University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team concludes the 2015 season this weekend, as they host Western Oregon and Concordia (Ore.) in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action. The Nanooks take on the WOU on Thursday, while Saturday Alaska ends the year with Concordia. Saturday will also be Senior Night, as the team will honor Sam Harthun, Samantha Hesterman and Miranda Grieser.

The Nanooks (5-20, 5-13 GNAC) are coming off a 0-2 road trip at No. 16 Western Washington and Simon Fraser. Alaska fell in straight sets in in both matches in what was the last two road matches of the 2015 season. The Nanooks ended the 2015 road campaign with two wins, the most since the 2013 season. Alaska also comes into this weekend's series looking for its fourth and fifth home wins of the season. If they are able to capture the two wins, it will be the most home wins for Alaska since the 2012 season.

Last Time Out
The Nanooks were upended by the Clan of Simon Fraser last Saturday, as they fell in straight sets for the second-straight match. Senior Sam Harthun broke the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's All-Time Kills Record with her first kill of the night. Harthun ended the night with nine kills, snapping her eight-match double-digit kill streak.

All-Time Series

Western Oregon: The Wolves hold a 19-11 advantage in the all-time series against Alaska. Western Oregon captured the straight-set victory back on Sept. 19 and has won the last two meetings between the two schools.

Concordia: Saturday's meeting will be only the second-ever matchup between Alaska and Concordia. The Crusaders, who are in their season as an NCAA Division II institution, captured the inaugural victory in the series, as they defeated the Nanooks in straight sets on Sept. 17.

GNAC All-Time Leader in Kills
Sam Harthun etched her name in the GNAC volleyball record books last Saturday, as she became the conference's all-time leader in kills after landing her first swing against Simon Fraser. The Oregon City, Oregon native, who is also the school's all-time leader in the category, captured nine kills in the loss to give her a total of 1,470 entering the final weekend of competition in her collegiate career.

Ending Strong
The Alaska Nanooks enter the final weekend in a four-way tie for seventh in the GNAC. If the Nanooks complete the sweep in their final two matches of the 2015 season and remain seventh in the GNAC, it will be the highest finish for Alaska in the GNAC standings in five years. The 2010 squad also finished seventh in the GNAC standings.

Setting the Foundation
The 2015 season has brought new life to the Alaska Nanooks volleyball program. The program is in its first season under the direction of head coach Brian Scott and it's been a success first year for the Nanooks.

The program has already won the most matches in a single season since the 2012 season with five victories. The Nanooks also completed its first season sweep over Seattle Pacific since the 2008 campaign and had two players earn GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on three separate occasions. Alaska was also selected for it's first-ever GNAC Team of the Week honor after they completed a weekend sweep of Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific.

"It's been a great year," said head coach Brian Scott. "These girls have responded to every challenge we've given them. It's been a nice learning process for all of us and it's going to get better from here as we continue to grow."

A Remarkable Class
Sam Harthun, Samantha Hesterman and Miranda Grieser make up the 2015 senior class, which will be honored prior to the start of the Saturday's match. The group has been together for the past two seasons, as Grieser joined the Nanooks as a junior college transfer last season.

All three have played a vital role on this year's team, as Harthun is the team leader in kills (373) and Grieser is the team leader in assists (685). Hesterman is second on the team in digs, as she has collected a career-best 201 digs this season.

"We are graduating a group of outstanding girls," Scott said of his first senior class. "This is going to be a hard class to replace. They are all athletically gifted and are even better people. They contributed a lot not only on the court but also in the locker room. They are a talented group, Sam has broken records here, Miranda was one of the few setters to be named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week and Samantha has done a great job on the defensive side of the ball for us all season. They will all be missed."

Scouting the Opposition – Western Oregon
The Wolves come into this weekend as one of the four teams tied for seven in the GNAC, as they are 5-13 in league play. Overall, Western Oregon is 8-19 on the year and comes into Fairbanks after winning a five-set match at Montana State Billings.

Sydney Blankinship leads the team in hitting percentage at .334, a mark that ranks fourth in the GNAC. Blankinship has collected 195 kills and has committed just 40 errors in 345 attempts. Alisha Bettinson leads the team in kills with 279, and is 13th in the GNAC in kills per set at 2.82. As a team, Western Oregon is hitting .178 on the year, which is the sixth-best mark in the GNAC.

Defensively, Western Oregon is allowing a .213 hitting percentage to the opposition. Christie Colasurdo leads the team in digs with 631. Her 6.37 digs per set ranks first in the GNAC.

Scouting the Opposition – Concordia
Concordia University is the newest member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after making the jump from the NAIA. The Cavaliers have made a seamless transition into NCAA Division II, as they are 17-9 overall and an even 9-9 in the GNAC.

The Cavaliers are currently the second-ranked defensive team in the GNAC, as teams are hitting .154 against them. Libero Shantell Gritsch leads the stout defense, as her 5.32 digs per set average is the fourth-best mark in conference. In total, Gritsch has 303 digs in 57 sets.

The Cavaliers offense has been equally impressive in their first year at the NCAA level, as they rank fifth in the conference in hitting percentage with a .197 team clip. Amanda Goringe leads the team with her .235 hitting percentage, which is good enough for 15-best in the conference. Lindsey Dorsey is right behind Goringe with a .233 mark, which is 18th-best in the GNAC. Brenna Huew leads the team in kills with 270.

Coaches Corner
"The message we have been sending to these girls this week is that they have a chance to finish strong and reach a new level off success here at Alaska. We have a chance to do things that haven't been done here in quite a while. We want to finish strong so that people can look back at this season as the year the Alaska Nanooks volleyball program turned it around. We had some nice streaks this year and we had some records broken, so we would really like to finish the year on a high note so that people can remember this season for years to come." – Head coach Brian Scott on the importance of finishing this season strong.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaksa Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.