POMONA, CA - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team took the court for their season opener tonight at the SoCal Classic and fell to Cal Poly Pomona 3-0 (23-25, 22-25, 23-25). In three highly competitive games the Nanooks were only outscored by a combined seven points.
The Nanooks (0-1) were led by senior
Megan Thigpen (Spokane, WA) who was the only Nanook to contribute double digit kills with 10. Senior
Jessica Hill (Colorado Springs, CO) also made nine kills and recorded four digs. Freshman
Allison Oddy (Chilliwack, BC) made a strong debut for the Blue and Gold by collecting 11 digs in the loss. Senior setter
Alexa Sherman (Calabasas, CA) had 30 assists for the Nanooks, and also made eight digs.
Although dropping the game 3-0 head coach
Phil Shoemaker was pleased with different facets of the game. "I thought Erica (Gage) and Jess Hill played well offensively tonight," stated coach Shoemaker "our passing wasn't where I thought it was going to be but there were a lot of positives to build on."
Coach Shoemaker also saw what he expected to see from a first game, "It was not pretty, but it was hard fought. Both teams played really hard but we just made a few too many errors, but there were still plenty of bright spots" he said.
The Broncos (1-0) were led by Kristin McNeese who made 12 kills and five digs. Jasmine Davis also led the way with 27 blocks while Audrey Driscoll had a team high seven digs in the victory.
The Nanooks will return to action tomorrow when they face off against Cal State Los Angeles at noon. The Nanooks will come back on Saturday to face Cal State Bernardino and Cal State Dominguez Hills.
