Box Score BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Alaska volleyball team concluded a six-game road trip with a three-set loss to Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe, Western Washington University, Thursday night. The Nanooks will now return home for a Saturday-Monday swing with matches against Seattle Pacific University and Montana State University - Billings.
Alaska (0-10, 0-2 GNAC) struggled to sustain any rally, as the team committed five service errors and 16 attacking errors en route to set losses of 17-25, 13-25 and 14-25.
Once again it was the duo of
Brooke Mattice and
Sam Harthun who led the Nanook attack, each with seven kills. Harthun also added a team-high 12 digs.
Riley Podowicz and
Maddie Davis each had four kills while defensive specialists
Tessa Butterfield and
Samantha Hesterman compiled 11 digs apiece.
The Vikings (8-3, 1-1 GNAC) were led by Kayla Erickson in attack, as her 17 kills and .476 hitting percentage were the best of any player, as well as Samantha Hutchinson in defense who recorded a game-high 19 digs.
"As a team we need to work on our controlling errors, but at the same time stay aggressive with our serves and attack," said head coach
Mallory Larranaga. "We aren't happy right now, but luckily we have a short turnaround before our next match. The chemistry within the team is right there, we just need to get everything to click. And once it does we will be able to improve our performances to the level we want to be at."
Alaska hosts Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings in its next two matches. The SPU match is set for Saturday, September 20 at 7:00 while the MSUB match will be Monday the 22nd at 7:00 p.m.
