Hot-hitting Seawolves breeze past Billings

Billings, Montana (Sept. 20) - Senior outside hitter Tia Allen had 11 kills and 13 digs Saturday to help the UAA volleyball team to a dominant 25-13, 25-12, 25-8 victory over Montana State Billings at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

The Seawolves (11-1, 2-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got eight kills apiece from freshman Emma Beck and junior Lee Ivakina as they equaled the second-best start in program history after 12 matches.

The Yellowjackets (1-5, 0-2) were led by Jordan Taulua's eight kills, but the hosts were held to -.048 hitting - UAA's second-best defensive mark in 25 years of GNAC play - and outblocked 7-1.

UAA's .437 hitting percentage was its fifth-best in the rally-scoring era (since 2001), while Billings's 33 total points were the third-fewest allowed by a Seawolf team since 25-point sets were implemented in 2008.

"Our team continued to display the focus that they have throughout the first month of the season," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner, whose squad committed just two attack errors in the first two sets. "It's great to start the league with two road wins, but we'll need to keep improving and get ready for a couple tough home matches next week."

The Seawolves never trailed in the first two sets, getting five kills on six swings from Beck in the first and five kills on eight swings from Ivakina in the second. UAA led just 8-7 in the third when Beck and Allen ripped consecutive kills to start a 6-0 run, and the Seawolves finished it off with 11 straight points.

Allen's .429 hitting percentage was her second-best as a Seawolf, while the Saint Martin's transfer surpassed the 1,000 mark in career digs. It was also her sixth double-double this season.

Beck had UAA's second-best individual hitting percentage of the season at .538 (8-1-13), while Ivakina connected at a .389 clip and notched nine digs.

Sophomore setter Hannah Trotter dished a match-high 22 assists, and junior rightside hitter Bella Burney had six block assists and three kills on five attacks.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center next week to face Western Oregon on Thursday (7 pm) and Saint Martin's on Saturday (7 pm). Find tickets and links to live video ($) and stats at GoSeawolves.com.