Box Score TURLOCK, Calif. – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team opened up the Division II West Region Volleyball Showcase against Chico State, ultimately falling to the Wildcats in three sets on Thursday evening on the Stanislaus State campus. The Nanooks dropped the three straight sets 18-25, 23-25 and 20-25 moving their overall record to 1-3, while Chico State improves to 4-1.
Alaska's offense was spread pretty evenly throughout the match and led by junior outside hitter
Maddie Davis, who posted eight kills. Junior outside hitter
Angela Molesworth and freshman middle blocker
Kim Wong were right behind Davis, chipping in seven kills each. Chico State's Camryn Rocha recorded a game-high 12 kills. The Wildcats dominated the Nanooks in team hitting percentage, posting a .312 to Alaska's .165. The Nooks recorded a .212 hitting percentage in the second set – their best of the evening.
Junior setter
Rachel Nichols collected 26 assists, while Chico State's Torey Thompson posted a game-high 31 assists. The Nanooks had five service aces on the night, led by Davis, who tallied two. Redshirt-senior libero
Meagan Olsen and freshman defensive specialist both posted a team-high seven digs through three sets.
Davis recorded the first point for the Nanooks with a kill to make it 1-2 Wildcats. Chico State held the lead from there and went on a five-point run to make it 7-13 in a hurry. The Wildcats found a rhythm and continued with the pedal down to go on a seven-point run to lead the Nooks 12-22. Alaska accepted the challenge and answered back going on a five-point run of their own, closing the gap to make it 18-23. An attack error on the Nooks sealed the first set's fate, with the Nooks ultimately falling 18-25. Wong and sophomore outside hitter
Amberly Jeane led the first set with two kills, while Jeane and Olsen tied with four digs each. Nichols with seven assists.
Alaska came into the second set with a vengeance, with a Wildcat attack error and a kill from Molesworth to give Alaska their first lead of the game 2-0. Chico State responded taking the lead back 4-5 before Wong made another kill to tie it up 5-5. Throughout the halfway point of the set, Chico State went on a five-point run to separate from the Nanooks 9-15 before Alaska came back with three-straight points to make it 12-15. The back-and-forth played continued until a kill by Molesworth tied the set up at 19-19. The Nooks gained two back-to-back points to make it 23-24 but a kill by Chico State concluded the second set. Davis led the second set in kills (five) and digs (four), while Nichols recorded a set-high 12 assists.
The Nanooks went up early once again, with two kills from Molesworth and a service aces from junior middle blocker
Riley Podowicz, the Nooks went up 3-0 on the Wildcats early in the third set. The Wildcats climbed back to tie it up 5-5, but the Nooks took back the lead at the 15-14 mark thanks to back-to-back kills from Davis and freshman outside hitter
Tatum Upchurch. Chico State answered back and ultimately captured the win, setting the Nooks 20-25. Upchurch led the Nanooks offense in the third set, posting four kills. Oliver-Otero collected five digs, while Nichols recorded seven assists.
The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team returns tomorrow, Sept. 9 for day two of the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase, taking on host Stanislaus State at 2pm AKT before finishing up the day facing Hawaii Pacific at 7pm AKT.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
