Box Score FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team dropped a thrilling season-opening five-set match to Minot State (N.D.), 3-2 (25-17, 18-25, 18-25, 25-22, 12-15) on the first day of the 2015 Flint Hills Resources Nanook Classic.
Alaska put on a strong showing in front of the home crowd to open 2015, as the Nanooks participated in their first five-set match since Nov. 2, 2013, and won the season-opening set for the first time since the 2012 season.
After Alaska took set one, 25-17, Minot State battled back to take the next two sets, to give them a 2-1 lead going into the fourth frame. The Nanooks rallied however, as they battled MSU to seven ties in the first 20 points of the fourth before they took the frame, 25-22, to force a fifth set. In the deciding frame, the Nanooks got off to a solid start as they jumped out to an 8-6 lead at the switch, but they couldn't hold onto the momentum, as MSU rallied to hand Alaska a 3-2 defeat.
"Nobody likes a loss," said head coach Brian Scott, who was leading the Nanooks for the first time. "We always want a win, but we sent the message tonight that Nanook volleyball will not be the same as it has in the past. We saw a lot of fight out of these girls tonight, and they stuck in the match and battled point-for-point. I think we had some great things happen tonight. This isn't the same team as last year, even though most of the girls are the same. They didn't crumble after losing two sets, they fought back and went back to work and that's the approach we are teaching them."
Alaska senior Sam Harthun paced the Nanooks with a match-best 16 kills. The senior hit .234 in her final season opener for Alaska and nearly missed out on a double-double as she collected nine digs. Freshman Amberly Jeane had a remarkable debut, as the newcomer collected 12 kills on the night. Redshirt sophomore Maddie Davis joined Harthun and Jeane in the double-digit kill column, as she opens 2015 with an 11-kill performance. Davis also hit a career-best .556 on 18 attacks on the night.
"I thought offensively, we had a great night. We hit .234 as a team and we can build off of tonight's performance," stated Scott. "We great distribution with our attacks, with five players in double-digits in attempts and that was great that we had a lot key players get involved tonight."
Senior setter Miranda Grieser handed out 37 assists, while junior libero Meagan Olsen tallied a team-best 16 digs.
Grieser echoed her coach's statements after the match, as she said tonight was a whole new experience for her and her team.
"This is like a whole new team," said Grieser after the match. "We would have loved to win tonight, but this is the most we've been energized since I've been here. We fought the hardest I have since I've been here and it's just going to get better."
The Nanooks ushered in the Brian Scott era with an opening-set victory. Alaska was able to feed off the energy of the crowd early, as Olsen served up six-straight points early in the frame to extend a 6-5 lead, into a 13-5 advantage. After a Minot State rally pulled them within three at 16-13, the Nanooks buckled down and went on a 9-4 run to close out the set, 25-17, after a Jeane kill gave Alaska its first opening-set win since the 2012 Nanook Classic against Findlay, which ironically was the last five-set match at home for the Nanooks.
The Beavers collected the first five points of set number two, and built an 8-2 lead early on. Alaska would be unable to recover, as MSU hit a match-best .435 in the set to take the 25-18 win. The two teams traded points in the early half of the third set, as it was tied 10-10 after a Mallory Sall service error. Minot State went on to score 10 of the next 13 points to take a 20-13 lead, before winning the set 25-18.
It was a highly contested battle in the fourth set, as the frame featured seven ties and two lead changes. Alaska broke a 16-all tie with three-straight points behind kills from Riley Podowicz, Harthun and a Minot State set error. The Nanooks would hold on to their three-point lead throughout the set, as they fought off the Beavers and won 25-22, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.
The Nanooks took a two-point lead at 8-6 during the switch in the fifth, but could only score four more points on the night, as Minot State rallied to score nine of the frame's final 15 points to survive opening night in the Last Frontier with the 15-12 set win.
Sall tied Harthun's match-high mark of 16 kills, while Beavers setter Kelsey DeWulf handed out a match-best 46 assists. The Beavers outhit .286 to Alaska's .232 on the night and posted 59 digs to The Nanooks 53.
It will be a short turnaround for the Coach Scott and his team, as they take the court in less than 24-hours to open day two of the 2015 Flint Hills Resources Nanook Classic tomorrow, Saturday Sept. 5, Â at 11 a.m., as they take on Saint Joseph's (Ind.) at Alaska Airlines Court. The Pumas won the opening-game of the Classic earlier on Friday, as they defeated St. Mary's (Texas) 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 25-15).
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Volleyball on Facebook.
