Seawolves outlast Wolves in GNAC home opener

Anchorage (Sept. 25) - Outside hitters Lee Ivakina and Tia Allen both delivered double-doubles and the UAA volleyball team got another strong effort from middle blocker Bella Burney to outlast Western Oregon 25-17, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19 on Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Allen had 14 kills, 17 digs, three aces and four assists for the Seawolves (12-1, 3-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), while Ivakina tallied 15 kills, 14 digs, two assists and two blocks in UAA's first league home match of the season.

The Wolves (1-9, 0-3) got a match-high 17 kills from outside hitter Maela Honma, but the visitors from Monmouth were outhit .202 to .130 and outdug 83-70.

"It wasn't our most consistent effort, but we continued to get good balance offensively and got the job done," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner, whose team has equaled the second-best 13-match start in program history. "The schedule is going to continue to get harder, though, so we'll need to keep raising our level of play."

Seeking to avenge last year's sweep at the hands of the Wolves, the Seawolves came out swinging with a .333 to .125 hitting advantage in the opening set. Nursing a 16-14 lead, freshman Emma Beck started the decisive surge with a kill, and Allen and sophomore Martina Riba collected aces to push it to 22-15.

Allen - who transferred from Saint Martin's to UAA for her final two seasons - collected five kills on just eight swings in the second set, surpassing 1,000 kills for her career. The Clayton, Wash., native had a spike to make it 24-19, and staked the hosts to a two-set lead with another kill on set point.

After a shaky third set, the Seawolves never trailed in the fourth, thanks to 12 assists from freshman setter Johana Malikova and six kills on .455 hitting from Ivakina. Burney added three kills in the final frame as she finished with 11 kills on match-best .409 hitting, topping the .400 mark for the third straight time.

Allen and Ivakina earned their seventh and sixth double-doubles of the season, respectively, while senior libero Madison Galloway chipped in 15 digs and four assists. Riba had eight kills on .316 hitting and three block assists, and Beck had seven kills, two blocks and a career-best four digs.

Hannah Trotter led UAA with 27 assists, along with 16 from Malikova.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center for a Saturday 7 p.m. contest against Saint Martin's. Find tickets, live links and more at GoSeawolves.com.