University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Round two of this season's Nanooks-Seawolves rivalry commences Saturday in Anchorage, when the Alaska volleyball team faces Alaska Anchorage in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
 
The Seawolves (17-8, 11-2 GNAC) got the best of the Nanooks (4-20, 3-10 GNAC) in the first meeting this season on Oct. 12 in Fairbanks. Alaska Anchorage won that match 3-0 and set a new GNAC match record with a .520 team hitting percentage. UAA has won six in a row in the series and eight of the last nine dating back to 2009.
 
The Nanooks' last two wins in the series were both in Anchorage: 3-1 on Sept. 18, 2010, and 3-2 on Oct. 15, 2008, the latter of which completed a season sweep. Alaska snapped a six-match losing streak Saturday with a 3-2 win at Saint Martin's – a streak that began with that defeat at the hands of the Seawolves on Oct. 12.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art) was a key part of the Nanooks' win over the Saints, tallying 27 kills in the match and hitting .375. She also had nine digs and two blocks in the victory. Harthun totaled 41 kills, 15 digs and five blocks over the two-match weekend road trip for the Nanooks.
 
HARTHUN APPROACHING MILESTONES
 
Harthun is knocking on the door of season and career milestones for kills. The sophomore has already topped her 2012 season career high of 314 kills, currently sitting at 353 this year with five matches to play. She eclipsed that 2012 total in two less matches this season, topping it with 14 kills at Western Oregon on Oct. 31 – the team's 22nd match of the season.
 
Now through 24 matches this season, Harthun is 19 kills away from breaking into the top-10 of Alaska's single season records for kills. Megan Thigpen's 372 kills in 2009 is currently 10th on the list. Tanya Piatanova holds the Nanooks' all-time single season record with 491 in 1992.
 
She is also just 61 kills away from cracking the top-10 of Alaska's career kills records list. She has collected 667 so far in her first two seasons. Angel Fairbanks' total of 728 from 2000-01 is 10th-best on the list. Current Nanooks head coach Mallory Larranaga holds the career record with 1,363 from 2001-04.
 
At her current pace this season, Harthun could end the year with 426 kills, good for fourth-most all-time in a single season at Alaska and one more than what Larranaga had in 2003 (425), the current No. 4 total. It would also give her 740 for her career, putting her 10th all-time at Alaska.
 
CAMP RECORDS SECOND DOUBLE-DOUBLE
 
Freshman setter Katelyn Camp (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) also played a big role in Saturday's win. She posted her second career double-double by collecting a career-high 48 assists to go along with 10 digs. Her 48 helpers put her over the 700-mark for the season.
 
Camp is also on a path to enter her name in the Alaska record books. With five matches to play, the rooke is currently on pace to finish the season with 848 assists, placing her 10th all-time on the Nanooks' individual career list.
 
KNIGHT STRETCHES STREAK OF SEVEN
 
Senior outside hitter Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) has also been an important part of the Nanooks' offense. For 15 consecutive matches now, Knight has logged at least seven kills while upping her season hitting percentage by 135 points during that time.
 
She has posted double-digit kills totals nine times during the streak, including back-to-back performances last week when she had 16 at Western Oregon and 11 in Alaska's win at Saint Martin's. With 201 kills this season, Knight is just 13 kills away from setting a new career single-season high after notching 201 her sophomore season of 2011.
 
DEFENSE COMING AROUND
 
The Nanooks' defense has been strong recently. The team has led its opponent in digs in back-to-back matches and three of the last four. That stretch includes two of Alaska's three-best dig totals this year, including a season-best 66 against Central Washington on Oct. 24. The defense has also posted at least five total blocks in four of its last five contests.
 
Match #25: Alaska at Alaska Anchorage – Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. (AKST)
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The Seawolves (17-8, 11-2 GNAC) got back on the winning track last week with a road trip sweep through Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. That came on the heels of back-to-back losses against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington on Oct. 24 and 26 that ended a nine-match winning streak. They were UAA's first GNAC losses of the season. Even with those losses factored in, the team has won 11 of its last 13.
 
The Seawolves also debuted this week at No. 5 in the first NCAA Division II West Region rankings. That makes them the highest-ranked GNAC team in the poll, trailing the California Collegiate Athletic Association's UC San Diego (No. 1), Cal State San Bernardino (No. 3) and Sonoma State (No. 4), as well as the Pacific West Conference's BYU-Hawaii (No. 2). UAA is receiving votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, though it is not among the top 25.
 
Katelynn Zanders has posted double-digit kills in 16 of her last 20 matches — including a UAA season-high 22 in a win at Western Washington on Oct. 19. She is riding a current streak of five straight double-doubles. Jodi Huddleston is No. 3 in the GNAC with 1.23 blocks per set and ranks among the top 20 nationally.