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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska women's volleyball team closes out its regular-season home schedule this week when it plays host to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene in a pair of Great Northwest Athletic matchups at the Patty Center.
The Nanooks (2-20, 2-12 GNAC) take on the Wildcats (12-10, 6-8 GNAC) Thursday night at 7 p.m., and wrap up the home stand with the Crusaders (15-6, 10-4 GNAC) Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Saturday will also mark the final home match for Alaska's three seniors,
Simone Chavous,
Jordyn Montgomery and
Karlee Skalla. They will be honored prior to first serve of that match against NNU.
Last week, the Nanooks dropped a pair of road contests at 24th-ranked Seattle Pacific and Montana State-Billings. The Falcons cruised to a 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-15) victory in Seattle Thursday and the Yellowjackets rallied back for a 3-2 (20-25, 25-11, 16-25, 25-20, 16-14) win Saturday in Billings, Mont.
A few Alaska players notched career bests in Saturday's heart-breaking defeat at MSUB. Sophomore outside hitter
Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) tallied a career high 15 kills and averaged 11 for the road trip, while junior libero
Allison Oddy (Chilliwack, British Columbia/Highroad Academy) had 34 digs, which tied a career best in that category. Junior middle blocker
Casey Tidwell (Redlands, Calif./Manhattan College) chipped in a career-high nine digs as well.
Scouting the Wildcats
Central Washington took a 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-19) win in Ellensburg, Wash., back on Oct. 8 after dropping the first set. CWU was led by Jordan Offutt, who had 17 kills, while Erin Smith added 13 terminations and six blocks.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 19-11 and have won two in a row against the Nanooks.
Shoemaker on CWU: “I felt like when we were there, that we weren't that far off in our ability to compete effectively with them. We weren't at full strength last time we played them and hopefully we will be this weekend. I hope and think that will make a difference, but they're a good team, they have good senior leadership, and they do a good job maintaining pressure. We'll be ready, we'll have a plan and are capable of playing against them.”
Scouting the Crusaders:
Last time these two met, NNU won 3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 18-25, 25-17) in Nampa, Idaho on Oct. 6. Haley Abbott turned in a career night with 21 kills and also had a .429 (21-3-42) attack percentage.
The Crusaders hold a slim 12-11 advantage all-time and have won three in a row and seven of eight against the Nanooks.
Shoemaker on NNU: “Northwest Nazarene has definitely been on a bit of a roll, so they're definitely doing good things. They're pretty athletic. They have good height and a nice spirited, enthusiastic, aggressive team. I'm sure that's had a lot to do with the quality of their wins lately. They've had success, they're going to be feeling pretty confident and definitely present some good challenges, but we'll be ready for them.”
