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Spikers host SpringHill Suites Invite to start home campaign

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Spikers host SpringHill Suites Invite to start home campaign

THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE VOLLEYBALL...

UAA hosts 20th annual SpringHill Suites Invitational
Sept. 1-3 / Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska

Thursday, Sept. 1
7:00 pm: Westminster (0-0) vs #14 Alaska Anchorage (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 2
9:00 am: #19 Arkansas Fort Smith (0-0) vs Rollins (0-0)
11:30 am: Stanislaus State (0-0) vs Westminster
2:00 pm: Rollins vs #14 Alaska Anchorage
4:30 pm: #19 Arkansas Fort Smith vs Westminster
7:30 pm: Stanislaus State vs #14 Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, Sept. 3
9:00 am: Westminster vs Rollins
11:30 am: Stanislaus State vs Arkansas Fort Smith
4:30 pm: Rollins vs Stanislaus State
7:30 pm: #19 Arkansas Fort Smith vs #14 Alaska Anchorage

TV: All four UAA matches live statewide on GCI cable channels 907 (hd) & 1 (sd)

LIVE VIDEOSTREAM: All 10 matches at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa

LIVE STATS: All 10 matches at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa or GoSeawolves.com

TICKETS: $10 general admission, $8 discounted, UAA students free with valid WolfCard ... tickets for Friday and Saturday will cover all matches each day ... visit GoSeawolves.com or call 907-786-1562 for all ticket info.

PROMOTIONS: Fans at Thursday's match can text-to-win Alaska Airlines MVP Gold status  during the action, while those who stick around after the action can receive a free 2016 UAA Volleyball schedule poster and attend an autograph session with the team.

PROBABLE STARTERS (2016 stats)
S—Morgan Hooe, 5-7, Sr. (9.20 asst/set, 2.10 dps, 0.85 kps, .286 att%, 0.57 bps)
MB—Vanessa Hayes, 5-11, Fr. (1.00 kps, .227 att%, 1.40 bps)
MB—Erin Braun, 6-0, Sr. (2.10 kps, .200 att%, 1.30 bps, 0.60 ace/set)
OH—Leah Swiss, 6-0, So. (2.70 kps, .168 att%, 2.70 dps, 0.60 bps)
OH—Chrisalyn Johnson, 5-9, So. (2.80 kps, .082 att%, 0.50 bps)
RS—Diana Fa'amausili, 5-11, Fr. (2.70 kps, .242 att%, .1.30 bps)
L—Kyla Militante-Amper, 5-3, So. (5.20 dps)

HAWAII RECAP: The Seawolves got a head start on the 2016 campaign by going 2-1 against Pacific West Conference foes BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific, Aug. 25-27 on Oahu ... in the first match, Sr. MB Erin Braun had 11 kills on .269 hitting, 7 total blocks and career-highs of 5 aces and 4 solo blocks in a 22-25, 25-7, 25-18, 25-17 comeback victory over BYUH ... So. OH Leah Swiss and So. OH Chrisalyn Johnson each added 12 kills, while So. L Kyla Militante-Amper made 18 digs and served 2 aces ... on Friday, Fr. RS Diana Fa'amausili and Johnson notched 10 kills apiece but UAA could not overcome an improved Chaminade squad in a 25-19, 29-27, 27-25 loss ... Militante-Amper had 19 digs as the Seawolves lost in straight sets for the first time since Oct. 25, 2014 (a span of 37 matches without being swept) ... on Saturday, Swiss and Fa'amausili combined for 20 kills and just 5 errors in a 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 blowout of HPU ... Sr. S Morgan Hooe had 26 assists, 4 kills on .364 hitting, 3 aces and 6 digs to help the Seawolves outhit the Sharks .231 to -.009.

BRIEF 2016 PREVIEW: The Seawolves return seven letterwinners – including three starters and their primary libero – from last year's GNAC title squad, although they must replace 60 percent of their offensive production with the graduation of three ultra-productive seniors ... UAA's senior class is comprised of All-American setter Morgan Hooe and prolific middle blocker Erin Braun, who will try to become the first Seawolves to play in four straight NCAA Tournaments ... So. OH Leah Swiss – an All-GNAC pick as a redshirt freshman – joins So. L Kyla Militante-Amper and So. OH/L Taylor Noga as returners from the regular rotation, while the recruiting class is comprised of two junior-college transfers and five true freshmen.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Entering its second full season at the NCAA Div. II level, Westminster is picked to finish 12th in the Rocky Mountain Athleic Conference's preseason poll ... the Griffins, from Salt Lake City, return eight players from last year's 7-20 squad, including 2nd-team All-RMAC Jr. MB Amara Spere (3.28 kps, .209 att%, 0.66 bps) ... Rollins, from Winter Park, Fla., is coming off an 11-19 campaign and is picked to finish 8th in the Sunshine State Conference's preseason poll ... the Tars' top returner is 6-1 Jr. OH Bri Civiero (2.96 kps, .168 att%, 2.80 dps, 0.46 bps) ... West Region foe Stanislaus State, from Turlock, Calif., is coming off a 16-11 overall mark and a 10-10 record (7th place) in the California Collegiate Athletic Association ... the Warriors return their top four kills leaders from last year, led by 6-2 Sr. MB Taylor Massengale (2.99 kps, .322 att%, 0.67 bps) ... picked to repeat as Heartland Conference champs and ranked No. 19 in the AVCA preseason Top 25, Arkansas Fort Smith is coming off 29-4 campaign and its second straight NCAA Elite Eight berth ... the Lions return their top three kills leaders, led by 5-11 Sr. OH Kennedi Coleman (3.63 kps, .217 att%, 0.60 bps).

ALL-TIME SERIES:
vs. Westminster & Arkansas Ft. Smith: First meetings
vs. Rollins: Rollins leads 1-0
   Last: RC 3-0 (8/25/06 at San Antonio, TX)
vs. Stanislaus State: Tied 1-1
   Last: SSU 3-2 (8/25/01 at UAA)
Notes: The teams met on back-to-back nights in Anchorage in 2001, with the Seawolves sweeping on Aug. 24.

SPRINGHILL NOTES: UAA went 4-0 to win its own tourney in 2015, including impressive victories over perenial power Nebraska Kearney and eventual Elite Elight club Rockhurst; it was the host school's seventh SpringHill Suites title in 19 tries — all since 2002 ... the Seawolves are 50-26 all-time in their own tourney, including a 21-3 mark since 2008 ... UAA's Julia Mackey was the 2015 tourney's Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the 7-player All-Tournament Team by then-Jr. S Morgan Hooe and Katelynn Zanders.

SEAWOLVES SLOTTED SECOND: UAA was picked runner-up in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's preseason coaches' poll, released Aug. 16.

2016 GNAC Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll
Team (1st-place votes)      2015 Records       Pts
1. Western Washington (11)  27-6 (17-3, 2nd)   121
2. Alaska Anchorage         27-3 (18-2, 1st)   104
3. Northwest Nazarene       19-9 (16-4, t-3rd)  98
4. Central Washington       20-8 (16-4, t-3rd)  92
5. Simon Fraser             15-13 (11-9, 5th)   73
6. Concordia                18-10 (10-10, 6th)  64
7. Seattle Pacific          7-21 (5-15, t-8th)  53
8. Western Oregon           8-21 (5-15, t-8th)  43
9. Alaska Fairbanks         6-21 (6-14, 7th)    41
10. Montana State Billings  6-23 (5-15, t-8th)  23
11. Saint Martin's          2-24 (1-19, 11th)   14
Points awarded on 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

AVCA TOP 25: The Seawolves start the year No. 14 in the AVCA NCAA Div. II Top 25 poll, marking their highest spot ever in the preseason rankings ... UAA reached as high as No. 7 last year before finishing No. 13 in the final poll ... here is an abbreviated look at the current rankings (full poll at avca.org):

AVCA Div. II Coaches' Top 25 Poll (Preseason - Aug. 16, 2016)
(GNAC teams & UAA opponents in bold; West Region teams in italics)
Rk Team (1st-pl. votes)      Pts Rec.  Prev.
 1. Concordia-St. Paul (25) 1140 29-5  4
 2. Wheeling Jesuit (20)    1120 38-4  1
 3. Palm Beach Atlantic (1) 1093 28-8  2
 4. SW Minnesota State      1067 26-6  8
 5. Western Washington       971 27-6  6
 6. Wayne State, Neb.        922 28-8  3
 7. Tampa (2)                824 27-6  9
 8. Ferris State             801 33-3  7
 9. Central Missouri         760 30-5  11
10. Minnesota Duluth         739 23-8  10
14. ALASKA ANCHORAGE         555 27-3  13
19. Arkansas Fort Smith      348 29-4  17
20. Cal St. San Bernardino   310 28-6  19
24. Sonoma State             110 26-4  24
Other West Region Teams Receiving Votes: t27) Cal Baptist 45; t27) Central Washington 45; 30) Dixie State 25; 33) UC San Diego 21; t44) NW Nazarene 3; 46) Concordia (Calif.) 2.

2015 SEASON RECAP: The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team recorded the most successful season in program history with a 27-3 record, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference outright title and an NCAA Second Round berth in 2015 ... the Seawolves were ranked between No. 7 and No. 14 nationally for the entire regular season, reaching their highest spot ever in the poll and finishing at No. 13 ... Sr. OH Katelynn Zanders was voted GNAC Player of the Year and 3rd Team All-American, Sr. RS Julia Mackey earned 1st Team All-America honors, and then-Jr. S Morgan Hooe was also a 3rd Team All-American ... Chris Green captured his second GNAC Coach of the Year honor as well.

SEAWOLF NCAA HISTORY: The Seawolves made their sixth trip in seven seasons and the program's eighth total NCAA Tournament appearance (1989, 1990, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) last year … UAA snapped a streak of four straight NCAA 1st Round losses with its over Dixie State ... the Seawolves were a No. 2 seed in 2014 and earned the No. 1 seed for the first time in 2015 – the program's two best seedings ever … UAA is now 2-8 all-time in NCAA play (2-6 1st Rd; 0-2 2nd Rd).

TITLE HUNT SUCCESSFUL: UAA clinched its second outright GNAC title (2009) in 2015 and the progam's fourth league crown since starting conference play in 1984; the Seawolves won the Continental Divide Conference outright in 1990 and tied for the Pacific West Conference title in 1992 ... the 2015 Seawolves earned the program's third straight NCAA Tournament bid and the sixth in the last seven years; UAA also made the 'Big Dance' in 1989 and 1990.

TEAM NOTES: UAA's loss at Chaminade ended the program's impressive streaks of seven straight road wins, nine straight regular-season non-conference victories and 37 straight matches without being swept ... the Seawolves are 24-5 at the Alaska Airlines Center since its opening in Sept. 2014, and 70-16 at home since 2009 ... at 27-3 last year, UAA had the best winning percentage (.900) and fewest losses in program history for the second straight season; UAA went 21-6 (.778) in 2014  ... the Seawolves' 27 wins surpassed the previous record of 24 (1990,  1992) ... with their 14-0 start, the Seawolves surpassed the old program record of 13 straight wins by the 2009 GNAC title club; the previous best start for a Seawolf team was 10-0 in 1988 ... with a 12-match win streak from Oct. 17-Dec. 4, the Seawolves produced two of the three longest streaks in program history last year ... the Seawolves led the 2015 GNAC stats with a .130 opponent attack percentage and ranked 2nd in attack pct. (.250), assists per set (12.55), kills per set (13.52) and aces per set (1.57); in the NCAA D-II national stats, UAA was 8th in blocking (three of the top 8 nationally were GNAC teams), 15th in opponent attack pct., 17th in attack pct., 37th in kills per set and 38th in assists per set ... dating to 2014, UAA has won eight of its last 11 matches against nationally ranked opponents – easily the best stretch in program history ... UAA is now 18-30 against ranked opponents under head coach Chris Green; prior to his arrival in 2008, UAA had lost 32 straight to ranked foes.

THE HOOE PACKAGE: Sr. S Morgan Hooe rose to the elite level last season with AVCA Third Team All-America and First Team All-GNAC honors, ranking 2nd in the league with 10.56 assists per set ... under Hooe's guidance, the Seawolf offense ranked 2nd in the league and 17th nationally with a .250 attack pct., along with 2nd and 37th, respectively, in kills per set (13.52) ... individually, Hooe ranked 36th nationally in assists per set, helping UAA produce nine matches with plus-.300 hitting ... Hooe's career-high 55 assists in wins over No. 23 Rockhurst and at Western Oregon were the top 4-set performances for a GNAC setter in 2015, while her 44 against Dixie State on Sept. 12 were 3rd-best in a 3-setter ... after earning honorable mention All-GNAC honors as a sophomore in 2014, the former South Anchorage HS star earned a spot on the 2015 SpringHill Suites Invitational all-tourney team to start last season ... Hooe also proved an efficient offense force herself, with her .286 attack pct. ranking 3rd-best on the team ... on UAA's career lists, she currently stands 5th in total assists (2,611) and 6th in assists per set (8.18), having shared time in a '6-2' offensive system her freshman season.

BRAUN AT THE NET: Sr. Erin Braun was a big reason behind the Seawolves' top-20 NCAA team ranks in both attack pct. and blocking last year, ranking 5th in the GNAC in attack pct. (.310) and 7th in blocks per set (1.21) ... the San Bernardino, Calif., native posted at least four kills in 24 of 30 matches as a junior, and had 13 matches with at least 5 total blocks ... on the UAA single-season lists, Braun ranked 3rd in blocks assists (121), 7th in attack pct. (.310), and 11th in total blocks (133) and blocks per set (1.21) last year, while on the career lists she has risen to 3rd in attack pct. (.300), 5th in block assists (302), 7th in total blocks (331) and 8th in bps (1.06) ... currently on track to set the Seawolves' career record for block assists, Braun was an honorable mention All-GNAC performer as a sophomore in 2014, and she is a two-time Academic All-GNAC achiever.

CAN'T MISS: As a redshirt freshman in 2015, So. OH Leah Swiss proved to be one of the top players in the GNAC regardless of experience, becoming the second UAA rookie to earn All-GNAC honors ... Swiss produced GNAC ranks of 14th in both points per set (3.30) and kills per set (2.62), and 4th in aces per set (0.37), while she was third on the team with 2.64 digs per set ... last September the former Dimond High star led the entire 8-team GNAC/Pac West Crossover with .419 hitting and was named to the event's all-tournament squad ... after hitting under .100 in the first two matches of 2015, Swiss connected at .225 or better in 14 of 28 contests, including .533 against Dixie State and .476 against No. 20 BYU-Hawaii.

FLYIN' KYLA: So. L Kyla Mlitante-Amper also picked up some hardware as a freshman, twice earning GNAC Defensive Player of the Week – for her play at the GNAC/Pac West Crossover in the in final week of the regular season vs. Concordia and WOU – as well as the team's Best Defensive Player honor ... the Hillsboro, Ore. (Century HS) product registered at least 15 digs in 16 of the 24 matches in which she played the whole way, along with 14-dig performances in sweeps of Saint Martin's, MSU Billings and Seattle Pacific ... with an impressive 5.96 dps over the last six matches – including a career-high 30 in the NCAA 2nd Round 5-set loss – she rose to 5th in the GNAC at 4.42 dps for the season ...  Militante-Amper also excelled in her role as UAA's secondary setter, notching at least five assists on four occasions.

NOT ROOKIES ANYMORE: In addition to Kyla Militante-Amper, UAA returns three players who contributed during their true freshman season last year ... So. OH/L Taylor Noga established herself as UAA's regular serving specialist, appearing in 105 of 110 sets in 2015 ... Noga served a career-high 4 aces in the NCAAs against No. 22 Cal State San Bernardino, plus 3 aces in UAA's win at Central Washington, and she  proved a capable back-up libero, averaging 4.18 digs per set in Militante-Amper's absence against Western Washington, Simon Fraser and UAF in October ... So. OH Chrisalyn Johnson saw action in 14 sets as a rookie, seeing the majority of her time under the bright lights of NCAA Tournament play when All-American Katelynn Zanders was lost to injury ... another former Dimond High star, Johnson has been the team leader with 2.80 kps, while already doubling her kills total from 2015 ... So. MB Alex Garrett also played in 14 sets last year, hitting .211 and making 0.71 blocks per set ... a Utah native, Garrett is currently sidelined after off-season surgery.

GREEN MACHINE: Having led UAA to its unprecedented 8th straight winning season, UAA head coach Chris Green (161-70, .697) continues to establish himself as the most successful coach in program history and one of the top mentors in the NCAA Div. II ranks ... now a 3-time GNAC Coach of the Year (2009, 2013, 2015) and 2-time AVCA D-II West Region Coach of the Year (2009, 2015), Green has led UAA to NCAA Tournament berths in six of the last seven seasons, capturing the program's highest-ever seeds the last two seasons ... in the 28 years before Green's arrival, the Seawolves made two NCAAs ... UAA has won at a .784 clip (69-19) since the start of the 2013 campaign, including .857 (48-8) in league play ... after helping the Seawolves to a 10-win turnaround in his first season, Green earned both GNAC and NCAA Div. II West Region coach-of-the-year honors in 2009 when he piloted UAA to its first GNAC title and the program's first-ever NCAA victory ... Green's UAA teams have also produced six All-Americans, four GNAC Players of the Year, five GNAC Newcomers of the Year and two GNAC Freshmen of the Year ... hired in Feb. 2008 as the sixth coach in UAA Volleyball history, Green spent the previous nine seasons (1999-07) as the head coach at Western Nebraska Community College, where he built a powerhouse program. Among his list of accomplishments at WNCC were a 453-55 record, the 2007 NJCAA Div. I national championship, 2006 NJCAA runner-up, and four straight 'Final 4' berths ... the Cougars finished in the top 10 at the national tournament in all of Green's seasons, producing a total of 10 first-team and six second-team All-America certificates ... in 2011, he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame ... Green is assisted by 2nd-year assistant coach Sheldon Carvalho, 2nd-year graduate assistant coach Calli Scott and volunteer assistants Gaynor Johansen (7th season), Siobhan Johansen (3rd season) and Virgil Hooe (1st season).

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Players Mentioned

Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

RS
5' 11"
Freshman
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

OH
5' 9"
Freshman
Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

MB
6' 0"
Freshman
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

S
5' 6"
Freshman
Leah Swiss

#7 Leah Swiss

OH
6' 0"
Freshman
Alex Garrett

#4 Alex Garrett

MB
6' 0"
Freshman
Chrisalyn Johnson

#9 Chrisalyn Johnson

OH
5' 9"
Freshman
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

L/S
5' 3"
Freshman
Taylor Noga

#5 Taylor Noga

OH/L
5' 10"
Freshman
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

RS
5' 11"
Freshman
Vanessa Hayes

#18 Vanessa Hayes

MB
5' 11"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Julia Mackey

#6 Julia Mackey

5' 11"
Freshman
RS
Katelynn Zanders

#14 Katelynn Zanders

5' 9"
Freshman
OH
Erin Braun

#15 Erin Braun

6' 0"
Freshman
MB
Morgan Hooe

#2 Morgan Hooe

5' 6"
Freshman
S
Leah Swiss

#7 Leah Swiss

6' 0"
Freshman
OH
Alex Garrett

#4 Alex Garrett

6' 0"
Freshman
MB
Chrisalyn Johnson

#9 Chrisalyn Johnson

5' 9"
Freshman
OH
Kyla Militante-Amper

#3 Kyla Militante-Amper

5' 3"
Freshman
L/S
Taylor Noga

#5 Taylor Noga

5' 10"
Freshman
OH/L
Diana Fa

#17 Diana Fa'amausili

5' 11"
Freshman
RS
Vanessa Hayes

#18 Vanessa Hayes

5' 11"
Freshman
MB