FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks women's volleyball team opened its Great Northwest Athletic Conference season at home last week with a split. Now the Nanooks hit the road for their first GNAC matches away from the Patty Center, traveling to Idaho Thursday to face Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, and heading to Ellensburg, Wash., Saturday to take on Central Washington.
Alaska is 2-0 this season when it has been the better hitting team in a match. That's exactly what the Nanooks did in opening GNAC play last week with a 3-0 sweep of Montana State Billings, hitting .170 to the Yellowjackets' .094. The Nanooks have also been good off the serve. The team is fourth in the GNAC with 1.28 aces per set and has two players among the top six individuals in the same category.
The Nanooks' offense will continue to look towards sophomore outside hitter Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art), who was named GNAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after leading the conference on opening weekend with 31 kills. Harthun leads the team and the conference with 173 kills. Her 4.02 kills per set average is tops in the GNAC and 26th in the nation. She also leads the conference in aces per set at 0.53 and has averaged 4.71 points per set – 20th best in the country.
Harthun also raised her season attack percentage to .204 last week after hitting .344 over the team's first two GNAC matches. Senior outside hitter Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) has come on as of late with four straight matches of at least seven kills, and freshman setter Katelyn Camp  (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) already has four 30-assist matches to her name, her last coming against MSUB. Junior middle blocker Britt Glaeser (Fairbanks, Alaska/Business Administration) has made noise on the front line recently with 25 kills and nine total blocks in her last four matches.
Match #14: Alaska at Northwest Nazarene – Thursday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. (AKDT)
Important Links: Â Â LIVE STATS/LIVE VIDEO
Northwest Nazarene (6-2, 2-0 GNAC) is riding a five-match winning streak that includes opening GNAC play last week with a perfect 2-0 mark on the road at Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. The team has only lost three total sets during its five-match winning streak, all coming last weekend against GNAC opponents.
The Crusaders' offense is spearheaded by the Terpstra sisters, Andrea and Michelle. Andrea leads the team with 108 kills (3.86 per set) and a .355 hitting percentage, while Michelle leads in assists with 288 (10.29 per set). Northwest Nazarene has outhit its opponents this season .198 to .171, and is second in the GNAC with 1.71 service aces per set.
Match #15: Alaska at Central Washington – Saturday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. (AKDT)
Important Links: Â Â LIVE STATS/LIVE VIDEO
Central Washington (5-5, 1-1 GNAC) had been nationally ranked since the season's first poll, but fell out of the AVCA top 25 for the first time this week. The Wildcats are still receiving votes in the poll after splitting their GNAC opening weekend with a win over St. Martin's and a loss at Western Oregon.
Â
The Wildcats are second in the GNAC in both kills per set (13.38) and assists per set (12.44), but are seventh among the conference's 10 teams in blocks per set (2.08). The Wildcats spread the ball around well, with four players averaging at least 2.63 kills per set, and a fifth averaging 1.97. Four players are hitting better than .215, led by Kaitlin Quirk's .273 percentage. Catie Fry has the GNAC's top number for total assists with 430 and is second in assists per set at 11.03 – 14th-best in the nation.
