The Seawolves on Thursday used a 6-0 run in the fourth set to take the lead for good and run through the tape in a 25-16, 28-26, 22-25, 25-20 victory over Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho.

Fresh of its debut at No. 3 in the crucial NCAA West Region rankings, the UAA volleyball team backed it up by holding off the Nighthawks and securing coach Stacie Meisner’s first 20-win season.

The win kept the Seawolves (20-5, 11-4 GNAC) within striking distance of a league title with three matches left in the regular season, sitting two wins out of first place going into Saturday’s tilt against frontrunner Central Washington (17-5, 13-2 GNAC).

They are also the two hottest teams in the GNAC, with Central riding a six-game heater and UAA winning its last three, including back-to-back triumphs over nationally ranked competitors.

Upperclassmen Tia Allen (14 kills, 20 digs), Lee Ivakina (12 kills), Bella Burney (10 kills on .261 hitting) and Madison Galloway (20 digs, 8 assists) have been mainstays all season, but Thursday the young guns came out blazing.

Freshman Johana Malikova bagged 31 assists and a career-high 20 digs, freshman Emma Beck of Kenai had 10 kills and freshman Trinity Byrne had three kills on .500 hitting and two block assists in the clinching set.

“Our team showed its toughness again and got a really important conference road win in a difficult environment,” Meisner said in a press release. “When things don’t go perfectly, they don’t panic, and tonight they came back and played terrific volleyball in the fourth to close out the match.”

In her third season as bench boss after six years as an assistant, Meisner is the program’s first alumnus to take over the program. She’s been part of five 20-win seasons – one as a player in 2009, three as an assistant to her mentor Chris Green in 2018, 2019 and 2022 and now as a head coach in 2025.

UAA 25 28 22 25
NW Nazarene 16 26 25 20
Hitting percentage – UAA .224 (Byrne .429, Allen .263, Burney .261, Beck .226), NW Nazarene .144 (Hellem .270, Smith .238, Black .224). Kills – UAA 57 (Allen 14, Ivakina 12, Burley 10, Beck 10), NW Nazarene 51 (Black 23, Hellem 13). Assists – UAA 53 (Malikova 31, Trotter 10, Galloway 8), NW Nazarene 46 (Wilding 32, Lynn 12). Solo Blocks – UAA 0, NW Nazarene 4 (Smith 3). Digs – UAA 80 (Allen 20, Galloway 20, Malikova 20), NW Nazarene 68 (Spray 14, Black 12, Walsh 12). Aces – UAA (Sapon 2, seven with 1), NW Nazarene 7 (Three with 2).

Central Washington 3, No. 18 UAF 2

After dropping the first two sets, the streaking Wildcats stormed back on their home court to stun the 18th-ranked Nanooks in five sets behind Scottie Ellsworth in Ellensburg., Wash.

Ellsworth ended with a match-high 24 kills on a .328 hitting to highlight the 15-25, 29-31, 25-20, 25-23, 15-13 victory, which propelled Central Washington into first place in the GNAC.

The Wildcats outhit UAF 206. to .184 in the match but outscored the Nanooks by only four points across the final two sets in a topsy-turvy match that could have gone either way.

UAF (20-5, 11-4 GNAC) won the second set 31-29 to take a two-games-to-none lead.

Mikala Henderson had 20 kills, Elena Guc had 16 and Presley Engelauf added 10 to go with five block assists. Cynphany Henderson recorded her team’s lone double-double with 38 assists, 18 digs and six kills.

The Nanooks will look get back in the win column Saturday at Northwest Nazarene (6-16, 5-10 GNAC).

UAF 25 31 20 23 13
Central Washington 15 29 25 25 15
Hitting percentage – UAF .184 (M. Henderson .265, Hoshock .231, Engelauf .217), Central Washington (Willsey .360, Ellsworth .328). Kills – UAF 70 (M. Henderson 20, Guc 16, Engelauf 10), Central Washington 66 (Ellsworth 24, Bines 13, Willsey 12). Assists – UAF 67 (C. Henerson 38, Smith 20), Central Washington 66 (Chang 35, Allen 27). Solo Blocks – UAF 1 (M. Henderson), Central Washington 1 (Willsey). Digs – UAF 98 (Lyons 22, Onaga 21, C. Henderson 18), Central Washington 99 (Parker 28, Marble 19). Aces – UAF 6 (Flynn 2, White 2), Central Washington 1 (Parker).