ANCHORAGE (Aug. 29) – Sophomore
Trinity Byrne tied her career high with nine kills and tournament Most Outstanding Player
Bella Burney blasted eight kills on .538 hitting Saturday to power the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 sweep of Chico State in the Seawolf Invitational finale at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Seawolves (5-2) also got six kills apiece from
Kyana Gabriel and all-tournament selection
Lee Ivakina as they outhit the visitors .340 to .136 and outblocked them 9-3.
The Wildcats (1-3) were led by 11 kills from Kassandra Nall and 25 assists from all-tourney pick Claire Nordeen.
"Our offensive balance continued to pay dividends, and it was nice to see Trinity bust out with a great performance as well," said first-year UAA head coach
Morgan Hooe. "We seem to make a few more improvements with each match, so hopefully we can keep up that trend against three quality opponents next week."
Hunting a fifth straight win, the Seawolves never trailed in the first two sets. Burney ripped five kills in the opening frame, including spikes to make it 21-18 and 23-18.
Chico State sliced a 12-4 second-set deficit down to 12-9 with a big surge following a timeout, but the California Collegiate Athletic Association squad could get no closer. Gabriel got the Seawolves back on track with a pair of kills, and two late slams from Byrne made it a 2-0 affair.
The third set featured six ties and four lead changes before the Seawolves pulled away late. Byrne smashed home a Chico overpass to snap a 15-15 tie, and the Idaho native made it 18-16 on a feed from
Anna McWhorter (15 assists). A Burney kill made it 19-17, and she and
Emma Beck (4 kills, .364 att%, 5 blocks) combined on blocks for a 23-18 lead and on match point.
Byrne hit a career-best .533 (9-1-15), while Burney reached the .500 plateau for the third time in seven matches. Over the last four contests, Burney has hit .479 (40-6-72), along with multiple blocks (0.93 bps) each time.
Senior setter
Hannah Trotter had 15 assists and a team-high 10 digs, helping UAA commit just seven attack errors as a team. Gabriel hit .333 with nine digs and two blocks assists.
The Seawolves head north for three neutral-court matches in Fairbanks next week, facing Minnesota State and Tiffin on Friday (10 am and 3 pm) and nationally ranked Fresno Pacific on Saturday (11 am). Find links to live video and stats at GoSeawolves.com.
2026 Seawolf Invitational All-Tournament Team
Emmaleigh Allen, Lenoir-Rhyne
Cynphany Henderson, Alaska Fairbanks
Lee Ivakina, Alaska Anchorage
Claire Nordeen, Chico State
Tessa Onaga, Alaska Fairbanks
Most Outstanding Player: Bella Burney, Alaska Anchorage
