BILLINGS, Mont. – Eve Stephens swung at a mark of .538 with 15 kills to lead the No. 14 University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball team to a three-set triumph over host Montana State University Billings in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday night at Alterowitz Gym.
 
The Seawolves, who entered the match leading NCAA Division II in attack percentage at .307, came as advertised swinging at a mark of .359 in the one-sided affair. Stephens made just one attack error among her 26 attempts, adding to her GNAC all-time career record kill total of 1,645. UAA improved to 13-1 on the season and moved to a perfect 3-0 in conference matches.
 
Freshman Caty Havekost and junior Olivia Schwartz paced the Yellowjacket attack with nine kills each, with Schwartz hitting a career-best .350 among her 20 attack attempts. Hannah Hashbarger finished the match with 19 assists, and Christine Funk added nine digs in the three-set affair. MSUB lost its fourth straight match, moving to 6-4 on the season and 0-3 in conference action.
 
The match got off to an even start, with the score tied at 5-5 and MSUB keeping it close early down just 11-10. The Yellowjackets overcame a four-point spread to pull within one down 13-12 in the opening set, before the Seawolves won five of the next six points to prompt head coach Casey Bonner to take her second timeout.
 
The Yellowjackets couldn't overcome a 21-15 hole, and Lisa Jaunet ended the first set with a powerful swing to give UAA the 25-16 win.
 
A slow start in the second set proved too much for MSUB to overcome, as the Seawolves built a 12-2 advantage and never looked back. Three big kills from Stephens kicked off a 10-0 run which forced the Yellowjackets to play from behind the rest of the frame. MSUB got as close as 23-17 thanks to back-to-back kills from Paiten Langston, but a kill from Nicole Blue and a service ace from Reilly Plumhoff sealed the second set 25-17 for the visitors.
 
Schwartz came to life early in the third, with a powerful swing giving MSUB a 5-3 advantage. Another kill from Schwartz was followed by a big Havekost swing, and the 'Jackets kept pace to the tune of a 7-7 score. A head's up kill from Floyd coupled with kills by Jaunet and Stephens propelled the Seawolves to a 15-9 advantage however, and the Yellowjackets couldn't pull back even despite chipping away.
 
MSUB got within four points, down 19-15, but four miscues across the next five points extended UAA's advantage back to 23-16. The match ended with a block assist from Isabel Evans and Floyd, as the Seawolves kept their string of nine consecutive sets won alive to start their conference schedule.
 
Floyd finished with 26 assists and a team-high six digs for UAA, while Talia Leauanae also had six digs. Stephens and Evans each had three block assists, Blue finished with nine kills, and Jaunet had seven.
 
The Yellowjackets hit just .105 in the match, while Hayden helped lead the defense with three block assists to go along with three kills. Hailey Carroll was a difference maker with a pair of service aces coming off the bench.
 
THE BUZZ: Schwartz was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 11-49 all-time against UAA and is 7-25 in matches played in Billings.
 
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets play host to University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, with first serve set for 1 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym. Live coverage for Saturday's match can be found online here.