THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thursday, Sept. 24 — 7 pm ADT — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Western Washington (5-4, 2-1 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (9-5, 2-2 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Sept. 26 — 7 pm ADT — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
#19 Simon Fraser (6-3, 3-0 GNAC [Thu. @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
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 ... Thursday's match features free admission for kids 12-and-under, courtesy Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, Sr. (7.69 aps, 2.86 dps, 0.67 kps, .290 att%)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.33 kps, .230 att%, 2.08 dps, 0.49 bps)
OH—Kyana Gabriel, 5-10, Jr. (2.69 kps, .245 att%, 2.29 dps, 0.48 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-11, Jr. (1.40 kps, .238 att%, 0.62 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (2.23 kps, .353 att%, 0.94 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.60 kps, .313 att%, 0.84 bps, 0.40 ace/set)
L—Mary Nahinu, 5-5, So. (3.37 dps, 0.86 aps, 0.31 ace/set)
 
HIGH-END HOME TESTS: The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team hosts a pair of critical Great Northwest Athletic Conference home tests this week when it hosts perennial league heavyweights Western Washington and No. 19 Simon Fraser at the Alaska Airlines Center ... both matches start at 7 pm ADT ... UAA comes into the week tied for fifth in the 10-team race, while SFU leads the pack, one match ahead of third-place WWU.
 
THE SERIES...
vs WWU: WWU leads 42-23 overall, 22-13 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-1 (11/8/25 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 1
Notes: Teams have split the last two season series and the last 10 matches overall ... WWU leads 7-5 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... 14 of the last 18 matches have gone four or five sets, including UAA's NCAA Regional finals victory in 2016 and WWU's NCAA First Round victory in 2017 ... there have been seven 5-setters and only five sweeps among the last 26 meetings ... the road team has won 15 of the last 28 meetings, although the home team has won the last four matches ... WWU won 17 straight from 2001-08 … teams have met every year since 2000 … series started in 1980.
 
vs SFU: UAA leads 23-7 overall, 12-3 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-2 (11/6/25 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 3
Notes: Both matches last year went five sets ... UAA has won two straight at the Alaska Airlines Center ... SFU's last win came by a 3-0 score Sept. 19, 2024 in B.C. ... UAA won the first 15 matches in series history ... UAA leads 8-3 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... 12 of the last 17 meetings have gone four or five sets ... SFU joined the GNAC in 2010.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Picked fourth in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll, Western Washington has played an extremely tough schedule, featuring four matches so far against nationally ranked opponents ... coming off a 3-2 (15-13) loss at Simon Fraser in their lone match last week, the Vikings are led by Delaney Speer (3.83 kps, .244 att%, 2.29 dps) and Emily Vossenkuhl (1.66 kps, .336 att%, 1.31 bps) ... ranked 19th nationally and the last remaining unbeaten in league play, Simon Fraser owns an early-season win over then-No. 4 Point Loma and already has big GNAC victories over Central Washington and WWU ... playing their final year as an NCAA program before returning to the Canadian collegiate ranks, the Red Leafs are led by Katarina Damnjanovic (3.14 kps, .278 att%) and Ella McVittie (GNAC-best 8.76 aps, 2.12 dps).
 
ROUGH ROAD: The Seawolves struggled in their first GNAC road series of 2026, falling in three sets at Central Washington and in four at Northwest Nazarene last week ... in Ellensburg, Sr. OH Lee Ivakina led UAA with 9 kills on .242 hitting as the Wildcats took the battle of defending GNAC co-champs 25-13, 25-15, 26-24 ... two days later, So. OH Trinity Byrne posted career highs of 10 kills and 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double, but NNU held on for a 25-14, 25-20, 12-25, 25-19 decision in Nampa ... the Seawolves also got career-best efforts from Jr. RS Emma Beck (.667 att%) and Fr. MB Patri Ferran (6 kills, 5 digs, 3 total blocks) in the setback..
 
TEAM NOTES: With the season at its halfway point, UAA is hitting 35 points higher (.249 to .214) than last year's squad that went 23-6 and shared the GNAC title ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in kills per set (12.80) and opponent blocks per set (1.43), while ranking second in assists per set  (11.59) and attack pct (.249) ... 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 29-28 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014  ... UAA has won 21 of its last 23 matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves are 125-29 (.812) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 172-41 (.808) at home since 2009 ... UAA has produced 17 winning records in the last 18 seasons and 17 20-win records 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 double-doubles, Ivakina ranks 6th in the GNAC stats in kills per set (3.33) and points per set (3.70) ... her 18 kills against Lenoir-Rhyne are the most for a Seawolf in a 4-setter so far this year, while her 18 digs against Texas Woman's were a career high.
 
FEEL THE BURNEY: UAA's lone returning three-year letterwinner, Sr. MB Bella Burney has lived up to her Preseason All-GNAC Team hype so far, ranking 3rd in the GNAC in attack pct (.353) and 9th in blocks per set (0.94) ... 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 needs one more block assist to move into UAA's all-time top 10 (268 currently), while ranking 15th in total blocks (296) ... the Tumwater, Wash., native has recorded at least five kills in 34 of her last 37 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 15th in the GNAC with 2.69 kills per set, 9th in points per set (3.33), 17th in attack pct (.245) and 14th in aces per set (0.38) ... 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 ... Jr. MB Martina Riba ranks 6th in the GNAC with a .331 attack pct, along with 10th in aces per set (0.40) and 16th in blocks per set (0.84) ... the Barcelona native has registered multiple blocks in 12 of her 13 matches this year, producing 6 blocks assists in the sweep of Chaminade and 5 block assists in the sweep of HPU ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter has stepped her game up a notch, ranking 2nd in the GNAC with 7.69 assists per set and 4th with 2.86 digs per set – best in the league among setters ... the Wisconsinite dished a UAA season-best 47 assists in the narrow loss to No. 9 FPU and has proven a valuable attacker as well, hitting .290 on 93 attempts ... Trotter owns UAA career top-15 ranks in both total assists (14th, 1,331) and assists per set (14th, 5.86) ... Jr. RS Emma Beck has started 38 of her 41 matches in her career, producing 1.94 kills and 0.73 blocks per set ... the Kenai native and former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year has provided 1.40 kps on .238 hitting so far in 2026, including .292 hitting (with only six errors) over the last eight matches ... So. L/DS Mary Nahinu has taken over as UAA's back-row anchor, ranking 8th in the GNAC with 3.37 digs per set and third on the team with 0.31 aces per set ... the Utah native and social media superstar had posted big early efforts of 18 digs and 7 assists against TWU, and 17 digs and 2 aces in the sweep of Chaminade.
 
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