Sept. 16, 2007
Box Score
FAIRBANKS, AK- Despite a battling effort from the Nanooks, Alaska's first road trip of the new Great Northwest Athletic Conference season ended in defeat, as Central Washington upended the Nanooks, 3-1. Alaska falls to 7-4 on the season, (1-2 GNAC), while the Wildcats improve to 3-1 in the conference, despite just a 4-7 overall mark.
The Nanooks were eager to get on the court and erase the memories of a three-game sweep by Western Washington on Thursday. In front of an well-stocked Wildcat crowd of 1,132, however, Alaska was overwhelmed in the first set, quickly falling behind by 17-6. The Nanooks were never able to pull within striking distance as Central Washington hit .364 as a team, committing just three errors as they took the first set, 30-16.
It looked like it might be another early exit for the Nanooks, as Central pulled away to a 17-7 lead in the second game as well. Any notion of easy victory for the Wildcats quickly disappeared, however, at the hands of a massive 11-2 run, keyed by some strong play from sophomore Jessica Hill. With the second set knotted at 28-28 and the match in the balance, the Nanooks stepped up to win two crucial points, taking the game 30-28.
The Blue and Gold kept their momentum into the third game, running out to a 7-3 lead behind the serving from Hannah Armstrong, who gave the Nanooks some quality minutes (as well as four aces) at libero. Alaska could not hold the Wildcats at bay, however, as Central Washington found the points when it mattered most. The hosts took 10 of the last 12 points to claim a 30-23 game and put the Nanooks on the ropes.
After trading blows early in the fourth game, Central Washington began to pull away, and though they got within three points on a number of occasions, the Nanooks could never close the gap as the Wildcats took the match 30-26.
A major key to Central Washington's victory was the outstanding performance of their middle blockers. The Wildcats recorded 17 blocks against the Nanook attack. Junior Rachael Schurman assisted on nine blocks herself, while fellow blocker Erin Norris also assisted on five, including the winning block on Korlyn Bolster on the game's final shot.
"[Their blockers] really were excellent," said head coach Phil Shoemaker after the game. "They were well-formed and did a great job of getting into position. They got to the net very well, especially on the middle and our right side, and were effective in neutralizing Jess Hill. That's to their credit: they played to a high level."
Hill and Megan Thigpen both finished the match in double figures for kills, recording 11 and 12 respectively. The Wildcat defense, however, forced them into making a combined 25 errors: an uncharacteristic total for the Nanooks' super sophomores.
"We were very aggressive, we had to be," explained Shoemaker. "They are the kind of team that, if you are not aggressive, they are going to get good swings and turn it into a point. We had to up our level of aggressiveness as well."
Along with her strong net play, Schurman also led Central Washington with a game-high 20 kills. Fairbanks' own Erika Stevens starred on the defensive side of the ball: the Lathrop High graduate recorded 29 digs for the Wildcats.
The loss brings to an end a tough road trip for the Nanooks, but one that Shoemaker feels will benefit the team in the long run. "The thing we take away from this trip is that we now know this is what [the GNAC] looks like. We need to be able to play at this level every day. That means cutting down on ball control errors, being able to handle the hard spike and the driven serve, being quicker on our feet and making better decisions. We have to dedicate ourselves to improving our play to what we experienced this weekend."
Alaska returns to the friendlier atmosphere of the Patty Center for their next match, when they take on GNAC newcomers Montana State-Billings on September 20. First serve in that match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
