FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Senior Sam Harthun tied the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's all-time record in kills, but the night would be spoiled by No. 16 Western Washington, as the Vikings ended the Nanooks two-match road winning streak with a 3-0 (9-25, 22-25, 13-25) victory on Thursday.
Harthun entered the match needing 11 kills to own the conference's all-time record, but she had to settle for tying record, as she collected 10 kills on the night. Western Washington (21-4, 15-2 GNAC) held Alaska (5-19, 5-12 GNAC) to a .071 hitting percentage on the night. The senior is now tied with Sarah Sommerman (Seattle; 2002-05) atop the GNAC all-time kills list with 1,461 career kills.
"This is just another great honor for an amazing athlete," said head coach Brian Scott. "Sam has had a wonderful career and like I've said in the past, she has been surrounded by a great group of teammates over the past four years who have helped her achieve records like tonight. We are really looking forward to her breaking the record on Saturday against Simon Fraser."
Harthun's 10 kills extends her double-digit kills streak to eight matches. The senior, who also leads the GNAC in kills per set this season, has posted double-figures in the kill category in 17 of her last 18 matches.
"Sam is the type of player that gets better every time she steps on the court, be it a practice or in a match," Scott said of Harthun's remarkable kills streak this season. "She has adjusted really well to our system and has been able to quickly pick up everything we've thrown her way. A lot of the reason for that is because she has a willingness to learn. Sam strives to get better and she is capable to process a lot of information. It's hard to keep a player down that has those two tendencies."
The reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, Miranda Grieser, continued her impressive play of late, as the senior handed out 21 assists. Grieser has now handed out 139 assists over her last three matches, and needs four more assists to surpass last year's total of 666. Redshirt junior Kensey Mix also collected seven kills on a team-best .316 hitting percentage.
The Vikings hit .353 on the night, as Joellee Buckner hit a match-high .474. Bucker had a team-best 10 kills, as she and Harthun were the only two players in double-digit kills on the night.
Western Washington hit .647 to open the match, as they took the first set 25-9. The Nanooks would battle back in set two and took a 12-10 lead on the Vikings after a 5-0 run in the second set. The teams traded the next several points, but the No. 16-ranked team in the nation was able to overcome the Nanooks, to take the set, 25-22. WWU once again relied on a strong hitting performance in the third set, as the Vikings hit an even .400 to put an end to Alaska's two-match winning streak by taking the set 25-13 to win the match in straight sets.
"Tonight obviously did not go the way we wanted it to," stated the head man. "We played an extremely tough team in a harsh environment. There is a reason they are ranked No. 2 in our regional and nationally-ranked. For us, we have to learn to sustain a good effort like we had in the second set against teams like these. We didn't serve and serve receive very well tonight and that allowed them to run their offense however they wanted to."
The Nanooks will conclude the road portion of its schedule this Saturday, as they'll cross the border to take on Simon Fraser. First serve is set for 6 p.m. AKST.
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