10/10/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/10/2025 14:02
Bellingham, Washington (Oct. 9) - UAA freshman setter Johana Malikova dished 50 assists and junior Lee Ivakina blasted 19 kills, but No. 20 Western Washington pulled out tight first and fourth sets Thursday to earn a 27-25, 21-25, 25-13, 28-26 volleyball victory at Carver Gymnasium.
The Seawolves (13-3, 4-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got seven blocks and a career-high 10 kills from sophomore middle blocker Martina Riba as they suffered a second straight four-set road loss to a ranked opponent.
The Vikings (12-2, 6-1) were led by 21 kills on .462 hitting and 22 digs from GNAC kills leader Devyn Oestreich, and 16 kills and 12 digs from Delaney Speer. UAA outblocked the hosts 10-6, but Western won the overall hitting battle .297 to .238 as it moved into a first-place tie with No. 7 Simon Fraser.
"We played well, but Western just played a little better," said UAA head coach Stacie Meisner. "Overall it was a good volleyball match, and we will learn from it and look forward to another challenge Saturday at Simon Fraser."
The first set featured 10 ties and five lead changes, with Western making a late run to earn a 24-21 advantage. UAA repelled four straight set points, getting blocks from Riba and Emma Beck to tie it 24-24 and 25-25, but the hosts used a Seawolf attack error and a kill by Emily Vossenkuhl to clinch it.
Vossenkuhl put her team up 20-18 in the second set before the Seawolves evened the match with their best offensive surge of the night. Bella Burney ripped a pair of her eight kills, while Ivakina delivered on set point to cap the 7-1 run.
UAA recovered from a rough third set to grab a 17-13 lead in the fourth, only to see the Vikings come back again. Trailing 23-22, Seawolf senior Tia Allen lofted a kill over the block and Madison Galloway served an ace to earn a set point. Western used a timeout to set up another kill from Vossenkuhl, however, and the Seawolves could not regain the advantage before a match-point kill from Oestreich a few rallies later.
Ivakina's 19 kills were her most in GNAC match and just one shy of her career high, while Malikova's career-best 50 assists were accompanied by a team-high 17 digs.
Beck had 11 kills and six total blocks, while Allen tallied nine kills and matched Galloway with 16 digs.
The Seawolves finish their road swing Saturday with a 4 p.m. first serve at Simon Fraser. Find live links at GoSeawolves.com.