THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...
 
Thursday, Sept. 10 — 7 pm ADT — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Seattle Pacific (5-3, 0-0 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (7-3, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Sept. 12 — 7 pm ADT — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Montana State Billings (2-6, 0-0 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. (7.78 aps, 3.06 dps, 0.75 kps, .338 att%)
OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.44 kps, .257 att%, 1.86 dps, 0.53 bps)
OH—Kyana Gabriel, 5-10, Jr. (2.83 kps, .266 att%, 2.31 dps, 0.53 bps)
RS—Emma Beck, 5-1, Jr. (1.35 kps, .220 att%, 0.76 bps)
MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (2.23 kps, .350 att%, 1.03 bps)
MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.61 kps, .341 att%, 0.92 bps, 0.36 ace/set)
L—Mary Nahinu, 5-5, So. (3.28 dps, 0.92 aps, 0.42 ace/set)
 
TITLE DEFENSE BEGINS: After finishing the non-conference season with a 7-3 mark, the Seawolves being defense of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference co-title with home tilts this week against longtime rivals Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings ... matches start at 7 p.m. Thursday and Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
THE SERIES...
vs SPU: UAA leads 37-32 overall, 19-14 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-1 (11/22/25 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 4
Notes: UAA has swept 10 of the last 12 season series ... the last six meetings have each gone four sets ... UAA is 9-2 against SPU at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014) ... UAA leads 31-17 in GNAC matches (since 2001) ... first meetings came in 1991 as members of the Pac West.
 
vs MSUB: UAA leads 61-11 overall, 31-5 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 3-0 (11/20/25 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 14
Notes: The Seawolves have won 29 of the past 30 meetings, including 10 straight sweeps since the pandemic ... UAA has won seven straight at home and is 10-1 against MSUB at the Alaska Airlines Center ... MSUB's lone win over the last decade was a 3-1 upset in UAA's 2017 home finale ... teams have not played a 5-setter since 2008 ... UAA leads 30-6 since MSUB joined the GNAC in 2007 ... MSUB is UAA's second-most common opponent, trailing only UAF … teams met twice per season every year from 1985-2000 as members of the Pac West.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Picked one spot behind UAA at sixth in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll, Seattle Pacific is coming off a 3-1 weekend in Honolulu, including matches against common foes UH Hilo (W 3-1), Chaminade (L 1-3) and Hawaii Pacific (W 3-0) ... the Falcons are led by Jr. RS Amaya Evans (2.77 kps, .323 att%, 0.58 bps) and Sr. L Christina Lopez (4.26 dps) ... Montana State Billings snapped a 42-match losing streak against D-II opponents with a 3-1 win over Western New Mexico on Aug. 28, and is looking to halt a 46-match skid in GNAC matches when it travels to UAF on Thursday ... the Yellowjackets are led by So. OH Allie Dorman (2.87 kps, .194 att%, 2.13 dps) and Jr. S Avery Starr (7.29 aps, 2.06 dps).
 
RIGHT AT HOME: The Seawolves went 2-1 at the Ice Block Classic in Fairbanks last week to finish their non-conference schedule with a 7-3 record ... in the opener, Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel had 9 kills on UAA season-high .692 hitting and Sr. OH Lee Ivakina added 9 kills in a 25-22, 25-23, 25-14 sweep of Minnesota State ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter added 31 assists and 5 kills on .444 hitting as UAA made big comebacks to take the first two sets ... Ivakina blasted 15 kills and Gabriel had 9 kills and 6 aces in the second match, helping UAA blank Tiffin 25-18, 25-9, 25-19 ... Jr. MB Martina Riba notched 4 kills and 3 of UAA's season-high 12 aces against the Dragons, while So. L Mary Nahinu made a match-high 9 digs ... in the finale, UAA could not keep its early momentum as No. 9 Fresno Pacific pulled out a 16-25, 28-30, 25-19, 25-18, 15-9 decision, despite 23 kills and 15 digs from Gabriel ... Ivakina had 18 kills as UAA's 7-match win streak was stopped, while Trotter managed 47 assists and a career-high-tying 20 digs.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves received 20 votes in this week's AVCA NCAA Div. II top-25 poll, marking the third straight week in the 'others receiving votes' category ... through the first 10 matches, UAA is hitting 57 points higher (.271 to .214) than last year's squad that went 23-6 and shared the GNAC title ... the Seawolves lead the early GNAC stats in kills per set (13.14), assists per set (11.81), attack pct (.271) and opponent blocks per set (1.36) ... 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 19 of its last 21 matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves are 123-29 (.809) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 170-41 (.806) 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 two double-doubles already, Ivakina ranks 4th in the GNAC stats in kills per set (3.44), along with 5th in points (3.82) and 16th in attack pct (.257) ... 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 (.350), 19th in kills per set (2.23), 8th in blocks per set (1.03) and 19th in points per set (2.80) ... the Most Outstanding Player of last the Seawolf Invitational has hit .500 or better three times already ... having missed just one match throughout her career, Burney ranks in UAA's career top 15 in both block assists (11th, 262) and total blocks (15th, 287) ... the Tumwater, Wash., native has recorded at least five kills in 30 of her last 33 appearances.
 
'WOLF BITES: Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel has started to find 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 last week ... Gabriel ranks 11th in the GNAC with 2.83 kills per set, 8th in points per set (3.51), 15th in attack pct (.266) and 16th in aces per set (0.39) ... 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 13th in the early GNAC stats with 0.92 blocks per set, along with 4th in attack pct at .341 ... the Barcelona native has registered multiple blocks in all seven matches, 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 7.78 assists per set and 10th with 3.06 digs per set – second-best in the league among non-liberos and first among setters ... the Wisconsinite dished a UAA season-best 47 assists in last week's loss to No. 9 FPU and nearly doubled her career high with 7 kills against LRU ... Trotter owns UAA career top-15 ranks in both total assists (15th, 1,234) and assists per set (14th, 5.57) ... Jr. RS Emma Beck has started 34 of her 37 matches in her young career, producing 2.03 kills and 0.77 blocks per set ... the Kenai native and former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year has provided 1.35 kps on .220 hitting so far in 2026, including .298 hitting over the last four matches ... So. L/DS Mary Nahinu has taken over at the libero position, ranking 7th in the GNAC with 3.28 digs per set and leading the Seawolves with 0.42 aces per set (13th GNAC) ... 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 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
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