Box Score
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Alaska volleyball team honored its three seniors prior to start of the match and all three put together great numbers in their final game at home, but Northwest Nazarene was able to pick up a 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at the Patty Center.
The Crusaders won by scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 25-19 to improve to 16-7 overall and 11-5 in conference while the Nanooks fell to 2-22 and 2-14 in the GNAC.
“I thought we played pretty well, there were a couple things Northwest Nazarene did that were difference makers and they generated a few better swings at critical times,” head coach
Phil Shoemaker said. “They found a soft spot in our zone three, which is short middle, and they did a good job us a little more off-balanced. I was very happy with the play of our middles, Morgan [Tebbs] and Casey [Tidwell]. We've been riding them pretty hard in practice and they've been working super hard. We had a much better presence in the middle tonight and it made a difference in our overall play.”
Playing in their final home match of their Alaska careers, seniors
Simone Chavous (Aurora, Colo./Bishop Machebeuf Catholic),
Jordyn Montgomery (Topeka, Kan./Rockhurst University) and
Karlee Skalla (Las Vegas, Nev./Orange Coast CC) made of the most of the opportunities on the court.
“Last night, the seniors all sent each other messages saying we have nothing to lose, so let's go out and just play as hard as we can,” Chavous said. “We really wanted to show what we're made of and show what we can do out [on the court]. I think we did a really good job of it.”
“We wanted to come out strong since it was our last home game, and all of our teammates were fighting just as hard,” Montgomery said. “It's emotional and you go even harder when you know it's your last in front of the Nanook fans. I think it's awesome we're able to go out this way and we worked really hard over the years.”
Skalla posted a double-double with a match-high 15 kills and 16 digs, to go with her three service aces. Chavous chipped in 11 terminations and set a new career best with a .280 (11-4-25) attack percentage, while Montgomery had yet again another career night at the libero position with 22 digs, respectively.
NNU was led offensively by Michelle Terpstra, who had a team-high 12 kills, 21 assists and eight digs. Kaitlyn Tuholski turned in a triple-double with 10 kills, 22 assists and 11 digs, while Haley Abbott dished in 11 kills. Kailey Trautmann tied for a match-high 22 digs in the victory.
Alaska jumped out to a 1-0 after winning set one by a score of 25-21. Trailing 10-8, the 'Nooks reeled off six of the next seven points to take control of the frame. They led throughout the rest of the set as the Crusaders never drew closer than two the rest of the way.
Northwest Nazarene surged to a 14-7 advantage early on in the second. Teams traded points, but trailing 19-12, Alaska went on a 10-4 tear due in big part to the six errors the visitors committed and that drew them to within a single point at 23-22. NNU sat on set point at 24-23 and a kill by Abbott ended the set at 25-23 and tied the match at one apiece.
The third set remained tight throughout with neither team ever holding a lead more than three points. With the set tied at 19-19, NNU took advantage on a pair of Nanook errors and a Terpstra kill to lead 22-19. Alaska came right back with three straight to knot it up at 22-22. After teams traded points, Abbott's kill and an attack error by the Nanooks gave the Crusaders a 25-23 win and a 2-1 match lead.
NNU jumped to the lead early in the fourth taking a 13-7 advantage. The lead stretched to 18-10 and the Nanooks never got closer than four points the rest of the way as NNU took the fourth by a 25-19 score.
Also for Alaska, junior
Casey Tidwell (Redlands, Calif./Manhattan College) had 11 kills and hit .367 after making no errors on 30 attempts. Freshman
Becky Martin (Cochrane, Alberta/Bow Valley) put up a double-double with 42 assists and a career-high 14 digs.
“We've come up short a lot and that wears on a team and these women have been very resilient,” Shoemaker said. “To see them still competing as hard as they are right now is really something that makes me proud.”
“I would never trade any of my teammates for anyone else,” Skalla said. “Everyone has stayed positive through all of the ups and downs and that's the one great thing about this team. We all stuck together and picked each other up when others were down. This is one of the best teams I've ever been on and I love these girls.”
The Nanooks head on the road for their final two regular season matches next week. On Thursday, Nov. 10, they face Western Oregon at 6 p.m. in Monmouth, Ore., and wrap up the season Saturday, Nov. 12 at Saint Martin's at 1 p.m. in Lacey, Wash.
