FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The second half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season gets underway this week, and the Alaska Nanooks have the advantage of kicking it off at home with two matches at the Patty Center.
Â
Central Washington (9-8, 5-4 GNAC) visits at 7 p.m. Thursday for "Rivalry Night" at the Patty, and Northwest Nazarene (10-5, 6-3 GNAC) comes to town for an afternoon affair at 3 p.m. Saturday. Saturday will be the Nanooks' annual "Dig Pink" night, where fans are encouraged to wear pink in recognition of October's Breast Cancer Awareness month activities.
The Nanooks are accepting donations for their "Dig Pink" event on the Web, and will also be accepting donations at Saturday's match. The Breast Cancer Detection Center will also have a table at Saturday afternoon's match, distributing information and answering inquiries.
Click here to make a donation to the Nanooks' "Dig Pink" drive.
Â
Alaska (3-17, 2-7 GNAC) will be propelled this week by sophomore outside hitter
Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art). Harthun was named GNAC Red Lion Co-Offensive Player of the Week Monday for the second time this season after leading the conference with 44 kills in two matches last week. She vaulted into the nation's top 12 in two statistical categories: points per set (9th, 4.76) and kills per set (12th, 4.23), while continuing to lead the conference as well with those marks.
Â
Freshman setter
Katelyn Camp (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) eclipsed the 500-assists mark last week, thanks in part to tying a season high with 39 helpers at Simon Fraser Saturday. Camp is fifth in the GNAC in assists per set, averaging 8.51. She is the only freshman ranked among the GNAC's top 12 setters.
Â
Senior outside hitter
Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) extended her streak of matches with at least seven kills to 11 straight. During the run she has raised her overall season hitting percentage by 131 points to .197. She also has already topped her kills total from a season ago, currently sitting with 159.
Â
Opponents have hit over .300 against the Nanooks in three straight matches after a stretch of four contests where they held opponents to .263 or under. Alaska is 3-0 this season when being the better-hitting team in a match.
Â
Match #21: Central Washington at Alaska – Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. (AKDT)
Important Links:Â Â
LIVE STATSÂ Â Â Â
LIVE VIDEO
The Wildcats (9-8, 5-4 GNAC) have played .500 volleyball all season long, never winning or losing more than three matches in a row at a time. Recent times have brought an upturn for the Central Washington, who has won three in a row, including sweeping Northwest Nazarene 3-0 on Saturday.
Â
The Wildcats are ranked third in the GNAC in four team statistical categories: hitting percentage (.194), assists per set (12.12), kills per set (12.97) and digs per set (16.75). Four players have over 100 kills for the Wildcats, led by Emmy Dolan with 169 (2.64 per set). Kaitlin Quirk and Erin Smith have 60 and 50 total blocks, respectively.
Â
Match #22: Northwest Nazarene at Alaska – Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. (AKDT)
Important Links:Â Â
LIVE STATSÂ Â Â Â
LIVE VIDEO
The Crusaders (10-5, 6-3 GNAC) were on a roll until Central Washington put a stop to it last week in Ellensburg, Wash. Before that though, they had dropped only two conference matches, and those were to the GNAC's top two teams – Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington.
Â
Northwest Nazarene is ranked among the GNAC's top four in every team statistical category, both offense and defense. Andrea Terpstra is fourth in the GNAC with a .328 hitting percentage and third in kills per set at 3.51. Her sister Michelle is third in the conference with 10.12 assists per set, making for a potent duo. Elayna Rice is right behind Andrea Terpstra in kills with 180 this season.
