Box Score
FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team gutted out a long first set victory Friday night, but it was the only one they would get in a back-and-forth match that saw visiting Humboldt State run off three straight set wins for a 3-1 victory in both teams' opener of the 2013 Flint Hills Resources Alaska Nanooks Classic at the Patty Center.
The match saw 10 total ties and four lead changes. Alaska (0-5) won the first set 30-28 after five tie scores and two lead changes. The Lumberjacks (1-0) then controlled the second set with only one tie score at 2-2 to win 25-21 before overcoming a five-point deficit in set three, winning 25-22 and taking a 2-1 advantage in the match. Humboldt State closed out the win by kicking off the fourth set with an 8-1 run, winning 25-11.
Sophomore Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art) led the Nanooks' offense in the match with 11 kills. Freshman setter Katelyn Camp (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) notched six kills with a .545 hitting percentage to go along with 26 assists.
Three Humboldt State players posted double-digit kills, with Ashley Owen's 16 leading the way. Kaitlyn Dunaway posted a double-double for the Lumberjacks with 14 kills and 10 digs.
The Nanooks hit .158 as a team with 37 kills and 19 errors on 114 attempts. Humboldt State hit .174 (52-28-138), but the team had 12 service aces in the match. Alaska had 15 service errors to six aces.
Alaska jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the first set, but Humboldt State stayed close with a 5-2 run to make it 10-8 Nanooks. The teams went back and forth trading short runs until the Nanooks led 23-19. That's when the Lumberjacks answered once again with a 6-1 run, putting them on the verge of a first set victory at 25-24.
Over the next nine points, the teams would see four ties and a lead change. At 27-27, Alaska finally pulled away with a 3-1 spurt that included kills from senior Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) and Harthun.
Humboldt State controlled the second set early on and held that control all the way through to the end of the set to tie the match at 1-1, though Alaska threatened on several occasions. The Lumberjacks took the lead for good after breaking a 2-2 tie, but they could not put more than four points between themselves and the Nanooks until a 4-0 run made it 17-10. That lead was also short-lived, as Alaska would close the gap with a 6-1 run to make it 18-16.
After falling in the second set, Alaska gave itself an opportunity to grab the match lead again, but could not hold on to a late 18-17 lead, eventually falling 25-22 after four more ties and two lead changes. The Nanooks overcame their own deficit early in the set after Humboldt State opened with four straight points. An 11-2 run gave Alaska its biggest lead of the set, but the Lumberjacks came back to tie at 14-14. Alaska kept surging ahead, with the Lumberjacks no farther than two points behind, until Humboldt State finally grabbed the lead for good after an 18-18 tie, closing the set on a 7-4 run.
The fourth set was all Humboldt State. The Lumberjacks opened the final set with four straight points and an 8-1 overall lead. Alaska showed life with a 6-2 stint to make it a three-point contest at 10-7, but the Lumberjacks took off again with an 11-2 run that put them ahead 21-9.
The Nanook Classic concludes Saturday with two more sessions of volleyball. Alaska will face Colorado Christian at 1 p.m. in the first session, and will close the final sessions and the tournament with a 7 p.m. match against No. 12 Fresno Pacific.
