First-year UAA head coach Morgan Hooe picked up first win over a nationally ranked opponent on Thursday. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Anchorage’s Morgan Hooe never lost to UAF in four years as a UAA player and now she’s unbeaten against the Nanooks as Seawolves head coach.
Facing Fairbanks for the first time since becoming UAA’s new bench boss, Hooe led the Seawolves to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-16 victory Thursday over the nationally ranked Nanooks in front of a big crowd of 1,305 at the Patty Center.
This was the first true road win in four tried this season for UAA, which outhit its archrival .272 to .059 and snapped a five-game losing streak in the series that dates back to 1984.
Armed with five starters back from the team that lost to UAF in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the Seawolves looked motivated from the jump and never took their foot off the gas pedal.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
GNAC TEAM OVERALL 6-0 Simon Fraser 9-3 5-1 Seattle Pacific 10-4 5-2 Central Washington 9-4 4-3 UAA 11-6 3-3 Western Washington 6-6 3-4 UAF 11-6 3-4 NW Nazarene 9-5 2-4 Western Oregon 6-8 1-5 Saint Martin’s 5-9 0-6 MSU Billings 3-12 Thursday
UAA 3, UAF 0
Seattle Pacific 3, NW Nazarene 2
Simon Fraser 3, Saint Martin’s 0
Western Washington 3, Western Oregon 1
Central Washington 3, MSU Billings 0
Saturday
MSU Billings at NW Nazarene
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
Western Oregon at Simon Fraser
Saint Martin’s at Western Washington
The Seawolves never trailed in either of the first two sets and pulled away in a back-and-forth third set that featured eight ties in the first 20 points.
“That’s the kind of performance that every coach hopes for when you’re preparing for a big match,” Hooe said in a statement.
Outside hitters Kyana Gabriel and Lee Ivakina each registered double-doubles, setter Hannah Trotter collected 27 assists.
Gabriel bagged 10 kills and 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while Ivakina added 10 kills, 10 digs and a career-high four aces for her third straight double-double and sixth of the season.
Kyana Gabriel leads UAA with 150 kills on the season. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Meanwhile, Trotter continued her stellar play with an errorless performance, complementing her assist total with three kills on .429 hitting, eight digs and three block assists.
Bella Burney finished with seven kills on .357 hitting and five block assists, and Riba had four kills and six block assists.
The Nanooks were led by 10 kills from Cori Leavitt as their five-match winning streak in the series came to an end.
Hooe, of South High fame, was an All-American setter for the Seawolves between 2013 and 2016 and went 8-0 against UAF.
UAA 25 25 25
UAF 18 16 16
Attack percentage – UAA .272, UAF .059. Points – UAA 55, UAF 36. Kills – UAA 37, UAF 28. Aces – UAA 6, UAF 4. Blocks – UAA 12, UAF 4. Assists – UAA 36, UAF 28. Digs – UAA 45, UAF 38. A – 1,305.
