Seawolves brace for weekend volleyball gauntlet

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Despite recent losses, the University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball team is still in position to make a return to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The Seawolves hang on to the No. 7 ranking in this week's regional poll, with the top eight teams earning NCAA bids. Selections for the regional, which will likely be held at California State-San Bernardino, come after this weekend's final regular-season matches.

That said, UAA can ill afford a slipup against 2 and 20 St. Martin's in a Thursday home game.

On Saturday, Western Oregon comes to Anchorage tied with UAA at 11 and 5 in conference. The Seawolves probably won't make the playoffs if they finish fourth in league play -- but at this point, the pressure isn’t getting inside Jackie Matthisen's head.

“We just really not let that affect us on the court, and just play our game that we know we can play,” Matthisen said. “The games we played against SPU and Western Washington at home -- if we play like that, we can defeat anyone.”

Contact Kevin Wells at kwells@ktuu.com