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Box Score 2 SEATTLE – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Thursday to open the 2015 GNAC/PacWest Crossover at Brougham Pavilion on the campus of Seattle Pacific.
The Nanooks fell in straight sets for the first time in 2015 to open the two-match day, as California Baptist (RV) knocked off Alaska, 3-0 (22-25, 12-25, 14-25). The Nanooks took the opening set in the nightcap against the Academy of Art, but it would be the Urban Knights taking the match, as they rallied from behind to win 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 20-25, 14-25).
"We are in the middle of a process and we have to keep building on what we're doing," said head coach Brian Scott. "We're going to take away a lot of good from today, but also we will learn from some of the mistakes we made. This process is marathon and that the results we want won't happen overnight. We have to continue to get better and work hard to get to where we want to be."
The Nanooks came out and battled a California Baptist team who was receiving votes in the most recent AVCA NCAA Division II Poll. They fell behind 10-1 in the first set, but would rally to pull within three at 23-20, before the Lancers closed out the set with a 25-22 win. Alaska again fell behind 10-1 in the second set against CBU, but there would be no rally this time, as the Nanooks suffered the 25-12 defeat. The Lancers would seal the first straight set loss for Alaska this season, as CBU took the third set 25-15.
"Give credit to Cal Baptist, they are a team that is getting votes in the top 25, and this morning they demonstrated to us why they're getting those votes," Scott said. "This is the best we've played so far, and it's good for us to play a team of that caliber. It shows us where we are by comparison."
In Thursday's second match, the Nanooks won their first set of the GNAC/PacWest Crossover by defeating the Academy of Art, 25-16, to open the match. Alaska battled back from a 7-1 deficit in the second set to tie things up at 9-9. However, A of A would go on to score six of the next seven points to take a 15-10 lead. A late rally by the Nanooks got them within a point at 24-23 after a Maddie Davis ace, but that would be as close as Alaska would get, as the Urban Knights sealed the set with a Melissa Brum kill. The two teams found themselves in a 9-9 tie early in the third set before a 10-3 run pushed A of A's lead to 19-12. There would be no rally this time, as the Nanooks fell 25-20. In the deciding fourth set, the Academy of Art went on another extended run to separate them from Alaska, as they took the match with a 25-14 set victory.
"It was great to see our girls bounce back and take that first set after getting swept earlier in the day. I think it showed our resilience. We talk as a team about the light at the end of the tunnel, and there might be some chaos around us, but if we can focus on that light we will get out of that tunnel and get to where we all want to be. We want to also battle and stay focused, and bouncing back to take that set in the final match was a big step."
Senior outside hitter Sam Harthun led the team's offensive charge in both matches, as the Oregon City, Oregon native combined for 19 kills, including an 11-kill performance against the Urban Knights in the nightcap. Harthun now has 1,165 career kills and needs just 48 more to move into a second-place tie with Megan Thigpen on the school's all-time kills list.
Sophomore middle blocker Riley Podowicz also collected double-digit kills against the Academy of Art, as she posted a season-best 11 kills on a career-best .421 hitting percentage. Setters Miranda Grieser and Jennifer Morris each continued to perform well as a duo, as the pair of setters collected a combined 52 assists on Thursday. Each setter had identical numbers on Thursday, as they both handed out 10 helpers against the Lancers and collected 16 assists in Thursday's finale. The two setter have each recorded double-digit assists in each of the last four matches.
Defensively, libero Meagon Olsen extended her double-digit dig streak to five matches, as she collected 11 against California Baptist and a match-high 16 against the Academy of Art.
The Nanooks are back in action tomorrow morning at 10:15 a.m. as they take on Hawai'I Pacific in Day Two of the GNAC/PacWest Crossover.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, like @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
