Eve Stephens
If you have a volleyball record at UAA or in the GNAC, Eve Stephens is coming for you.
The senior spiker from Palmer broke her second record in as many weeks as she powered the 14th-ranked Seawolves to a league series sweep of Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific on the road.
UAA has won six straight and owns a 14-1 record, matching the best start in school history. The five-set win over SPU gave head coach Chris Green his 300th career victory.
The Colony High product claimed the UAA career points record after she surpassed the 1,973 points by Jen Szczerbinski from 1988-92 and finished the weekend with 1,981.
Last week, she broke Abby Phelps’ GNAC kills record (1,628) and currently is the NCAA Division II’s active career kills leader (1,665).
The next record in her sights is Szczerbinski’s 30-year-old school record for kills (1,691). Stephens could have that wrapped up by the end of the weekend.
Palmer’s Eve Stephens. Photo by Skip Hickey/UAA
Everything seems to be clicking for the Seawolves entering Thursday’s seismic showdown with 10th-ranked Western Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Seawolves have been one of the strongest teams at net, ranking No. 1 in the GNAC in offensive attack percentage (.302) and No.2 in defensive attack percentage (.145).
Stephens leads the league in scoring (5.68) and kills (4.58) per set and ranks second with a .393 attack percentage on 238-of-499 hitting. She also leads the league in serving success with 36 aces in 52 sets.
GNAC Kills Leaders
4.58 – Eve Stephens, UAA
3.87 – Natalie Sullivan, NNU
3.56 – Tia Allen, SM
3.46 – Olivia Wright, NNU
3.02 – Lisa Jaunet, UAA
2.98 – Ashley Kaufman, CWU
2.86 – Brooke Dexter, SF
2.78 – Tia Andaya, CWU
2.77 – Karli Nielson, UAF
Two homegrown Alaskans ranks in the top-10 in the GNAC in kills per set, with Stephens No. 1 and Simon Fraser’s Brooke Dexter of Anchorage No. 8.
Dexter, of West High fame, will be in Anchorage on Saturday night to play the Seawolves.
Another Alaskan in the top-10 in the GNAC is North Pole’s Ainsley Smith, the UAF setter who is No. 8 in assists.
GNAC Assist Leaders
11.24 – Mckenzie Lee, NNU
10.61 – Malia Aleaga, WWU
10.48 – Ellen Floyd, UAA
9.35 – Karla Soto, SM
6.30 – Serena Gentile, SF
5.89 – Hannah Hashbarger, MSUB
5.88 – Sydney Remsberg, CW
5.74 – Ainsley Smith, UAF
5.27 – Laney O’Neil, WO
5.00 – Tia Andaya, CWU