THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thursday, Oct. 1 — 7 pm ADT — Patty Center — Fairbanks, AK
Alaska Anchorage (10-6, 3-3 GNAC) at #23 Alaska Fairbanks (11-5, 3-3 GNAC)
 
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: AlaskaNanooks.com/sidearmstats/wvball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 stats)
S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, Sr. (8.02 aps, 2.93 dps, 0.74 kps, .284 att%)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.50 kps, .231 att%, 2.36 dps, 0.48 bps)
OH—Kyana Gabriel, 5-10, Jr. (2.75 kps, .224 att%, 2.39 dps, 0.49 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-11, Jr. (1.48 kps, .219 att%, 0.57 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (2.11 kps, .313 att%, 0.88 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.57 kps, .286 att%, 0.85 bps, 0.35 ace/set)
L—Mary Nahinu, 5-5, So. (3.34 dps, 0.83 aps, 0.26 ace/set)
 
RIVALRY RENEWS UP NORTH: The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team heads north to face its oldest rival this week with a Thursday 7 p.m. first serve scheduled against 23rd-ranked Alaska Fairbanks at the Patty Center ... looking to avenge three losses to the Nanooks last year, the Seawolves come into the match tied with UAF and Northwest Nazarene for fifth place in the 10-team GNAC race.
 
THE SERIES...
vs UAF: UAA leads 80-43 overall, 34-27 in Fairbanks
Last: UAF 3-0 (12/4/25 at San Diego, CA)
Streak: UAF 5
Notes: UAF's win streak ties its longest since taking five in a row from 2006-08 ... last meeting came in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at Point Loma ... UAF has won the last two meetings in Fairbanks by 3-1 scores ... UAA's last win came Nov. 16, 2023 in Anchorage by a 3-1 count ... teams have not played a 5-setter since the spring 2021 Covid season ... UAA leads 32-15 in GNAC meetings (since 2001) ... teams have played at least twice per season since 1980.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Entering the week No. 23 in the AVCA NCAA Div. II top-25 poll, Alaska Fairbanks has held on to its ranking despite a 2-3 mark in its last three outings, including a split last week against Simon Fraser (L, 1-3) and Western Washington (W, 3-1) ... defending GNAC co-champions alongside UAA, the Nanooks are led by Cori Leavitt (2.81 kps, .313 att%, 0.78 bps) and Haylee Lyons (2.58 kps, .181 att%, 2.32 dps).
 
BITTERSWEET SPLIT: The Seawolves registered a 1-1 record last week against fellow traditional GNAC powers Western Washington and Simon Fraser at the Alaska Airlines Center ... on Thursday, Sr. OH Lee Ivakina had career highs of 25 kills and 24 digs as the Seawolves eked past the Vikings 19-25, 29-27, 28-26, 21-25, 17-15 ... UAA also got a historic 64 assists, along with 19 digs, from Sr. S Hannah Trotter, who tied the program record for assists in the 25-point rally-scoring era (since 2008) ... other heroes in the win included Jr. RS Emma Beck (career-high 14 kills), Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel (19 kills, 16 digs) and Sr. L/DS Elena Hansen (UAA career-best 16 digs) ... on Saturday, Ivakina had 15 kills and 11 digs, but a late comeback fell short against the 19th-ranked Red Leafs, who won 25-21, 25-12, 22-25, 25-23 ... Gabriel added 8 kills and 10 digs as UAA's eight-match home win streak came to an end.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in kills per set (12.95) and assists per set (11.79), while ranking second in attack pct (.237) and opponent blocks per set (1.59) ... 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 29-29 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014  ... 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 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 five double-doubles, Ivakina ranks 5th in the GNAC stats in kills per set (3.50), 6th in points per set (3.86) and 18th in attack pct (.231) ... her 25 kills and 24 digs last week 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 5th in the GNAC in attack pct (.313) and 15th in blocks per set (0.88) ... 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 recently moved into the top 10 on UAA's block assists list (272), while ranking 14th in total blocks (301) ... the Tumwater, Wash., native has recorded at least five kills in 36 of her last 39 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 14th in the GNAC with 2.75 kills per set, 9th in points per set (3.34) and 16th in aces per set (0.33) ... 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 11th in the GNAC with a .286 attack pct, along with 13th in aces per set (0.35) and 16th in blocks per set (0.85) ... the Barcelona native has registered multiple blocks in 14 of her 15 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 8.02 assists per set and 13th with 2.93 digs per set – best in the league among setters ... the Wisconsinite dished 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 .284 on 116 attempts ... Trotter owns UAA career top-15 ranks in both total assists (14th, 1,419) and assists per set (14th, 6.01) ... Jr. RS Emma Beck has started 40 of her 43 matches in her career, producing 1.94 kills and 0.71 blocks per set ... the Kenai native and former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year has provided 1.48 kps on .223 hitting so far in 2026, producing career highs in two of the last three 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 10th in the GNAC with 3.34 digs per set and third on the team with 0.26 aces per set ... the Utah native and social media superstar had 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)