 kps, .332 att%, 1.00 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.43 kps, .244 att%, 0.92 bps, 0.34 ace/set)
L—Mary Nahinu, 5-5, So. (3.27 dps, 0.81 aps, 0.31 ace/set)
 
THE SERIES...
vs UAF: UAA leads 81-43 overall, 45-15 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-0 (10/1/26 at UAF)
Streak: UAA 1
Notes: UAA's Oct. 1 win snapped UAF's longest win streak (5) in series history ... UAF has won two straight in Anchorage, including a 3-1 decision last year ... UAA leads 9-2 at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014) ... UAA leads 33-16 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) ... teams have played at least twice per season since 1980.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Following a 10-3 start, Alaska Fairbanks has dropped out of the national rankings with seven straight losses and a 1-9 mark in its last 10 outings ... the Nanooks are led by Cori Leavitt (2.70 kps, .271 att%, 0.72 bps) and Haylee Lyons (2.53 kps, .167 att%, 2.45 dps, 0.36 ace/set).
 
ROAD WARRIORS: The Seawolves improved to 5-2 in GNAC road matches last week with a 3-2 win at No. 21 Simon Fraser and a 3-1 win at Western Washington, sweeping the border road trip for the first time since 2022 ... on Thursday, Sr. OH Lee Ivakina had 18 kills and 14 digs to boost a 22-25, 16-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-11 comeback over the Red Leafs ... Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel notched 14 kills and 17 digs, Sr. S Hannah Trotter had 43 assists, 6 kills on .417 hitting and 12 digs, and Jr. RS Emma Beck blasted 11 kills on .323 hitting to lead UAA to its first reverse sweep since Aug. 26, 2022 ... in Bellingham, Trotter had 35 assists, 5 kills on .308 hitting, 12 digs and 4 block assists to propel the 25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23 victory ... Ivakina (16 kills/11 digs) and Gabriel (13K/10D) both had double-doubles again, while Jr. MB Martina Riba added 6 kills on .462 hitting and 5 total blocks.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC with 13.00 kills per set and rank top-3 in assists per set (3rd, 11.84), opponent blocks per set (2nd, 1.65) and assists per set (3rd, 11.84) ... UAA received 16 votes in the Oct. 26 AVCA NCAA Div. II Top 25 poll, tripling its total from last week ... 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; so far in 2026, UAA ranks No. 2 in attendance with 1,110 per game, trailing only Fayetteville State (1,191), which has hosted only three matches ... the Seawolves are 31-30 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, with a 2-3 mark this year  ... UAA has won 22 of its last 25 matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves are 127-31 (.804) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 174-43 (.802) at home since 2009 ... UAA has clinched its 18th winning record in the last 19 seasons ... the Seawolves are seeking their 18th 20-win season in 47 years of program history.
 
TALKIN' IVAKINA: Sr. OH Lee Ivakina (e-VOCK-in-ah) has emerged as one of the most consistent all-around forces in the West Region in two seasons as a Seawolf, earning First Team All-GNAC honors in 2025 ... a Preseason All-GNAC pick again, the Bulgarian opened this year with all-tournament honors at both the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and the Seawolf Invitational ... with seven double-doubles in the last nine matches and 10 for the season, Ivakina ranks 3rd in the GNAC stats in kills (3.46) and points per set (4.02), along with 21st in attack pct (.217) and 20th in digs per set (2.64) ... her 25 kills and 24 digs Sept. 24 against WWU tied and set career highs, while marking the first '20/20' effort by a Seawolf since former All-American Eve Stephens in Nov. 2022.
 
FEEL THE BURNEY: UAA's most experienced player, Sr. MB Bella Burney has lived up to her Preseason All-GNAC Team hype, ranking 4th in the GNAC in attack pct (.332) and 10th in blocks per set (1.00) ... the Most Outstanding Player of the Seawolf Invitational and the reigning GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 5-11, she has hit .500 or better six times already, while producing a career-high 16 kills on .464 hitting in the 3-1 win over Lenoir-Rhyne ... having missed just two matches throughout her career, Burney has reached the top 10 on UAA's lists for block assists (8th, 301) and total blocks (10th, 333), while ranking 19th in attack pct (.247) and victories (69) ... the Tumwater, Wash., native has recorded at least five kills in 43 of her last 46 appearances.
 
'WOLF BITES: Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel has found her groove as one of just two newcomers in the starting lineup, capturing Ice Block Classic all-tournament and GNAC offensive player of the week honors in the non-conference finales ... Gabriel ranks 13th in the GNAC with 2.813kills per set and 9th in points per set (3.38) ... the Hilo, Hawaii, native owns UAA's best efforts this year and top-20 program marks with .692 hitting in the win over Minnesota State and 6 aces in the sweep of Tiffin ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter has stepped her game up a notch, ranking 2nd in the GNAC with 8.42 assists per set and 15th with 2.82 digs per set ... the Wisconsinite tied the modern UAA record (25-point rally scoring began in 2008) with 64 assists in the win over WWU, and she's proven a valuable attacker as well, hitting .295 on 183 attempts ... the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts at SFU and WWU, Trotter owns UAA career top-15 ranks in both total assists (11th, 1,653) and assists per set (14th, 6.33) ... Jr. MB Martina Riba ranks 13th in the GNAC with a .244 attack pct, along with 15th in aces per set (0.34) and 13th in blocks per set (0.92) ... the Barcelona native has registered multiple blocks in 20 of her 22 matches this year, producing 6 blocks assists in sweeps of Chaminade and UAF ... Jr. RS Emma Beck has started 47 of her 50 matches in her career, producing 1.92 kills on .221 hitting and 0.69 blocks per set ... the Kenai native and former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year has provided 1.59 kps on .215 hitting so far in 2026, forging recent career highs with .667 hitting at NNU and 14 kills vs WWU ... So. L/DS Mary Nahinu has taken over as UAA's back-row anchor, ranking 9th in the GNAC with 3.27 digs per set ... the Utah native and social media superstar has posted big efforts of 18 digs and 7 assists against TWU, 17 digs and 2 aces in the sweep of Chaminade, and a career-best 19 digs at WOU ... Sr. L/DS Elena Hansen has seen her playing time increase in October, delivering 3.04 digs per set and 0.36 aces per set this month ... the former Limestone transfer has posted at least nine digs in the last six matches and had a season-high four aces to aid the win at WWU.
 
COACH HOOE AT THE HELM: Former Seawolf All-American Morgan Hooe is in her first year as head coach in 2026, becoming the second UAA alum to lead the program ... the Anchorage native spent the past three seasons as UAA's top assistant, helping the Seawolves to a 55-35 record in that span and improving the team's record the past two years ... in 2025, UAA went 23-6 and shared the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, advancing to the NCAA Tournament ... having also served two years as a volunteer assistant and playing four years, Hooe has been a part of three GNAC title teams and six NCAA Tournament squads in her nine total seasons at UAA ... prior to returning to the college game, Hooe spent three years as the head coach at Anchorage's Service High School, earning Cook Inlet Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2021 and 2022 ... she has also served as the director and head coach of the Midnight Sun Volleyball Club ... this is Hooe's second stint on the UAA coaching staff, having served as a volunteer assistant in 2017 and 2018 under former mentor Chris Green; those Seawolf teams boasted a 40-18 overall record, top-three GNAC finishes, and an NCAA bid in 2017 ... as a player, the two-time All-American helped UAA to four straight NCAA Tournaments, capturing the GNAC title and reaching the NCAA Div. II national title match as a senior in 2016 ... the 2016 GNAC Player of the Year and 2016-17 UAA Athlete of the Year, she finished with a then-school-record 3,920 assists and still holds the No. 2 spot on the program's all-time victories list with 101 ... Hooe earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology from UAA in 2018 and a masters in sports administration from Arkansas State University in 2023.
 
2026 Individual Honors
BELLA BURNEY
GNAC Defensive Player of the Week, 10/5-11
Seawolf Invitational Most Outstanding Player
Preseason All-GNAC Team
KYANA GABRIEL
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, 8/31-9/6
Ice Block Classic All-Tournament Team
LEE IVAKINA
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
HANNAH TROTTER
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, 10/19-25
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2026
INDIVIDUAL
Match
Most Assists (25-pt rally scoring era) — 64, Hannah Trotter vs Western Washington, 9/24 (ties record set by Calli Scott at BYU-Hawaii, 9/11/09; and by Ellen Floyd vs Florida Southern, 9/2/22)