FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team will hit the road for two Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches this week, as they take on the Simon Fraser Clan on Thursday, Nov. 2 before taking on the No. 8 Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, Nov. 4. Both Thursday and Saturday's matches are scheduled to start at 6pm AKT.
Where to Watch & Listen
If fans aren't able to make this weekend's games in either Burnaby or Bellingham, all Alaska Nanooks volleyball games for the remainder of the season (home and away) will be streamed live for free through the Alaska Nanooks Stretch Internet Portal (link posted above). Fans have the option to watch the stream, follow the live stats or both. Please be advised that when on the road, Alaska volleyball games are produced and streamed through the respected home school.
Last Time Out
Alaska fell victim to two West Region powerhouses last week, falling 0-3 to the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Thursday before dropping a five-set heartbreaker on Saturday to Central Washington.
GNAC Standings
With a conference mark of 3-11, the Alaska Nanooks are tied for eighth in the conference standings with a .214 winning percentage with Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings. The Nanooks are one of only seven teams within the GNAC to have registered 10-or-more wins throughout the 2017 season. As of Tuesday, Western Washington sits in first place in the conference standings with a 13-1 record.
En Route
Alaska's 10th victory of the season over Seattle Pacific two weeks ago marks the first time Alaska has registered double-digit wins in one season since the 2009 campaign, which saw 12 victories. The 10 wins also marks a new single-season record for head coach
Brian Scott since taking over the program in July of 2015. If Alaska can make it to 16 wins on the season, it will tie the Nanooks' most wins in a single season since joining the GNAC.
Record Watch
The Nooks have four players on this year's squad looking to either break onto the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team's All-Time Leaders list or move up from their current standings. Here are records we've been looking out for:
- Individual Match Highs:
- Individual Season Highs (2017)
- Digs:
- Hickel currently sits at 408 digs and needs 409 by the conclusion of the season to crack into the top-10
- Solo Blocks:
- Riley Podowicz has registered seven solo blocks this season and needs 14 by the conclusion of the season to tie for 10th place
- Individual Career Highs:
- Kills:
- Davis has registered 672 kills throughout her career as a Nanook (2013-17) and will tie for tenth place if she can make it 775
- Assists:
- Rachel Nichols already sits in sixth place with 1,505 career assists in her two seasons as a Nanook (2016-17) and will move up to fifth place if she can surpass 1,806
- Service Aces:
- Podowicz has collected 108 service aces in her career as a Nanook (2014-17) and will crack the top-10 if she can conclude the season with 117
Conference Leaders
Four Nanooks currently rank in the top-10 in the GNAC in a variety of different statistical categories including hitting percentage, assists, service aces and digs. Sophomore middle blocker
Kim Wong ranks third in the GNAC in hitting percentage, posting 137 kills and only 38 errors off of 300 total attempts to average .330. Senior setter
Rachel Nichols ranks 10th in the conference in assists, averaging 6.40 per set (557 total), while freshman setter
Cate Whiting sits in seventh place in the GNAC in service aces, averaging 0.34 per set (25 total). And last but not least, sophomore libero
Jenna Hickel ranks eighth in the conference with 4.64 digs per set average after tallying 408 so far this season.
Scouting the Opponent – Simon Fraser (11-11, 8-6 GNAC)
The Nanooks face a tough opponent in Canada on Thursday, as the SFU Clan are coming off of a GNAC road sweep over Concordia (3-2) and Western Oregon (3-0). The Clan currently ranks second in the GNAC in digs (18.75 per set) and third in assists (12.03 per set) and kills (12.86 per set). Individually, Tessa May proves to be the team's offensive leader with 220 kills so far this season, averaging 2.68 per set. Libero Jayme Bratsberg has been strong defensively, as she averages 5.37 digs per set to rank second in the GNAC.
Scouting the Opponent – #8 Western Washington (19-3, 13-1 GNAC)
The Vikings enter the week with a 12-match winning streak (tied for sixth longest active winning streak in the NCAA Division II level) and are winners of the last 16 of 17 matches, taking 20-straight sets. Abby Phelps leads the GNAC with 16 double-doubles this season (kills-digs) and Joslyn Bopray ranks second in all of NCAA Division II with 1.50 blocks per set.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
