Eve Stephens racked up 20 kills, Talia Leauanae supplied 20 digs and Ellen Floyd served five aces Thursday night to keep the UAA volleyball team rolling.
The Seawolves defeated Montana State-Billings in four sets Thursday in Billings, Montana, for their third straight victory 28-26, 15-25, 25-15, 25-10.
The win pushes UAA to 15-5 on the season while keeping it near the top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with a 10-2 record. The Seawolves trail league-leading Western Washington (10-1, 18-1) by half a game.
Stephens, a sophomore out of Colony High, sparked UAA with 20 kills, 11 digs, three blocks and two aces. Floyd, another sophomore, handed out 39 assists to go with 16 digs and a career-best five aces, and senior Vanessa Hayes provided 10 kills, eight digs and two aces.
Stephens slammed 13 of her kills in the final two sets to record her fourth straight double-double.
Six players served aces for the Seawolves, whose 13 points from the service line included a much-needed ace from Leauanae to end a prolonged first set. Leauanae’s big serve came after Billings fended off UAA on four previous attempts to score set-point.
Billings, which was led by Bayli Monck’s 16 kills and 11 digs, breezed to a second-set victory but was no match for the Seawolves in the final two sets.
After tallying more hitting errors (8) than kills (7) in the second set, the Seawolves recovered in impressive fashion. They made a combined four errors in the third and fourth sets while registering attack percentages of .364 and .343, respectively. They hit .230 for the match.
The Yellowjackets (7-14 overall, 4-7 GNAC) made 13 hitting errors during the final two sets and finished with a .144 attack percentage. They hit .075 in the third set and had an attack percentage of zero in the fourth.
The win was UAA’s second this week. On Tuesday, the Seawolves pulled out a five-set win over UAF.
The Seawolves play another road match next Thursday against Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho.
.