Box Score FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Senior Sam Harthun posted her fourth double-double of the year and sophomore Riley Podowicz tied her career-high in kills with 11, but it would be No. 16 Western Washington taking the 3-0 (19-25, 23-25, 20-25) victory over the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team on Saturday afternoon.
Alaska (2-14, 2-7 GNAC) fought point-for-point with the No. 16-ranked team in the nation. The Nanooks pushed Western Washington (16-2, 10-0 GNAC) in all three sets, as they were within at least six points the entire afternoon.
"Improvement was made today," said head coach Brian Scott. "It's not the result that we want, but the level that we played at was different than it was two days ago. We did a better job on every ball that was put in play, and we worked hard and got after a really good team today. I'm really proud of our girls for staying with it and battling with one of the best teams in the nation."
Harthun collected 15 kills, and hit and efficient .303 in the defeat. The outside hitter was all over the court on Saturday, as she was one of three Nanooks to post double-digit digs with 10. The 15-kill performance pulls Harthun within 69 kills of the school's all-time record. The double-double also gives her a team-leading four on the year.
Senior Samantha Hesterman again paced the Alaska defense, as she turned in a 13-dig performance to lead the Nanooks to a 46-43 dig advantage over the Vikings. Hesterman has now posted double-digit digs in six of her last seven matches. Sophomore Maddie Davis also registered a season-high 10 digs in the loss, and was two kills away from capturing her first career double-double.
For Podowicz, the 11 kills matches her career-best, which was set early this year against Azusa Pacific. The sophomore hit .259 on the night, as her and Harthun led Alaska to a .190 hitting percentage.
Senior Miranda Grieser also put on a strong display against the Vikings, as the setter handed out 33 assists, marking her first 30-plus assist performance since the season-opening game against Minot State.
The Nanooks will have a quick turnaround, as they'll face another Top-20 team on Tuesday, as they'll take on instate rival No. 10 Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. from the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
