Box Score BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Sophomore outside hitter
Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art) and senior outside hitter
Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) each had double-digit kills Thursday, but errors plagued the Nanooks as they fell at No. 7 Western Washington in straight sets, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-14).
The Vikings (14-1, 7-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) extended their home winning streak to 17 matches with the win. It was a modest, yet efficient night for the Vikings in the box score. The team only had one player with double-digit kills (Kayla Erickson, 14) and it only gathered three more digs (41-38) than the Nanooks (3-16, 2-6 GNAC). Where Western Washington shined was having only 10 combined attack and service errors all match long and hitting .356 as a team.
Alaska was limited to a .118 team hitting percentage and committed 30 combined attack and service errors during the match. The Nanooks only held two leads in the match – 1-0 in the second set and 2-1 in the third.
Harthun led Alaska with 18 kills, tied for her second-most in a match this season, and hit .244 to go with eight digs. Harthun has posted double-digit kills in three straight matches and four of her last five. She began the season with 13 straight double-digit kills showings and now has 17 on the year.
Knight had 10 kills for her fourth double-digit kills performance in her last five matches as well. She also added a service ace and a block. It was the 10th consecutive match that Knight posted at least seven kills. Knight's season hitting percentage stayed steady at .196, an increase of 130 points over the same 10-match period.
Freshman setter
Katelyn Camp (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) collected 26 assists and redshirt sophomore defensive specialist
Samantha Hesterman's (Ormiston, Saskatchewan/Social Work) nine digs led the team.
Western Washington was led offensively by Moore with 14 kills (.387 hitting percentage) and Kayla Erickson, who hit .444 with nine kills and one error. Taylor Dillard tallied 30 assists.
The Nanooks fell behind by as many as eight in the first set before redshirt sophomore defensive specialist
Jordan Ferland (Beavercreek, Ore./Emergency Management) brought to the court the same momentum she had two weeks ago in a win over Western Oregon. Ferland served for four straight points, including her sixth ace of the season, to pull Alaska within three at 14-11. The Vikings silenced that momentum, though, with a 6-0 run to take a 20-11 lead and win the opening set 25-15.
Western Washington slowly pulled away in the second set, pushing an early one-point lead to a six-point advantage. But Alaska did not go away quietly, steadily reeling in the Vikings with an 8-2 run to close the gap to four at 19-15. Western Washington again would close strong, however, this time finishing with a 6-2 run to take a 2-0 match advantage with a 25-17 second set victory.
It was much of the same in the third and final set. The Vikings grew their lead to four with an early 6-1 run, then never again saw their lead fall below three. Western Washington would lead by as many as 11 on four occasions during the third set, winning by that margin to complete the sweep at 25-14.
The Nanooks cross the Canadian border Saturday to face Simon Fraser in a GNAC match at 6 p.m. AKDT.
