Box Score ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team out-blocked the top blocking team in NCAA Division II on Thursday night, but that would not be enough to lift the Nanooks to victory, as they fell 3-0 (22-25, 9-25, 14-25) at Central Washington in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.
The Nanooks (2-12, 2-5 GNAC) posted a 9-3 block advantage over a Central Washington (10-4, 6-1 GNAC) team that leads both the GNAC and NCAA Division II in blocks per set. Redshirt junior Maddie Davis led the Alaska charge, as she collected five assisted blocks on the night. Junior Lilah Hudson collected the match's lone solo block and added four more assisted blocks.
"It's nice that we are continuing to improve our blocking," said head coach Brian Scott. "We out-blocked the best team in the nation in that category tonight and we held a three block per set average. If we can continue that, then we will be right up towards the top of the league in blocks."
Alaska's nine-block performance follows a season-best 10.5 block effort against Seattle Pacific last Saturday. The Nanooks have collected 30.5 blocks over the past four matches, as they have nearly averaged two blocks per set with a 1.91 average.
Freshman Amberly Jeane led the Nanooks in kills for the first time in her career, as the Pearland, Texas native posted eight kills on the night. The Central Washington defense limited the Alaska offense to 15 kills on the night, as they hit a season-low -.048.
"We need to be mentally prepared to battle with every team in this conference point-for-point," expressed Scott. "We need to continue to push through some of these runs and not have any mental lapses."
The Nanooks opened up the night with a 5-1 advantage early in set one and held the lead for the majority of the first set, as they claimed a 15-13 lead after a Wildcat service error. Central Washington took its first lead of the night at 18-17, but Alaska rebounded and took a 20-19 advantage after a Riley Podowicz kill. CWU closed the set out by scoring six of the final eight points to score the 25-22 come-from-behind win.
Central Washington used an 11-0 run in the second set to turn a 5-3 lead into a 16-3 advantage, as they hit .423 in the set to capture a 25-9 victory. The Wildcats opened set three by scoring eight straight points and eventually took a double-digit lead in the final frame, as they knocked off the Nanooks in straight sets with a 25-14 set victory.
Libero Samantha Hesterman extended her double-digit digs streak to four matches, as she captured a match-best 12 digs. Hesterman has now posted double-digit digs in six of her last seven matches, as she helped Alaska collect 30 digs in tonight's three-set loss.
Central Washington hit .271 on the night, as Linden Firethorne collected 19 of her team's 43 kills in the victory.
The Nanooks conclude their two-match road trip on Saturday, as they take on Northwest Nazarene. First serve from Nampa, Idaho is set for 5 p.m. AKT.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
