Box Score
FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- A strong performance from senior Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) was not enough to stop 12th-ranked Fresno Pacific from completing its roll through the 2013 Flint Hills Resources Alaska Nanooks Classic Saturday, as the Sunbirds swept the Nanooks 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-18) en route to clinching the tournament title.
Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) hit .364 with 11 kills to lead Alaska (0-7), who as a team hit just .158. Sophomore
Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art) chipped in 10 kills, seven digs and four service aces. Freshman
Katelyn Camp (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) notched 26 assists alongside five digs, one kill and an ace.
Morghan Williams led Fresno Pacific (3-0) with 13 kills, while Bissie DenHartog guided the Sunbirds' offense with 34 assists. The Sunbirds hit .364 as a team with only eight errors in the match. Jessie Alcorn contributed 10 kills and libero Hannah Butler had 16 digs.
The Sunbirds quickly took advantage of the Nanooks' early struggles, jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the first set and never looking back. Meanwhile, the Nanooks committed eight errors to seven kills for a -.037 hitting percentage in the first set. The Sunbirds ran out to a 20-9 lead in the set before finally settling down and trading points back and forth to win the set 25-14.
Alaska hit much better in the second set, posting a .379 clip with just two errors. The Sunbirds picked it up too, though, hitting .500 with 18 kills in the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Nanooks stayed close, pushing the score to 7-7 before Fresno Pacific finally pulled away. Harthun recorded three consecutive aces to give the Nanooks an early 4-2 lead in the set.
The Nanooks wouldn't go quietly in the third set, despite Fresno Pacific jumping out to a 15-4 lead. The Sunbirds appeared to have everything wrapped up with a 21-9 lead, but back came Alaska with a 9-1 run that included two kills apiece from junior
Britt Glaeser (Fairbanks, Alaska/Business Administration) and Knight, making the score 22-18. Fresno Pacific put a quick end to the run, and the match, with two kills from Williams and an Alaska attack error.
Colorado Christian's Taylor Sturms was named the tournament MVP after setting a new tournament record for kills with 63. She broke the former record of 52, set by Angel Fairbanks of Alaska in 2001 and Virginia Hoss of Iowa State in 1998. Teammate Jordan Kissman, as well as Hannah Butler and Rupia Inck of Fresno Pacific, Humboldt State's Kaitlyn Dunaway and Symone Hayden, and Alaska's Harthun were named to the all-tournament team.
Humboldt State was the tournament's runner-up behind Fresno Pacific with a 2-1 record, followed by Colorado Christian (1-2) and Alaska (0-3).
The Nanooks take part in their third tournament in as many weeks next week when they travel to California for the Route 92 Showdown, hosted by Cal State East Bay and Notre Dame de Namur. Alaska kicks off its competition in the tournament at noon (AKT) Friday with a match at Cal State East Bay.
