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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Sophomore outside hitter Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art) and senior outside hitter Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) combined for 31 total kills Saturday afternoon as Alaska controlled all aspects of the match against visiting Western Oregon, winning 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21) in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at the Patty Center.
Harthun had 17 kills and hit .394 in the match – her third-best percentage of the season – to lead the Nanooks (3-14, 2-4 GNAC). Knight tallied 14 kills and hit .393 – her second-best hitting performance of the year. Harthun added nine digs, a service ace and a block. Knight also contributed two aces and two blocks.
Alaska rode the momentum of redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Jordan Ferland (Beavercreek, Ore./Emergency Management) throughout the match, who in her first career start notched five service aces and served for 14 Alaska points. Ferland served for four straight points early in the second set that gave the Nanooks a 5-0 lead to start. Alaska's lead in the second frame would not drop below two points after that Ferland-sparked run, as they went on to win the set 25-19 and take a 2-0 match advantage.
Alaska topped Western Oregon (5-10, 2-4 GNAC) in every offensive and defensive category for the match. The Nanooks bested the Wolves in kills (49-48), team hitting percentage (.327-.226), assists (48-45), service aces (10-2), digs (32-31) and total blocks (9-4). The nine total blocks was a season high for Alaska.
The Nanooks' .327 team hitting percentage was their second-best performance. Freshman setter Katelyn Camp (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) notched 37 assists, two short of her season-best 39 at Notre Dame de Namur on Sept. 7.
Western Oregon had three players with double-digit kills. Kelsie Christensen (11), Hannah Deede (11) and Becky Blees (10) led the Western Oregon offense, while Erin Dobson and Jordin Ramos split setting duties, collecting 22 and 20 assists, respectively.
The Nanooks trailed by five early in the first set, but went on a 7-2 run to pull even at 10-10. From there the teams traded points until another 7-2 Alaska run put them up 19-14. Western Oregon made one more push to make it a two-point set, but Alaska would close with a 5-1 run to win the opening set 25-19.
The Wolves won a set back in the third. They hit .333 as a team, never trailed in the set and only faced one tie score at 1-1. The Nanooks pulled within one at 21-20, but a 4-1 Western Oregon run, highlighted by two kills from Blees and one from Deede, clinched the set at 25-22.
The fourth and final set was the closest of all. It saw 10 ties and two lead changes. There was only one lead of more than two points through the set's first 42 scores – when Western Oregon led 7-4 early on. Holding on to a slim 20-19 lead towards the end, Alaska would go on a short 5-1 run, anchored by two kills from Harthun, to clinch the set and the match. The Nanooks had only one error in the fourth set and hit .333 as a team in the frame.
The Nanooks next host GNAC leader Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. on Oct. 12 for "Pack the Patty" at the Patty Center.
