Anchorage, Alaska (Aug. 28) – Junior outside hitter Lee Ivakina had 20 kills and freshman Bailee Tucker delivered five of her 11 kills in the fifth set Thursday to lift the UAA volleyball team to a 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 16-25, 15-10 victory over Hawaii Hilo in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge, presented by Alaska Airlines.

The Seawolves (2-0) also got a career-high 48 assists and four kills from sophomore setter Hannah Trotter as they outhit the visitors .400 to .083 in the deciding frame.

The Vulcans (0-1) put four players in double-figure kills, led by 16 kills and 21 digs from outside hitter Alohi Garcia and 48 assists from setter Emerson Reinke.

“We started out strong and then hit a dip in the middle of the match, but we showed tremendous resilience to finish it off against a very good team,” said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner. “That was a gritty win and a total team effort.”

The Seawolves controlled the opening set after splitting the first 10 points, never letting the Vulcans closer than 20-17 in the latter stages, and getting a pair of late kills from Ivakina to clinch it.

UAA played from behind throughout the second frame, digging its way out of a 9-1 hole to eventually win it. The Seawolves trailed 22-18 when Meisner subbed in new serving specialist Elena Hansen to spark the final surge. After four straight Hilo attack errors, Hansen served an ace, followed by a kill from Tia Allen to make it 24-22. The visitors survived the next point before Garcia committed another attack error on set point.

The Seawolves had a chance for the sweep, but the Vulcans pulled out a third set that featured 13 ties and three lead changes. UAA rallied for ties at 23-23 and 24-24 on an ace from libero Madison Galloway and a kill from Ivakina, but could never claim the advantage as Hilo’s Malu Garcia delivered back-to-back kills to keep the match alive.

The Vulcans dominated the fourth set and started strong in the fifth with a 5-2 lead before the hosts took control for good. Tucker – a rightside hitter from Layton, Utah – ripped kills on three of the next four rallies to start a 6-0 Seawolf run before the teams switched sides. Hilo drew back within 11-10 on a kill from Malu Garcia, but UAA finished with a 4-0 run to end the match, getting a block from Tucker and Bella Burney for a 13-10 edge and another kill from Tucker on match point.

Ivakina added 16 digs as the Bulgarian and Navarro (Texas) College transfer recorded her first double-double as a Seawolf, hitting .237 on the night.

Allen had eight kills and a career-high 24 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Martina Riba notched six kills and a career-high seven total blocks.

Trotter also had 18 digs, while Galloway finished with 22 digs, 44-of-45 receiving and two aces.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center on Friday for a 1 p.m. tilt against No. 9 Chaminade (0-1) in their next Alaska/Hawaii Challenge match. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.

August Archive