<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=13h8b4_1GvNTuiF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=13h8b4_1GvNTuiF00" width="1534" height="863" ><figcaption>Stephanie Burgoon</figcaption></figure>THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...Thursday, Nov. 12 — 5 pm AST — Alterowitz Gymnasium — Billings, Mont.Alaska Anchorage (19-7, 12-4 GNAC) at Montana State Billings (5-21, 1-15 GNAC)&amp;Saturday, Nov. 14 — 1 pm AST — Brougham Pavilion — Seattle, Wash.Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific (17-7, 12-4 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])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: Thursday at msubsports.com/sidearmstats/wvballSaturday at spufalcons.com/sidearmstats/wvballUAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 stats)S—Hannah Trotter, 5-9, Sr. (8.33 aps, 2.79 dps, 0.80 kps, .285 att%)OH—Lee Ivakina, 6-0, Sr. (3.52 kps, .242 att%, 2.64 dps, 0.54 bps)OH—Trinity Byrne, 5-10, So. (1.67 kps, .160 att%, 1.06 dps, 0.24 bps)RS—Emma Beck, 5-11, Jr. (1.65 kps, .220 att%, 0.52 bps)MB—Bella Burney, 6-0, Sr. (2.05 kps, .335 att%, 0.96 bps)MB—Martina Riba, 6-0, Jr. (1.40 kps, .242 att%, 0.87 bps, 0.33 ace/set)L—Elena Hansen, 5-9, Sr. (2.23 dps, 0.53 aps, 0.28 ace/set)MUST-WIN FINALES AWAIT: With nine wins in its last 10 outings, the Alaska Anchorage volleyball team tries to keep its playoff hopes alive in this week's regular-season finales, facing MSU Billings and Seattle Pacific on the road Thursday and Saturday ... UAA and SPU enter the week tied for third in the 10-team GNAC ... the Seawolves also enter at No. 10 in the NPI power rankings that will decide the eight-team NCAA West Region Championships field, trailing No. 8 SPU and No. 9 Biola for the last spot.THE SERIES...vs MSUB: UAA leads 62-11 overall, 29-6 in BillingsLast: UAA 3-0 (9/12/26 at UAA)Streak: UAA 15Notes: The Seawolves have won 30 of the past 31 meetings, including 11 straight sweeps since the pandemic ... 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 31-6 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.vs SPU: UAA leads 38-32 overall, 18-16 in SeattleLast: UAA 3-0 (9/10/26 at UAA)Streak: UAA 5Notes: UAA is seeking its third straight season sweep and 10th in the last 12 time in the last 11 seasons ... UAA won 3-1 last year in Seattle ... UAA leads 32-17 in GNAC matches (since 2001) ... first meetings came in 1991 as members of the Pac West ... SPU is UAA's third-most common opponent, trailing only MSU Billings and UAF.SCOUTING REPORT: Montana State Billings has shown some juice since of late, snapping its 58-match GNAC losing streak with a 3-2 win over Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 29 and taking Central Washington and Western Washington to four sets ... the Yellowjackets are led by Allie Dorman (2.86 kps, .164 att%, 2.20 dps) and Emma Fairbairn (2.10 kps, .077 att%, 2.34 dps) ... battling with UAA and Biola for the potential last NCAA West Regional Championships seed, Seattle Pacific has gone 5-2 over the second half of the GNAC schedule, suffering its losses to CWU and at Simon Fraser ... the Falcons are led by Megan Omlid (3.11 kps, .211 att%, 2.81 dps) and Amaya Evans (2.98 kps, .307 att%, 0.73 bps).SAFE AT HOME: The Seawolves ran their win streak to five and concluded the home campaign with a 10-2 mark, winning last week against Saint Martin's (3-2) and Western Oregon (3-0) at the Alaska Airlines Center ... in the first match, Sr. OH Lee Ivakina blasted 21 kills on career-high .500 hitting as the Seawolves survived SMU's upset bid, 20-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-12, 15-13 ... Jr. RS Emma Beck had 13 kills and So. OH Trinity Byrne had a career-best 13 kills as eight different Seawolves forged at least one career high, including 7 kills from Fr. MB Patri Ferran, 17 assists and 6 digs from Jr. S Anna McWhorter, 8 digs from Jr. DS Alex Gonzalez-Orozco, and .583 hitting from Sr. MB Bella Burney ... on Saturday, Ivakina had 11 kills on .385 hitting and 11 digs to spark a 25-21, 25-22, 25-14 win over the Wolves ... Burney delivered 10 kills on .421 hitting, Byrne notched 9 kills and Sr. S Hannah Trotter had 34 assists and 10 digs.TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves have clinched their 16th upper-half GNAC finish in the last 17 seasons ... UAA is received 14 votes in the Nov. 9 AVCA NCAA Div. II Top 25 poll ... 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; with a final average of 1,113 in 2026, UAA is on pace to lead again this year ... the Seawolves are 31-30 against AVCA Top 25 teams since 2014, with a 2-3 mark this year ... UAA has won 25 of its last 28 matches at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves are 130-31 (.807) at the Alaska Airlines Center since the arena's opening in Sept. 2014, and 177-43 (.805) at home since 2009 ... UAA has clinched its 18th winning record in the last 19 seasons ... the Seawolves are seeking their 18th 20-win season in 47 years of program history.TALKIN' IVAKINA: UAA's leading point producer, Sr. OH Lee Ivakina (e-VOCK-in-ah) is well on her way to earning repeat First Team All-GNAC honors in 2026 ... a Preseason All-GNAC pick again, the Bulgarian opened the year with all-tournament honors at both the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and the Seawolf Invitational, and she's recorded at least 15 kills in the last six matches, hitting .448 over the last three ... with 10 double-doubles in the last 12 matches and 13 for the season, Ivakina ranks 3rd in the GNAC stats in kills (3.52 kps), 4th in points (4.08 ppg), 18th in attack pct (.242) and 20th in digs per set (2.64) ... her 25 kills and 24 digs Sept. 24 against WWU tied and set career highs, while marking the first '20/20' effort by a Seawolf since All-American Eve Stephens in Nov. 2022.FEEL THE BURNEY: UAA's most experienced player, Sr. MB Bella Burney has lived up to her Preseason All-GNAC Team hype, ranking 4th in the GNAC in attack pct (.335) and 10th in blocks per set (0.96) ... the Most Outstanding Player of the Seawolf Invitational and the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 5-11, she has hit .500 or better seven times already, while producing a career-high 16 kills on .464 hitting in the 3-1 win over Lenoir-Rhyne ... having missed just two matches throughout her career, Burney has reached the top 10 on UAA's lists for block assists (8th, 308) and total blocks (10th, 342), while ranking 16th in attack pct (.250) and 17th in victories (72) ... the Tumwater, Wash., native has recorded at least five kills in 45 of her last 49 appearances.'WOLF BITES: Jr. OH Kyana Gabriel has made a major impact in her first season at UAA, starting with Ice Block Classic all-tournament and GNAC offensive player of the week honors in the non-conference finales ... Gabriel ranks 13th in the GNAC with 2.79 kills per set and 3.32 points per set, producing eight double-doubles ... 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 ... Sr. S Hannah Trotter has stepped her game up a notch, ranking 3rd in the GNAC with 8.33 assists per set and 17th with 2.80 digs per set ... the Wisconsinite tied the modern UAA record (25-point rally scoring began in 2008) with 64 assists in the win over WWU, and she's proven a valuable attacker as well, hitting .285 on 207 attempts ... the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts at SFU and WWU, Trotter moved into UAA's career top 10 last week, now with 1,754 assists ... Jr. MB Martina Riba ranks 17th in the GNAC with a .242 attack pct, along with 16th in aces per set (0.33) and 15th in blocks per set (0.87) ... the Barcelona native has registered multiple blocks in 22 of her 25 matches this year, producing 6 blocks assists in sweeps of Chaminade and UAF ... Jr. RS Emma Beck has started 50 of 53 matches in her career, producing 1.93 kills on .223 hitting and 0.66 blocks per set ... the Kenai native and former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year has provided 1.65 kps on .220 hitting so far in 2026, forging career highs with .667 hitting at NNU and 14 kills vs WWU, and averaging 9.2 kills during UAA's current three-match win streak ... So. L/DS Mary Nahinu and Sr. L/DS Elena Hansen have taken over as UAA's back-row anchors, splitting time at libero over the last few matches ... Nahinu ranks 12th in the GNAC with 3.06 digs per set, tallying double figures 16 times ... the Utah native and social media superstar has posted big efforts of 18 digs and 7 assists against TWU, 17 digs and 2 aces in the sweep of Chaminade, and a career-best 19 digs at WOU ... Hansen saw her playing time increase in October, delivering 2.73 digs per set and 0.33 aces per set last month ... the former Limestone transfer has posted season highs of 16 digs in wins over WWU and WOU, along with a season-high four aces to aid the win at WWU.COACH HOOE AT THE HELM: Former Seawolf All-American Morgan Hooe is in 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 HonorsBELLA BURNEYAcademic All-GNAC TeamGNAC Defensive Player of the Week, 10/5-11Seawolf Invitational Most Outstanding PlayerPreseason All-GNAC TeamKYANA GABRIELGNAC Offensive Player of the Week, 8/31-9/6Ice Block Classic All-Tournament TeamLEE IVAKINAAcademic All-GNAC TeamSeawolf Invitational All-Tournament TeamAlaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament TeamPreseason All-GNAC TeamANNA McWHORTERAcademic All-GNAC TeamMARTINA RIBAAcademic All-GNAC TeamHANNAH TROTTERAcademic All-GNAC TeamGNAC Offensive Player of the Week, 10/19-25UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2026INDIVIDUALMatchMost Assists (25-pt rally scoring era) — 64, Hannah Trotter vs Western Washington, 9/24 (ties record set by Calli Scott at BYU-Hawaii, 9/11/09; and by Ellen Floyd vs Florida Southern, 9/2/22)</div></body>

Block Source: goseawolves.com

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL... Thursday, Nov. 12 — 5 pm AST — Alterowitz Gymnasium — Billings, Mont. Alaska Anchorage (19-7, 12-4 GNAC) at Montana State Billings (5-21, 1-15 GNAC) &. Saturday, Nov. 14 — 1 pm AST — Brougham Pavilion — Seattle, Wash....

UAA concludes playoff chase at MSUB, SPU

NewsBreak

THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL... Thursday, Nov. 12 — 5 pm AST — Alterowitz Gymnasium — Billings, Mont. Alaska Anchorage (19-7, 12-4 GNAC) at Mon

UAA concludes playoff chase at MSUB, SPU

Comments