Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. – Senior Sam Harthun became just the third player in Alaska Nanooks volleyball history to surpass the 1,200-kill plateau, but her milestone effort would not be enough, as the Nanooks fell in straight sets for the second-straight match, by dropping a 3-0 (22-25, 19-25, 19-25) decision at Western Oregon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on Saturday night.
Harthun was the lone Alaska (0-9, 0-2 GNAC) player to reach double-digit kills on Saturday, as her 11-kill effort gives the senior 1,209 for her career and puts her just five kills away from moving into second-place on the school's all-time list. Currently, Megan Thigpen, who played for the Nanooks from 2006-09, is in second place with 1,213 kills.
"Sam deserves every accolade that comes her way," said head coach Brian Scott after the match. "She is an extremely hard worker and an excellent teammate. She has had an excellent group of teammates over her career, especially this season, and they have really helped Sam climb up this list. A player doesn't become the school's all-time leader in kills without a great group of teammates around them, and that's exactly what she has here."
Despite Harthun's achievement, the Nanooks were thwarted by a Western Oregon defense that forced them to hit .065 on the night. Alaska only managed to hit over .100 in one set on the night (.129 in set two) as the team closed its first GNAC road trip of the season 0-2.
"Tonight was not our night," said Scott. "We did not execute at the level that we are capable of, and we are going to go back into the gym and fix that. Sometimes teams have nights like these were they will take a few lumps, but we have to be able to learn from them in order to bounce back and get better. A positive from tonight is that our defense did play better. We out performed a very good defensive team in the dig category (45-42) and that is something we can build off of."
Despite the low hitting percentage, the Nanooks found themselves in a deadlock with the Wolves at the midway point in all three sets. Alaska had a 20-17 lead in the first set before WOU mounted an 8-2 run to score a 25-22 come-from-behind victory. The two were knotted up at 15-15, but a 7-2 spurt by Western Oregon would give them a 22-17 lead, before closing out set two with a 25-19 victory. Set three opened with a 12-12 tie before the Wolves pulled ahead with a four-point lead at 16-12. The Nanooks pulled even at 18-all after back-to-back aces from Riley Podowicz, but would only score once more in the final set, as Western Oregon took won 25-19, to capture the straight set victory.
Setter Miranda Grieser led the Nanooks defense, as she was one of two Alaska players on the night to post double-digit digs with her team-leading 13. The senior also handed out 26 assists to post her second double-double in three matches. The 26 assists also extends her double-digit assists streak to 35-straight matches.
Redshirt senior Samantha Hesterman made her first start of the year at libero and turned in her second-straight double-digit dig match after collecting 11 digs.
After spending the past 16 days away from Alaska Airlines Court, the Nanooks will return to their home court to take on arch rival, and 12th-ranked, Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. The match will be the first of a two-game homes stand for the Nanooks, as they'll also host fellow GNAC member, Montana State Billings at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
For more information on the Alaska Nanook volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
