LACEY, Wash. -- Senior setter Miranda Grieser turned in a historic performance on Saturday night, as she tied the Alaska Nanooks volleyball record for most service aces in a match to the help the Nanooks collect a remarkable come-from-behind 3-2 (13-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-12, 15-13) victory over Saint Martin's in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.
Grieser landed eight aces on the night to tie her with Tanya Pitatnova and Jamie Schanback for the most service aces in in a single match in program history. The Maple Valley, Washington native also tied the GNAC record for most aces in a five-set match.
"Miranda has been a good server for us all year," said head coach Brian Scott. "She got Saint Martin's out of their system by mixing up her serves. She really kept them guessing tonight and made some really great decision that resulted in points for us."
Alaska (4-17, 4-10 GNAC), who entered Saturday's match as the top service ace team in the GNAC, collected 15 aces on the night. The 15 aces are the second most for the Nanooks this season, and gives them a remarkable 35 service aces against Saint Martin's (2-18, 1-13 GNAC) this year, as they landed an outstanding 20 aces in Fairbanks on Oct. 1.
The Nanooks had to rally from a 2-0 deficit at the break to score the five-set win over the Saints. Alaska completes the season sweep of SMU and tonight's victory marks Alaska's fourth win of the season, which is one more than they collected in all of 2014. It is also the second-straight five set victory for the Nanooks, as they scored a come-from-behind victory at Seattle Pacific on Thursday. Tonight was the sixth time Alaska has went to distance in a match this season, as they improve to 3-3 in those contests.
"We knew going into the locker room our back was against the wall," expressed Scott. "We talked about resetting in the locker room and going back out and play how we've been trained. We got a little fragmented on the court early on, but we were able to refocus and work hard to get the win. These girls are gritty, they are not willing to give up and it's nice to see as a coach. As long as this team is willing to fight, they will continue to make comebacks like this, because there is no quit in them."
Senior outside hitter Sam Harthun collected a match-high 20 kills in the victory, as she was one of three Nanooks player to post double-digit kills. Sophomores Maddie Davis and Riley Podowicz each collected 11 kills, as Alaska had three players reach double figures in kills for the second time this season. Junior Lilah Hudson also turned in a career-best six kills.
The offensive balance gave Grieser several options to work with on the night, as the setter handed out a match-high 37 assists in the win. Defensively, Kensey Mix collected eight assisted blocks to lead her team to 11 total blocks on the night. Libero Meagan Olsen tallied a team-best 12 digs, while Samantha Hesterman contributed 10.
Alaska dropped the first two set to Saint Martin's to begin the night, as SMU took set one 25-13 and set two, 25-18. Out of the break, the Nanooks used an 8-0 run to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 14-8 advantage. The Nanooks would build their lead to 20-12 after a Davis kill. Saint Martin's would rally, as they pulled within four at 22-18, but Alaska would keep SMU at bay for the remainder of the frame, as they captured the 25-20 win to start the long comeback.
The Nanooks jumped out to an 8-2 lead to open set four and rode that momentum all the way to a 25-12 win to force a decisive fifth set. Alaska led from beginning to end in the final frame, but never held more than a four-point advantage, as the Nanooks captured their third-straight set of the night by a score of 15-13 to complete the comeback.
Alaska will be back in action next Thursday, as they open a two-match GNAC home stand with Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. The Nanooks will battle the Crusaders on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m., while they'll take on the Wildcats at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be played at Alaska Airlines Court.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
