Alaska vs. Rockhurst Photo Gallery
Nanook Classic Match 1 Box Score
Nanook Classic Match 2 Box Score
FAIRBANKS, AK - The Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans and the Alaska Nanooks both came away victorious on the first day of competition in the Auto Service Nanook Classic as the Vulcans defeated the Urbana Blue Knights, 3-0, and the Nanooks dispatched of Rockhurst, 3-1.
In the first match the Vulcans got out in front with 25-11 first game victory before slamming the door on Urbana in games two (25-10) and three (25-19) to earn the sweep. The Vulcans had three players reach double figures in kills led by Josimara Pinheiro with 13 kills and a .524 hitting percent. Fabiane Seben had 12 kills while teammate Morgan Bonney had 11 kills. Katie Swenson had 42 assists in the victory.
For Urbana, they were led by Brittney Bradner with five kills and 11 assists, while Audree Castle had a team high five blocks.
In the night cap the Nanooks erased a 1-0 deficit to win the next three sets for the 3-1 victory. The Nanooks looked sluggish in dropping the first game 25-20 before reeling off wins of 25-16, 25-20, and 25-18 to win the match.
Megan Thigpen (Spokane, WA) was the story of the game as she had 19 kills, all of which were in the second through fourth sets and ended the game with .410 hitting percentage. Thigpen also had ten digs for a double-double and contributed six services aces to pace the Nanooks.
Along with her strong finish she also gave her Nanooks teammates a little pick me up in between games one and two. Her teammates would respond as they hit .577 for the second game and found their grove that they had been missing in the first game. Thigpen also felt that things were going to start to fall into place. “We just had to keep swinging and find way to put the ball down” she said. The Nanooks did just that.
Along with Thigpen,
Jessica Hill (Colorado Springs, CO) had 10 kills and freshman
Allison Oddy (Chilliwack, BC) had a team high 12 digs. Senior
Heather Lyons (Anchorage, AK) also had a strong night defensively with 10 digs for the Blue and Gold. Senior setter
Alexa Sherman (Calabasas, CA) fell just short of a double-double with 37 assists, nine digs, and seven kills.
The Nanooks were also helped by 398 rowdy fans in attendance that gave the Patty Center a full feeling for the first time this year. “The home crowd is terrific,” said head coach
Phil Shoemaker “we build off of that. This is a team that people need to see.” The Blue and Gold hope to see the same support tomorrow as they look for their first Nanook Classic title since 2000.
For Rockhurst Maggie McGovern had 14 kills while Katy Hernandez had ten of her own. Boomie Williams and Alyssa Emerson co-led the team with 16 assists each and Andrea Schroeder had 14 digs in the loss.
The teams will return to action tomorrow for sessions and two and three. The first set of matches will pit Rockhurst against Hawaii-Hilo at 11:00 a.m. and Alaska against Urbana at 1:00 p.m.
