FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska volleyball Gold team was victorious over the Alaska volleyball Blue team, as they scored the 2-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-13) win in front of a strong contingency of Nanook fans who came out for Saturday's Blue vs. Gold Match.
Alaska Gold, which contained seniors Miranda Grieser and Sam Harthun, along with juniors Lilah Hudson, Jordan Ferland and Meagan Olsen, sophomore Riley Podowicz and redshirt freshman Ariana Horner, battled back from a one-set deficit to score a victory in each of the match's final two sets to pull out the victory over the Alaska Blue team, which had senior Samantha Hesterman, juniors Kensey Mix and Jennifer Morris, sophomores Maddie Davis and Dylan Branch and freshmen Amberly Jeane and Emily Hartley in a match that unofficially kicked off the 2015 season.
"Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how tonight went," said first-year head coach Brian Scott. "I thought our blocking was extremely well on both sides and that was good to see. Our offensive distribution was a little better than what it has been in the past and I'm really pleased with how all three girls that played libero performed tonight."
The Blue team had a strong showing in the opening set, as they flashed their defensive skills throughout the set. Blue captured the 25-19 victory, as they capped off the game with a block from Amberly Jeane and Kensey Mix.
Defense would be the theme of the night for both the Blue and Gold teams, as Meagan Olsen (19), Samantha Hesterman (16) and Jordan Ferland (13) each had double-digit digs in the exhibition.
"Both teams did a great job on defense," expressed Scott. "All three liberos came up with some really big digs and that was encouraging to see. If we can play at a high level on defense, like we did tonight, we are going to frustrate a lot teams."
The Gold team looked to have control of the second set early on, as they held a 20-13 lead to force a Blue timeout. After the break, Blue went on to score eight of the set's next nine points to pull even with Gold at 21-21. Gold would rally however, as they scored four of the next five points to claim the 25-22 set win. A Sam Harthun kill evened up the match, as the two-time All-GNAC first team outside hitter had an outstanding night with 25 kills and a .234 hitting percentage.
"Sam had a strong night and we would like to see her stay around those numbers all year," Scott said of Harthun's performance. "We need to distribute the ball a little better and not have as high number of swings for Sam. If we can have some distribution within our offense, our team as a whole will play better. If we can get some other people chances to attack, then that will create more holes for Sam when she gets the ball."
Gold again would jump out to a big lead in the third and final set, as they held a 15-7 advantage over Blue midway through. There would be no rally this time for the Nanooks in blue, as Gold closed out the match on a 10-5 run, capturing the 25-13 win to take the match two sets to one.
Scott was impressed with the fan turn out for tonight's exhibition. Well over 200 fans were in attendance to watch the unofficial beginning to the 2015 season, and he is glad that his team was able to put on a good show in front of their followers.
"If this is how we start the season, then are going to see some great things happen this year in terms of fan support," Scott exclaimed. "It was a great start to the season and a lot of the credit goes out to the communications and marketing department, who have done an outstanding job of promoting not only this match, but the upcoming season, on both Facebook and Twitter. They are doing a great job at letting our community know that we are in action and that they should come out and support this team."
The Nanooks will open the 2015 regular season on Friday, as they play the first of three matches next week in the 2015 Flint Hills Resource Nanook Classic. Alaska will open the weekend with a match on Friday night against Minot State (N.D.) at 7:15 p.m. They follow that up with two Saturday matches, the first at 11 a.m. against Saint Joseph's (Ind.) and then at 7:15 p.m. against St. Mary's (Texas). All matches will be played at the Alaska Airlines Court inside the Patty Center.
Tickets for the Nanook Classic are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets for the six-match Classic through the Alaska Athletics Ticket Office at the Patty Center or by calling 907-474-NOOK (6665). Tournament packages start at $24 dollars for adults, $12 for children from six to 17 years old, $18 for both military members and seniors and $21 for UAF Alumni.
For more information on the Alaska volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
