THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thursday, Oct. 8 — 6 pm ADT — Wolves Athletic Center — Monmouth, Ore.
Alaska Anchorage (11-6, 4-3 GNAC) at Western Oregon (6-9, 2-5 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Oct. 10 — Noon ADT — Costantino Recreation Ctr — Olympia, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage at Saint Martin's (6-9, 2-5 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])
 
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: Thursday at wouwolves.com/sidearmstats/wvball
                       Saturday at smusaints.com/sidearmstats/wvball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, Sr. (8.07 aps, 2.92 dps, 0.75 kps, .293 att%)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.49 kps, .229 att%, 2.41 dps, 0.52 bps)
OH—Kyana Gabriel, 5-10, Jr. (2.78 kps, .232 att%, 2.50 dps, 0.48 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-11, Jr. (1.44 kps, .211 att%, 0.61 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (2.12 kps, .315 att%, 0.92 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.56 kps, .290 att%, 0.91 bps, 0.35 ace/set)
L—Mary Nahinu, 5-5, So. (3.26 dps, 0.87 aps, 0.25 ace/set)
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Alaska Anchorage volleyball concludes a three-match road swing this week as it ends the first half of GNAC round-robin play at Western Oregon and Saint Martin's ... Saturday's match will be held at Evergreen State University in Olympia, while the Saint Martin's continues renovation of Marcus Pavilion ... the Seawolves come into the week in fourth place, while their opponents are tied for eighth in the 10-team GNAC race.
 
THE SERIES...
vs WOU: UAA leads 34-17 overall, 15-9 in Monmouth
Last: UAA 3-2 (10/25/25 at WOU)
Streak: UAA 2
Notes: UAA swept last year's season series and has won 23 of the last 25 meetings ... UAA has won 11 of the last 12 meetings in Monmouth ... five of the last six meetings have gone at least four sets ... UAA leads 32-16 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) ... series started in 1981 but teams did not play again until 1999.
 
vs SMU: UAA leads 46-5 overall, 22-4 in Lacey/Olympia
Last: UAA 3-2 (10/23/25 at SMU)
Streak: UAA 5
Notes: UAA has won 34 of the last 35 meetings, with SMU's win coming by a 3-1 score, Oct. 5, 2023 in Lacey ... this will mark the teams' third meeting in Olympia (all at different venues), after UAA won via sweep in 2013 (Capital HS) and 2024 (SPSCC) ... the Seawolves have won 103 of the last 119 sets since 2008 ... UAA leads 43-5 in GNAC matches (since 2001) ... teams played first two matches as Pac West Conference opponents in 1998 and 1999.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Picked ninth in the GNAC preseason poll, Western Oregon is trying to snap a four-match skid ... the Wolves are led by Payton Davis (3.83 kps, .235 att%, 2.71 dps) and Kate Markley (2.51 kps, .100 att%, 1.51 dps) ... coming off 3-1 upset at Western Washington, Saint Martin's has played five of its first seven GNAC contests on the road ... picked eight in the preseason poll, the Saints are led by Emily Garten (3.35 kps, .169 att%, 2.24 dps) and Olivia Bassett (2.80 kps, .157 att%, 0.47 bps).
 
SATISFYING SWEEP: The Seawolves registered their first sweep of a top-25 opponent since 2022 with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-16 victory at No. 23 Alaska Fairbanks in their lone match last week ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter delivered 27 assists, 3 kills, 8 digs, 3 blocks and no errors of any kind as UAA outhit the hosts .272 to .059 and registered a season-high 12 blocks ... Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel had 10 kills on .412 hitting and 13 digs, while Sr. OH Lee Ivakina collected her third straight double-double with 10 kills, 10 digs and a career-high 4 aces ... UAA also got 7 kills from Sr. MB Bella Burney and a team season-high-tying 6 blocks from Jr. MB Martina Riba.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves are top-3 in the GNAC stats in kills per set (2nd, 12.92), assists per set (3rd, 11.8), attack pct (3rd, .238) and opponent blocks per set (2nd, 1.57) ... UAA received five votes in this week's AVCA NCAA Div. II Top 25 poll ... 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 ... the Seawolves are 30-29 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, with a 1-2 mark this year  ... UAA has won 22 of its last 24 matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves are 126-30 (.808) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 173-42 (.805) at home since 2009 ... UAA needs four more wins to clinch its 18th winning record in the last 19 seasons ... the Seawolves have produced 17 20-win seasons in 46 years of program history.
 
TALKIN' IVAKINA: Sr. OH Lee Ivakina (e-VOCK-in-ah) emerged as one of the most consistent all-around forces in the West Region in her first season 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 three straight double-doubles and six for the season, Ivakina ranks 5th in the GNAC stats in kills per set (3.49) and points per set (3.86), and 18th in attack pct (.229) ... 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 so far, ranking 4th in the GNAC in attack pct (.315) and 11th in blocks per set (0.92) ... the Most Outstanding Player of last the Seawolf Invitational, she has hit .500 or better five 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 into the top 10 on UAA's block assists list (277), while ranking 13th in total blocks (306) and 20th in victories (64) ... the Tumwater, Wash., native has recorded at least five kills in 37 of her last 40 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 12th in the GNAC with 2.78 kills per set, 7th in points per set (3.34) and 20th in aces per set (0.31) ... 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 ... Jr. MB Martina Riba ranks 8th in the GNAC with a .290 attack pct, along with 11th in aces per set (0.35) and 13th in blocks per set (0.91) ... the Barcelona native has registered multiple blocks in 15 of her 16 matches this year, producing 6 blocks assists in sweeps of Chaminade and UAF ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter has stepped her game up a notch, ranking 2nd in the GNAC with 8.07 assists per set and 13th with 2.93 digs per set – best in the league among setters ... 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 .293 on 123 attempts ... Trotter owns UAA career top-15 ranks in both total assists (14th, 1,446) and assists per set (14th, 6.05) ... Jr. RS Emma Beck has started 41 of her 44 matches in her career, producing 1.91 kills on .220 hitting and 0.72 blocks per set ... the Kenai native and former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year has provided 1.44 kps on .211 hitting so far in 2026, forging career highs in two of the last four matches (.667 attack pct at NNU, 14 kills vs WWU) ... So. L/DS Mary Nahinu has taken over as UAA's back-row anchor, ranking 9th in the GNAC with 3.25 digs per set and third on the team with 0.26 aces 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 17 digs against 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
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
 
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)