Seawolves silence Billings with their serve to win 3rd straight volleyball match

The UAA volleyball team dealt 11 aces Thursday night to rake in a third straight victory.

In their return to the Alaska Airlines Center after six matches on the road, the Seawolves remained undefeated in conference play with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-14 triumph over Montana State Billings.

Eve Stephens and Ellen Floyd each served four aces to help the Seawolves silence the Yellowjackets 11 times from the service line. Freshmen Nicole Blue and Reilly Plumhoff accounted for the other three, with Blue serving two of them.

“Our serving was effective tonight, and that put us at an advantage,” UAA coach Chris Green said in a press release from the school. “It was great to finally get back out there on our home court for league action again.”

The Seawolves were playing their first home match in nearly three weeks -- and their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference home match in 22 months, a gap due to the pandemic.

UAA received contributions up and down the lineup to improve to 10-5 overall, 3-0 GNAC.

Stephens, a junior right-side hitter, added a match-game 14 kills, and Floyd, a junior setter, supplied 29 assists and 10 digs.

Freshman Mahala Kaapuni ripped nine kills, sophomore Lisa Jaunet had seven, junior Talia Leauanae furnished a match-high 20 digs and senior Vera Pluharova had two solo blocks and four kills.

Billings (4-7, 1-2) was led by Bayli Monck’s 13 kills and 11 digs. The Yellowjackets were undone by 20 attack errors and five serving errors.

The Seawolves were coming off six straight road matches. They were 3-3 in that stretch with the losses coming consecutively, but the skid ended as soon as the conference season began. UAA turned things around last week with GNAC victories over Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon.

UAA continues GNAC play Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against Seattle Pacific.