HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team concluded their three-game trip to the Hawaii Invitational after falling in four sets to Chaminade University at the McGabe Gymnasium on Saturday night.
The Nanooks dropped the first two sets 23-25 and 21-25 before taking the third set 25-23. In the fourth and final set, Alaska came up short to the Silverswords 21-25. The Nanooks move to an overall record of 1-2, while Chaminade improves to a perfect 5-0 this season.
"I'm extremely happy with how we played tonight," head coach Brian Scott said following Saturday's game. "Chaminade is undefeated for a reason, they are a really tough team. But what I liked the most about how we played tonight is that we were ready to go from the very first serve of the game. We battled hard, stayed with them point-for-point in many cases and minized runs; I am really happy with what we've got going on this early in the season."
Sophomore outside hitter Amberly Jeane led the Nanooks offense with 13 kills, with freshman middle blocker Kim Wong behind her with six. Junior setter Rachel Nichols posted four kills herself, as well as a game-high 28 assists. Behind the service line, it was junior middle blocker Riley Podowicz who shined for the Nanooks, as she posted five service aces throughout the game.
Defensively, redshirt-senior libero Meagan Olsen recorded 10 digs, with Jeane following close behind with seven. At the net, junior outside hitter Angela Molesworth collected four blocks – the highest among Nanooks.
Like Friday night's game against Hawaii Pacific, the third set proved to be the best for the Nanooks, posting a team attack percentage of .214. The Nooks hung in with the Silverswords, with seven tie scores and three different lead changes throughout the third set. Despite a four-point run from Chaminade late in the set, the Nooks dug deep to stay alive another set 25-23.
Chaminade led Alaska in total points (67.0-58.0), kills (50-38), blocks (9-6), assists (46-33) and digs (46-38) but the Nooks more than doubled the number of total blocks over Chaminade 14-8. CU's Daisia LaBrie and Kim Spring led the Silversword's offense, recorded 16 and 13 kills, respectively.
The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team is back in action this upcoming Thursday, Sept. 8 with a match-up against California State University at Chico in Turlock, California. The first serve is set to take place at 4 p.m. Alaska Time.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
