FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team hits the road for two Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches, starting off against Northwest Nazarene on Thursday (Oct. 13) before taking on Central Washington on Saturday (Oct. 15). Thursday's game is scheduled for 5pm AKT, while Saturday's is slated for 6pm AKT.
Where to Watch & Listen
If fans aren't able to make either games on the road, all Alaska Nanooks volleyball games (home and away) are streamed live for free through the Alaska Nanooks Stretch Internet Portal. Fans have the option to watch the stream, follow the live stats or both. Please note that the next two games will be broadcast and produced by NNU and CWU, respectively.
Last Time Out
Despite home-court advantage, the Alaska Nanooks dropped both GNAC matches last week, falling to Concordia in five-set heartbreaker on Thursday (Oct. 6) before dropping to Western Oregon in four sets on Saturday (Oct. 8). Alaska now sits with a 2-13 overall record (1-7 GNAC).
Killin' It
Junior outside hitter
Maddie Davis continues to lead the Nanooks offense, combining for 27 kills in the last two matches alone. In Thursday's five-set loss to Concordia, Davis finished with 15 kills, a .375 hitting percentage and nine digs before adding 12 kills and eight digs against Western Oregon on Saturday. Davis ranks second on the team in total kills (128) and averages 2.29 kills per set.
Helping Hands
Junior setter
Rachel Nichols collected a pair of 40-plus assist performances last week, finishing the five-set loss to Concordia with 52 assists and seven digs, while recording 46 assists and 10 digs for her second double-double of the year against Western Oregon. Nichols enters the week ranking seventh in the conference, averaging 9.46 assists per set.
Block Leaders
Junior middle blocker
Riley Podowicz and freshman middle blocker
Kim Wong rank first and second on the team in block averages, respectively. Podowicz leads the team with 0.80 blocks per set (47.0 total), while Wong averages 0.69 per set (41.0 total).
Serving Up Aces
The Alaska Nanooks rank second in the conference in service aces, combining for an average of 1.68 aces per set. Four Nanooks crack the top-20 service ace leaders in the conference, led by junior middle blocker
Riley Podowicz with a 0.42. Also featured on the list is freshman
Paola Oliver-Otero (13th/0.32), junior
Maddie Davis (17th/0.30) and freshman
Tatum Upchurch (19th/0.29).
Scouting the Opponent – Northwest Nazarene (11-4 overall, 4-4 GNAC)
The Crusaders are coming off of a weekend sweep, falling to Simon Fraser and Western Washington last Thursday and Saturday. As a team, NNU is second in the conference with 18.36 digs per set and is third with a.157 opponent hitting percentage and 12.54 assists per set.
Junior OH Kendrea Bodine led NNU last weekend with 22 kills and 3.12 kills per set in the past two matches. Bodine leads the GNAC and is 38th in NCAA DII with 3.89 kills per set and ranks second in the GNAC with 4.12 points per set. Junior setter Hailey Cook is second in the league and 17th in NCAA DII with 11.14 assists per set.
Scouting the Opponent – Central Washington (10-6 overall, 6-2 GNAC)
The Wildcats just saw its four-game winning streak come to an end after falling in three sets to Western Washington on Thursday before defeating the Simon Fraser Clan on Saturday. Senior OH Jordan Deming led CWU with 19 kills the past two matches, including nine kills and two blocks against WWU and 10 kills and eight digs vs. Simon Fraser.
Central Washington currently leads the GNAC and is second in NCAA DII with 2.78 blocks per set. The Wildcats lead four GNAC teams to rank in the NCAA DII volleyball top-50.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
