The UAA volleyball team used a huge block and an even bigger fourth-set comeback Thursday night to fend off Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia.
The Seawolves finished with a 17-5 run to claim a 13-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-21 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory.
They trailed 16-8 in the fourth set before turning things around.
A pair of middle blockers came up big for the Seawolves, who moved to 11-2 overall, 4-1 GNAC with their fourth consecutive victory.
Eve Stephens, a 6-foot-1 freshman, posted double-figure kills for the fifth straight match, tallying 13 on .375 hitting.
And Vera Pluharova, a 6-2 sophomore, had a hand in 11 of UAA's 17 blocks, tying a school record for the most blocks in a GNAC match. Two of her blocks were solo efforts.
Providing superb all-around play were senior outside hitter Chrisalyn Johnson and freshman setter Ellen Floyd.
Johnson was good for 11 kills, 15 digs and six blocks, one of them a solo rejection. Floyd put up 40 assists to go along with four kills, five block assists and 12 digs.
"Our block really started to come together in the second set, and that's what ultimately made the difference tonight," UAA coach Chris Green said in a release from the school. "We were playing a different system than we have this year because of an injury, but we made excellent adjustments and got a big win."
Casey Davenport, a sophomore setter, was injured during practice, forcing Green to switch from a 6-2 offense with two setters to a 5-1 offense with Floyd as the lone setter.
Other top contributors for UAA were Vanessa Boyer (9 kills), Tara Melton (5 block assists) and Taylor Noga (23 digs).
Next up for the Seawolves is a Saturday road match against archrival Western Washington, which is in the midst of an outstanding season.
Western Washington is ranked eighth in the nation among NCAA Division II teams and is riding a 10-match winning streak that includes a Thursday sweep of UAF. The Vikings are undefeated in five GNAC matches and 10-3 overall.