THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Seawolf Invitational
Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
(All times Alaska Daylight)
Thursday, Aug. 27
10:30 am: Texas Woman's (0-0) vs Lenoir-Rhyne (0-0)
3 pm: Chico State (0-0) vs Alaska Fairbanks (3-1)
7:30 pm: Texas Woman's vs Alaska Anchorage (2-2)
Friday, Aug. 28
10:30 am: Chico State vs Lenoir-Rhyne
3 pm: Texas Woman's vs Alaska Fairbanks
7:30 pm: Lenoir-Rhyne vs Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, Aug. 29
9 am: Chico State vs Texas Woman's
1 pm: Lenoir-Rhyne vs Alaska Fairbanks
5 pm: Chico State vs Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: All UAA home contests and GNAC road 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 (kids 12-and-under free Thursday, courtesy ANTHC)
 
HOME TURF AWAITS: After beginning the season with four matches in Hawaii, the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team makes its 2026 home debut with three contests Thursday-Saturday in the Seawolf Invitational at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA faces Texas Woman's in the opener, followed by contests against first-time foe Lenoir-Rhyne and West Region rival Chico State ... this marks the 27th edition of the Seawolf Invitational, dating back to 1994 ... UAA is 72-30 all-time in its own tourney, going unbeaten in 2002, 2003, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2025 ... with an unbalanced schedule this year, there will be no true tournament winner.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, Sr. (6.21 aps, 2.71 dps, 0.43 kps, .238 att%)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.00 kps, .295 att%, 1.36 dps, 0.57 bps)
OH—Kyana Gabriel, 5-10, Jr. (2.50 kps, .178 att%, 1.71 dps, 0.50 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-1, Jr. (1.25 kps, .169 att%, 0.67 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (1.71 kps, .255 att%, 1.00 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.43 kps, .405 att%, 1.14 bps, 0.29 ace/set)
L—Mary Nahinu, 5-5, So. (3.43 dps, 0.50 ace/set)
 
2026 SEASON OUTLOOK: The Seawolves return nine active players from last year's team that finished 23-6 overall (14-4 GNAC), shared the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament ... six of UAA's returners were regular or part-time starters a year ago, including All-GNAC Sr. OH Lee Ivakina, Sr. S Hannah Trotter and Sr. MB Bella Burney ... UAA's newcomers are comprised of four transfers and four true freshmen ... the GNAC preseason coaches' poll will be released Aug. 18.
 
THE SERIES...
vs Texas Woman's: UAA leads 3-0 overall, 2-0 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-0 (8/30/08 at UAA)
Notes: The Seawolves swept both meetings with the Owls at the 2008 Seawolf Invitational ... the first meeting was a 3-2 UAA win, Nov. 9, 1986 at the Air Force Premier tourney.
 
vs Lenoir-Rhyne: Never played
 
vs Chico State: UAA leads 6-4 overall, 4-2 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-1 (9/7/17 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 3
Notes: The last meeting also came at the Seawolf Invitational ... Chico was UAA's first-round NCAA Tournament opponent in 2016 when the Seawolves advanced all the way to the national title match ... Chico's last win was a 3-0 decision in 1993 at the UC Davis tourney ... teams did not play between 1994-2010 ... first meetings were 3-0 Chico sweeps at UAA in 1985 ... teams have never played in Chico.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Texas Woman's is coming off records of 19-11 overall and 11-6 (6th) in the Lone Star Conference ... the Pioneers, from Denton, Texas, are picked to repeat their sixth-place (of 18 teams) finish in the LSC preseason coaches' poll ... Lenoir-Rhyne went 23-8 overall and 14-4 (2nd) in the South Atlantic Conference a year ago, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional semifinals ... the Bears hail from Hickory, N.C. ... Chico State is looking to improve on marks of 12-13 overall and 8-10 (7th) in the California Collegiate Athletic Association ... the Wildcats, from northern California, are picked 11th of 14 teams in the recent CCAA preseason poll.
 
NEW & IMPROVING: Featuring a new head coach and a couple new faces in the starting lineup, the Seawolves got the regular season under way last week by splitting four matches against Pacific West Conference foes at the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in Hilo, Hawaii ... after starting with a disappointing 25-22, 25-21, 25-19 setback to Chaminade on Thursday afternoon, UAA took host Hawaii Hilo to five sets in the same evening, falling 15-10 in the fifth ... Sr. OH Lee Ivakina had 16 kills on .310 hitting against the Vulcans, while Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel earned her first double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs ... on Friday, UAA used 7 kills apiece from Gabriel and Ivakina (.385) to blitz Hawaii Pacific 25-15, 25-20, 25-18, earning Morgan Hooe's first win as head coach ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter had 19 assists and Jr. MB Martina Riba had 6 kills (.667) and 5 blocks as UAA took the lead in the all-time series against HPU, 9-8, for the first time ... the improvement continued in Saturday's finale, getting 14 kills on career-best .462 hitting from Ivakina in a 25-22, 25-13, 25-22 revenge victory over Chaminade ... Riba stayed hot with 6 kills on career-high .500 hitting and 6 blocks, while So. L Mary Nahinu (17 digs) and Jr. S Anna McWhorter (16 assists) posted personal bests as Seawolves.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves start the season on the periphery of the AVCA NCAA Div. II top-25 poll, coming in at No. 29 with 45 votes ... UAA has produced 17 winning records in the last 18 seasons and the 17 20-win records in 46 years of program history ... at 23-6, the 2025 Seawolves tied the eighth-most wins for a UAA club ... UAA led the GNAC defensively last year with 1.18 aces allowed per set and was No. 2 in opponent attack pct at .156 ... UAA's 11 straight Alaska Airlines Center victories – from Nov. 21, 2024 to Sept. 27, 2025 – were the second-longest streak since the arena's opening in 2014 ... 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 29-27 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, including a 4-4 mark last year ... the Seawolves are 120-29 (.804) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 167-41 (.802) at home since 2009.
 
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 posted double-doubles in 15 of 29 matches in 2025, including a 15K/14D effort against Western Oregon, 19K/16D to propel the win at No. 7 Simon Fraser, and 25K/10D in the victory over No. 14 Western Washington ... the Navarro (Texas) College transfer ranked 8th in the GNAC in kills (3.22 kps), 7th in points (3.68 pps), and 19th in digs (2.78 dps) ... Ivakina has started her senior year in style as well, averaging 3.00 kps and earning all-tourney honors at last week's Alaska/Hawaii Challenge.
 
FEEL THE BURNEY: Sr. MB Bella Burney is UAA's lone returning three-year letterwinner and another Preseason All-GNAC selection, having missed just one match throughout her career ... a consistent force at the net, she ripped at least five kills in all but two contests last year,  including 13 kills on plus-.475 hitting in wins over Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's ... the Tumwater, Wash., product led UAA and ranked 7th in the GNAC stats with a .285 attack pct., while her 0.96 blocks per set ranked 10th in the league ... Burney already ranks in UAA's career top 15 in both block assists (12th, 241) and total blocks (15th, 265).
 
PACK IS BACK: Jr. MB Martina Riba started every match last year, ranking 5th in the GNAC with 1.14 blocks per set, plus 1.43 kills per set on .209 hitting ... the Barcelona native registered at least six kills in 18 matches, while hitting over .300 in 10 contests ... Jr. RS Emma Beck started 25 of her 27 matches played as a then-redshirt freshman in 2025, producing 2.18 kps and ranking 19th in the GNAC with 0.78 bps ... the Kenai native and former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year led all GNAC freshmen with .224 hitting, delivering double-figure kills 13 times ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter was 5th in the GNAC with 7.09 assists per set last year ... the Wisconsinite also produced 2.59 digs, 0.33 blocks and 0.58 kills per set, hitting UAA's second-best percentage at .278 ... Trotter last week became the 18th Seawolf to surpass 1,000 career assists (1,041), while she stands 15th in aps at 5.42 ... Sr. DS/OH Elena Hansen emerged as a key rotation piece in her first year with the program, playing in 109 of 117 sets ... a transfer from Limestone, Hansen ranked 6th in the GNAC with 0.37 aces per set, while producing 1.56 digs per set as well ... So. OH Trinity Byrne entered the regular rotation late last season and is ready to play a major role in 2026 ... the Idaho native averaged 1.57 kps on .143 hitting and 0.30 bps, notching season highs of 9 kills and 8 digs in a 3-2 road win over fellow GNAC co-champ Central Washington.
 
NEW KIDS IN TOWN: Two of UAA's newcomers – Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel and So. L/DS Mary Nahinu – bring NCAA Div. I playing experience ... Gabriel suited up for Tennessee Tech's beach team last year, while Nahinu was the primary libero at Norfolk State, producing 3.81 digs per set as a freshman ... Jr. S Rachael Reyes gives UAA another experienced setter as the SoCal native contributed the past two seasons at fellow Div. II West Region program San Francisco State, playing on the Gators' 2024 national runner-up team ... Jr. L/DS Alex Gonzalez-Orozco ranked 4th in NJCAA Region 9 with 4.51 digs per set last year and helped her Western Nebraska CC squad to a region runner-up finish as a freshman in 2024 ... a trio of freshmen also look to make an impact as MB Patri Ferran, RS Sophie Tapley and OH Indy Kmet join the squad.
 
COACH HOOE AT THE HELM: Former Seawolf All-American Morgan Hooe enters 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
Preseason All-GNAC Team
LEE IVAKINA
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team