THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thursday, Nov. 5 — 7 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Saint Martin's (8-15, 4-11 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (17-7, 10-4 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Nov. 7 — 7 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Western Oregon (8-15, 4-11 GNAC [Thu. @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
HEATED HOME FINALES: Following a 7-1 October, the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team continues to keep its GNAC title and playoff hopes alive, welcoming Saint Martin's and Western Oregon for its home finales at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA enters the week in fourth place in the 10-team league, while its opponents stand tied for seventh ... the Seawolves also enter at No. 10 in the power rankings that will decide the eight-team NCAA West Region Championships field, trailing Simon Fraser and Biola for the last spot.
 
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
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com ... fans 12-and-under receive free admission Thursday with the purchase of an accompanying adult ticket, courtesy Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, Sr. (8.35 aps, 2.84 dps, 0.86 kps, .308 att%)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.48 kps, .227 att%, 2.64 dps, 0.56 bps)
OH—Kyana Gabriel, 5-10, Jr. (2.79 kps, .186 att%, 2.53 dps, 0.42 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-11, Jr. (1.62 kps, .218 att%, 0.52 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (2.05 kps, .323 att%, 1.00 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.43 kps, .244 att%, 0.88 bps, 0.33 ace/set)
L—Mary Nahinu, 5-5, So. (3.11 dps, 0.80 aps, 0.32 ace/set)
 
THE SERIES...
vs SMU: UAA leads 47-5 overall, 23-1 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-0 (10/10/26 at Olympia, WA)
Streak: UAA 6
Notes: UAA has won 35 of the last 36 meetings, with SMU's win coming Oct. 5, 2023 in Lacey (3-1) ... the Seawolves lead 11-0 at the Alaska Airlines Center, winning 3-0 last year ... UAA has won 106 of 122 sets since 2008 ... UAA leads 44-5 in GNAC matches (since 2001) ... teams played first two matches as Pac West Conference opponents in 1998 and 1999.
 
vs WOU: UAA leads 35-17 overall, 17-8 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-0 (10/8/26 at WOU)
Streak: UAA 3
Notes: UAA has won 24 of the last 26 meetings ... UAA leads 10-1 at the Alaska Airlines Center, winning 3-1 last year ... UAA leads 33-16 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) ... series started in 1981.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Saint Martin's comes north after four straight losses and 1-6 mark since Oct. 10, trying to hang on to seventh place in the final GNAC standings ... the Saints, from Lacey, Wash., are led by Emily Garten (3.42 kps, .186 att%,  2.56 dps, 0.51 ace/set) and Olivia Bassett (2.92 kps, .152 att%, 0.48 bps) ... tied with SMU in the standings, Western Oregon takes a five-match skid into Thursday's match at UAF ... the Wolves are led by Payton Davis (3.39 kps, .198 att%, 2.04 dps) and Kate Markley (2.75 kps, .125 att%, 1.51 dps).
 
BY A WHISKER: The Seawolves survived an Alaska Fairbanks upset bid in their lone match last week, getting 19 kills on .444 hitting and 13 digs from Sr. Lee Ivakina to propel a 19-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14 victory Friday at the Alaska Airlines Center ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter recorded 36 assists, 6 kills on .500 hitting and 16 digs, Jr. RS Emma Beck tallied 10 kills and Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel had 11 kills and 12 digs to help UAA claim to its third five-set win of the season.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC with just 1.63 opponent blocks per set allowed ... UAA received 19 votes in the Nov. 2 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; so far in 2026, UAA ranks No. 1 in attendance with 1,141 per match ... the Seawolves are 31-30 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, with a 2-3 mark this year  ... UAA has won 23 of its last 26 matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves are 128-31 (.805) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 175-43 (.803) 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: UAA's leading point producer, Sr. OH Lee Ivakina (e-VOCK-in-ah) is well on her way to earning repeat First Team All-GNAC honors in 2026 ... a Preseason All-GNAC pick again, the Bulgarian opened the year with all-tournament honors at both the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and the Seawolf Invitational, and she's recorded at least 15 kills on the last four matches ... with eight double-doubles in the last 10 matches and 11 for the season, Ivakina ranks 3rd in the GNAC stats in kills (3.48 kps), 4th in points (4.03 ppg),  20th in attack pct (.227) 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 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 (.323) and 9th in blocks per set (1.00) ... the Most Outstanding Player of the Seawolf Invitational and the 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, 305) and total blocks (10th, 338), while ranking 19th in attack pct (.247) and victories (70) ... the Tumwater, Wash., native has recorded at least five kills in 43 of her last 47 appearances.
 
'WOLF BITES: Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel has made a major impact in her first season at UAA, starting with 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 2.79 kills per set and 12th in points per set (3.32), producing eight double-doubles ... 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 3rd in the GNAC with 8.35 assists per set and 16th with 2.84 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 .308 on 195 attempts ... the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts at SFU and WWU, Trotter needs 26 assists to catch Siobhan Johansen (1,715 assts, 2010-13) for No. 10 on UAA's career list ... Jr. MB Martina Riba ranks 16th in the GNAC with a .244 attack pct, along with 14th in aces per set (0.33) and 13th in blocks per set (0.88) ... the Barcelona native has registered multiple blocks in 20 of her 23 matches this year, producing 6 blocks assists in sweeps of Chaminade and UAF ... Jr. RS Emma Beck has started 48 of her 51 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 1.62 kps on .218 hitting so far in 2026, forging career highs with .667 hitting at NNU and 14 kills vs WWU, and averaging 9.3 kills during UAA's current three-match win streak ... So. L/DS Mary Nahinu and Sr. L/DS Elena Hansen have taken over as UAA's back-row anchors, splitting time at libero over the last few matches ... Nahinu ranking 12th in the GNAC with 3.11 digs per set, tallying double figures 14 times ... 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 ... Hansen saw her playing time increase in October, delivering 2.73 digs per set and 0.33 aces per set this month ... the former Limestone transfer has posted season highs of 16 digs in wins over WWU and WOU, along with 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
Academic All-GNAC Team
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
Academic All-GNAC Team
Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
ANNA McWHORTER
Academic All-GNAC Team
MARTINA RIBA
Academic All-GNAC Team
HANNAH TROTTER
Academic All-GNAC Team
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)