FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team continues its four-match Great Northwest Athletic Conference homestead on Saturday, Sept. 26th, as they take on Montana State Billings. First serve from the Alaska Airlines Court is set for 2 p.m.
The Nanooks (0-10, 0-3 GNAC) comes into Saturday's matchup with the Yellowjackets (1-10, 0-3 GNAC) in search of their first win of the season. Alaska has dropped each of its 10 matches this season and are on a 14-match losing streak that dates back to last season. Despite not winning a match this year, the Nanooks have shown improvement on the court, as the team has captured eight set wins on the year, a feat that took 16 matches to accomplish last year.
| Date | Sept. 26, 2015 |
| Opponent | Montana State Billings |
| Location | Fairbanks, Alaska | Alaska Airlines Court |
| Match Notes | To Come |
| Live Stats & Streaming | Click Here |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook |
Last Time Out
Alaska fell to arch rival No. 11-ranked Alaska Anchorage this past Tuesday, 3-1 (26-24, 11-25, 12-25, 15-25) at the Alaska Airlines Court. The Nanooks were able to take the opening set, but the Seawolves bounced back to take the next three sets to capture the four-set victory. Senior outside hitter Sam Harthun paced the Alaska offense, as she collected a team-best 15 kills against the 11th-ranked team in NCAA Division II.
GNAC Rankings
Senior Sam Harthun ranks third in the GNAC in kills per set with her 3.34 average. In total, Harthun has collected a team-best 127 kills this season. The Oregon City, Oregon native also ranks fourth in the conference in points per set at 3.70. Sophomore Riley Podowicz leads the conference in aces per set at 0.47. Podowicz has a total of 18 aces, which is tied for the most in the GNAC this season.
All-Time Series
The Nanooks holds a slim 25-23 advantage in the all-time series against the Yellowjackets. MSUB captured two wins against Alaska last year and has won three of the last four meetings.
Continuing the Home Stand
Saturday's match is the second in a season-long four-match home stand for the Nanooks. Alaska the four-straight home matches with a four-set loss to No. 11-ranked Alaska Anchorage and concludes it next week with a match against Saint Martin's (Wash.) on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.
One Down, One To Go
Senior Sam Harthun entered the season third on the all-time kills list and has now moved into second place thanks to her 15-kill performance against Alaska Anchorage. Harthun enters Saturday's match with 1,224 kills in her career, as she now trails all-time leader Mallory Bergstrom, who collected 1,363 kills from 2001-04, by 139.
Streaking
A pair of Nanook seniors enter Saturday's match looking to extend their season-best double-digit streak. Senior Miranda Grieser looks to add to her current 36-match streak with double-figure assists, a streak that spans through her entire Alaska career. Grieser will be setting up fellow classmate Sam Harthun, who enters the match against MSUB on a season-long six-match double-digit kills streak.
Scouting The Opposition – Montana State Billings
Like the Nanooks, MSUB enters Saturday's match looking to snap an extended losing streak, as the Yellowjackets have dropped eight-straight matching coming into the Alaska Airlines Court. Montana State Billings will be wrapping up its two-match tour of the Last Frontier after falling in straight sets to No. 11 Alaska Anchorage on Thursday.
MSU Billings ranks seventh in the conference in hitting percentage with a .144 mark. Ashlynn Ward is the team's top hitter with her .258 success rate. Ward ranks seventh in the conference in kills per set with a 3.02 mark, as she has collected 124 kills in 41 sets.
Defensively, the Yellowjackets rank second-to-last in the GNAC in opponent hitting percentage, as team's are hitting .251 against MSU Billings. Libero Kimmy Kirk still ranks 10th in the conference in digs per set with her 3.83 average.
Coaches Corner
"We're excited to be here at home. It's nice to see so many fans come and support us. That was a nice crowd against Anchorage and we would like to build off of what we did in the first set on Tuesday. We have to win the serve and serve-receive battle this weekend against Montana State Billings. We have to be able to be consistently about putting good pace on the ball when we serve and we have to keep it in play. If we can do those things, then we should be able to come out on top. But we have to stay the course and get better every time we step on the court and that's our mindset going into Saturday." – Head Coach Brian Scott on Saturday's Match Up With Montana State Billings
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter, or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
