Seawolves fall to #20 Nanooks in four

Anchorage (Oct. 31) - Junior outside hitter Lee Ivakina recorded a match-high 17 kills, but the UAA volleyball team could not capitalize on a strong start Friday against No. 20 UAF, falling 17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (17-5, 8-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 13 kills from senior outside hitter Tia Allen and a career-high 12 kills on .476 hitting from sophomore middle blocker Martina Riba as they fell to 2-3 against nationally ranked teams this season.

The Nanooks (19-3, 10-2) got a combined 31 kills from pin hitters Haylee Lyons and Elena Guc to earn a sweep of the season series and pull even with Simon Fraser and Western Washington atop the GNAC standings. Setter/hitter Cynphany Henderson was also clutch for the visitors with eight kills, 25 assists and a match-high 19 digs.

"Unfortunately we weren't able to maintain our momentum after the first set, and Fairbanks came out and played at a higher level than we did over the final three sets," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner.

Looking to avenge a 3-1 loss at UAF four weeks ago, UAA dominated the opening frame. Madison Galloway's ace boosted a 4-0 run to make it 12-6, and the Seawolves never let the visitors any closer, getting five kills from Ivakina and four from Allen to take the early advantage.

UAF turned the tables in the second - leading start to finish to tie the match - before the third became a back-and-forth affair. The Seawolves erased a 16-12 deficit to grab a 20-19 lead on a kill by Allen, and took a 21-19 edge on a Nanook hitting error. But the momentum would end there, with Lyons ripping two kills to propel a 6-1 surge by the visitors, capped by a Guc kill on the second set point.

The Seawolves erased a 12-6 deficit with a 7-0 run in the fourth, but could not maintain their success again. UAF answered the run with a 5-0 spurt of its own, and never let the Seawolves tie it. Allen would draw UAA within 23-22 in the late going, before kills from Lyons and Guc to end the match.

Ivakina hit .311 and made 13 digs to earn her team-high 13th double-double of the season, while Riba added a team-high four block assists.

Freshman setter Johana Malikova had 45 assists, 12 digs and two aces, while Galloway tallied a team-best 16 digs.

The Seawolves continue their three-match homestand Thursday (7 p.m. AST) against No. 8 Simon Fraser at the Alaska Airlines Center. Find tickets, live links and more at GoSeawolves.com.