The second-best start in UAA volleyball history has triggered the highest national ranking in the program's 36 seasons.
The Seawolves (8-0) on Monday jumped two spots to No. 12 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll for Division II teams. That ranking tops the No. 13 position the Seawolves held in November 1990.
UAA this week opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with two matches in Oregon, Thursday at Western Oregon and Saturday against league newcomer Concordia.
UAA's hot start has only been bettered once in program history. That came in 1988, when the Seawolves won their first 10 matches of the season.
The Seawolves last weekend won four matches at the GNAC/Pac West Crossover tournament in Ellensburg, Washington, beating two ranked teams in the process. UAA, which opened the season with four wins to seize its own SpringHills Suites Invitational, is 4-0 against ranked teams this season.
UAA's success last weekend was honored by the GNAC on Monday, when freshman libero/setter Kyla Militante-Amper was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week. Militante-Amper delivered 65 digs in four matches, including a career-high 23 in a win over Point Loma.
Militante-Amper's award marked the second straight week a Seawolves player has bagged an individual honor. Senior Julia Mackey last week was named the GNAC's Offensive Player of the Week after winning the Most Outstanding Player award in UAA's tournament.