Seawolves fall four in 1st-place battle in Fairbanks

Fairbanks, Alaska (Oct. 2) - Senior outside hitter Tia Allen had 15 kills and 19 digs, but the UAA volleyball team saw its six-match winning streak come to an end Thursday with a 16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 27-25 loss to No. 23 UAF at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves also got a season-high 23 digs from senior libero Madison Galloway in the first-place showdown, featuring teams that entered with identical records of 13-1 overall and 4-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Outside hitter Mikala Henderson had 15 kills on .303 hitting and 12 digs to lead the Nanooks, who remained unbeaten alongside Western Washington atop the league standings.

"There was some terrific volleyball on both sides of the net, but we just came up short on a couple key rallies," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner, whose team faced the first of three straight ranked foes on the road. "It was a packed gym and tough atmosphere, so despite the loss I think the experience should serve us well going into two more similar kinds of matches next week."

Looking to equal the best 15-match start in program history, the Seawolves came out firing on all cylinders, outhitting the hosts .289 to .060 in the opening set behind five kills from Kenai product Emma Beck.

Tied 18-18 in the second, UAF got two straight kills from Henderson to cap a 3-0 surge, and fended off a late UAA rally with another from Henderson on set point.

The Nanooks - who won their 12th in a row - held the Seawolves to .049 hitting in the third, setting up a fourth set that would feature 13 ties and three lead changes. UAA earned a set point when Bella Burney and Beck combined on a block to make it 24-23, but the hosts got a block of their own to tie it. Outside hitter Lee Ivakina slammed a kill to keep the Seawolves alive at 25-25, before the Nanooks won on a kill by Cynphany Henderson and a UAA attack error.

Allen and Ivakina both earned their eighth double-doubles of the season, with Ivakina tallying 12 kills and 11 digs.

Galloway's 23 digs were one more than she had in five-set wins over Hawaii Hilo and No. 9 Chaminade in August, while Beck finished with 11 kills on .290 hitting and a career-high seven block assists.

Sophomore middle blocker Martina Riba had seven kills on team-best .333 hitting, sophomore Hannah Trotter dished 34 assists, and junior Elena Hansen added three aces, 11 digs and two assists.

The Seawolves continue their road gauntlet next week against No. 19 Western Washington (Thur., Oct. 9, 6 pm ADT) and No. 7 Simon Fraser (Sat., Oct. 11, 4 pm ADT). Find links to live video ($) and stats at GoSeawolves.com.