The UAA volleyball team begins a four-match homestand this week by hosting two of its toughest conference opponents — including a team that, on its last visit to Anchorage, captured the NCAA Division II West Region championship.
Always-tough Western Washington, the reigning region champion, ranks 19th in the nation and brings a seven-match winning streak to Alaska. The Vikings play UAF in Fairbanks on Thursday before facing UAA on Saturday.
But before the Seawolves can focus on Western Washington, they have to get past Thursday's foe, Simon Fraser. The Clan sits in third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, behind league-leading UAA and second-place WWU.
UAA, which moved up to No. 7 in this week's national poll, brings a 19-match winning streak and a perfect conference record into Thursday's 7 p.m. match at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Seawolves were undefeated in the first half of the GNAC season despite playing a majority of their matches — six out of 10 — on the road. That means they'll play six of their remaining 10 regular-season matches at home.
UAA (20-1 overall, 10-0 GNAC) had its hands full last week on the road. The Seawolves swept Central Washington in a match in which two sets went to 31-29, and they dropped a set in their win over against Northwest Nazarene.
"Those two games were tough enough on the road that it helped prepare us for two very good opponents coming into Alaska this week," UAA coach Chris Green said at a press conference Tuesday.
This week could present more tough challenges.
Simon Fraser (14-4, 7-3) averages a conference-best 19.10 digs per set — UAA averages 17.79, sixth-best in the GNAC — and is in position to earn its first postseason tournament berth. The Clan won seven straight matches in September but have gone 4-3 since.
Western Washington (12-6, 8-2) leads the GNAC in attack percentage. Led by Kayleigh Harper's impressive .359 hitting percentage, the Vikings leads the GNAC in that category with a .249 percentage. UAA is right behind at .231.