FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Oct. 13, 2011 – The Alaska women's volleyball team continues Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this weekend with a rivalry matchup at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday evening at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex in Anchorage.
“It's the second half of the season in the sense that we've played everybody now and we certainly know more than the first time around,” Head Coach
Phil Shoemaker said. “Hopefully everyone will be healthy [this weekend]. It's always tough to win on the road and that was the case last weekend. We were in both matches, but didn't finish as well as we would've liked.”
The Nanooks (2-15, 2-7 GNAC) are coming off a pair of 3-1 road losses last week at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
Junior middle blocker
Casey Tidwell (Redlands, Calif./Manhattan College) led the offensive attack with 11.5 kills and 3.0 blocks per match, including 14 kills against CWU, which tied for her career high in kills. A pair of outside hitters registered double-doubles as junior
Reilly Stevens (Riverside, Calif./Fullerton JC) had 12 kills and 14 digs versus Northwest Nazarene and sophomore
Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) chipped in 11 kills and 11 digs against Central.
Freshman setter
Becky Martin (Cochrane, Alberta/Bow Valley) averaged 34 assists and 7.5 digs per match and junior defensive specialist
Jordyn Montgomery (Topeka, Kan./Rockhurst University) tallied 32 digs between the two matches.
Junior libero
Allison Oddy (Chilliwack, British Columbia/Highroad Academy) was out last weekend due to illness, but she ranks fifth in the GNAC and 52nd in the nation with 4.79 digs per set. She is expected to return to the lineup against UAA.
“We're focusing on competition,” Shoemaker said. “We're focusing on the ability to perform under pressure, come up with the big play when the big play is needed and maintaining our poise. It's a bit like dancing on the edge and we're trying to create a better edge for ourselves.”
“I believe in this team,” Shoemaker added. “It's a matter of creating a few opportunities for ourselves and doing a better job finishing and certainly to play within ourselves but also to push the limits a bit.”
Live stats and
free live video will be available for Saturday's contest.
The Rivalry with UAA Continues:
When these two teams meet, watch out! The battle for supremacy in Alaska is always a war when the two squads step on opposing sides of the court. Saturday marks 95th meeting all-time between the 'Nooks and Seawolves in a rivalry that dates back to 1979. Anchorage leads the series 58-36 and has won the last two.
The Seawolves (11-6, 7-2 GNAC) split last weekend against CWU and NNU, taking a 3-0 sweep against the Wildcats before falling 3-1 versus the Crusaders.
“Anchorage is a great opponent and obviously performing well,” Shoemaker said. “Their loss at NNU was a little bit of a hiccup, so I'm sure they'll be ready to get after it again.”
Robyn Burton leads the GNAC and ranks 10th in the country with a hitting percentage of .397. She's also second in the league and 32nd nationally with 1.07 blocks per set.
Jackie Matthisen ranks second in the conference in a pair of categories. She has 4.03 kills per set, which ranks 20th across the country and 4.48 points per set, which is 29th in the nation.
“It'll be rowdy, it'll be fun and very loud and difficult to communicate from the bench, so it has to be done from the court,” Shoemaker said. “Their mindset needs to be strong. Certainly there needs to be a sense of confidence. Everyone who's been here in past seasons has experienced wins against the Seawolves on their court, so it's not that we have to do something that has not been done, but it's something we have to do.”
