FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Alaska volleyball team fell 3-0 (14-25, 14-25, 15-25) against No. 16 MInnesota State in their second match of the 2011 Nanook Classic. Alaska couldn't earn a measure of retribution against the Mavericks who won 3-0 in the home opener for the Nanooks on Thursday (Sept. 1).
The Nanooks could not find a smooth offensive rhythm throughout the match and finished with a hitting percentage of .076. The 20 attack errors picked up by the blue and gold did not help matters, nor did the Mavericks outstanding .452 attack percentage.
"Minnesota State is a big and strong team and created some real problems for us and we didn't respond well," said head coach Phil Shoemaker. "I didn't feel as though we played as we can play. It's not that we didn't try, we just didn't handle the situation real well."
Morgan Tebbs (Queen Creek, Ariz.) thundered home a kill to begin the match and after a bad set from Minnesota State the Nanooks were up 2-1. The teams traded points until Alaska was able to obtain the momentum once again with a kill from
Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo.) to put them up 6-5.
From there the Nanooks lost most of their offensive cohesion, picking up just four more kills through the entirety of the set. Making matters worse was the omnipresent group of formidable Maverick attackers that finished set one with a .538 attack percentage.
Still reeling from a dismal first set, the Nanooks fell victim to an 11-3 run by the Mavericks to open the second set. The Nanooks were never able to get within less than six points of Minnesota State and fell into a 2-0 hole.
Alaska began the deciding set on the wrong end of a 4-1 spurt and could not recover. Runs of 8-1 and 5-0 by the Mavericks would effectively seal the match for the visitors.
Reilly Stevens (Riverside, Calif.) paced the Nanooks with nine kills and added six digs and a block assist. Knight added seven kills and one of the two service aces for the blue and gold. Tebbs tallied six kills and a block assist.
Becky Martin (Cochrane, Alberta) passed out a team high 24 assists.
Courteney Steinhauser led the Mavericks with 12 kills and a .556 hitting percentage. Jill Storlie added 10 kills with a hitting percentage of .600.
The Nanooks, still gunning for their first victory of the season, will face off against Grand Canyon tonight in the final match of the Nanook Classic. The action is set to get going at 7 p.m.
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