MONMOUTH, Ore.—For the second time this season, Western Oregon snared a set against Alaska Anchorage, but eventually fell to the visiting Seawolves 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-20) in GNAC volleyball action on Thursday.

With the win, Alaska Anchorage improved to 18-5 on the season and 11-4 in GNAC play. The Seawolves were ranked No. 6 in the latest West Region poll.

Down 9-5 early in the first, Western Oregon (6-16, 3-12 GNAC) chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied the set at 13-13 on a Morgan Haskett ace. Playing on their own serve, Sophie Hall and Sianna DeCarli combined for a block to give the Wolves the lead.

Moments later with the set tied 15-15, WOU uncorked a 5-0 run to help cement the win. Sierra Stultz provided two kills in that key sequence while an ace, this time by Maddie Mehciz, finished off the win. The Wolves hit .222 in the opener with Mariella Vandenkooy accounting for six of the team's 13 kills.

After 11 ties through the first 30 points of the second set, UAA strung together a 10-2 run to even the match. Tied 15-15 on an Eve Stephens, the Seawolves went on to score six of the final seven points for the win.

The Seawolves continued their momentum into the third set by jumping out to a 9-3 lead and forcing an early timeout by WOU. Down by as many as seven points, WOU generated a late rally to cut the deficit to two points (24-22) to force a UAA timeout, but the Seawolves finished the job with a Vera Pluharova swing.

UAA posted its highest hit rate in the fourth (.318) and led wire-to-wire in the clinching fourth set.

"The underlying thing was we didn't capitalize on enough opportunities. There were times where we could have made the easy play by doing the little things to convert for points," WOU head coach Tommy Gott said.

Vandenkooy registered a season-high 16 kills on the night. Mehciz tallied 15 assists while Audrey Stanton added 14 assists for the Wolves. Stultz and Leila Holt shared the team high with 11 digs each.

"It was nice to see Mariella have that night against a tough physical team. She continued to go out and swing confidently and that was huge for us and will need that going forward over these next few weeks," Gott said.

Four Seawolves reached double figures in kills with Crisalyn Johnson posting a 14-kill, 15-dig 'double-double'.

Western Oregon will turn around with its final home match of the season on Saturday with the Wolves hosting Alaska Fairbanks. Opening serve against the Nanooks is set for 2 p.m. inside New P.E Gymnasium. The team will honor its five seniors prior to the match.

"Alaska is a team that is playing with a lot of confidence. They bring it every night and every point and playing loose has been working for them so it's going to be another battle," Gott said.