FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team returns to their home court this week, hosting two Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents at the Alaska Airlines Court on the Patty Center. The Nooks will take on the No. 11th-ranked Western Washington Vikings on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7pm AKT before facing the Simon Fraser University Clan on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1pm AKT.
The Nooks currently sit with an overall mark of 8-7 on the season and GNAC record of 1-5.
Where to Watch & Listen
If fans aren't able to make this weekend's games, all Alaska Nanooks volleyball's 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.
Dig Pink Game
In collaboration with the Sideout Foundation, the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team will be hosting their annual Dig Pink game on Saturday, Oct. 7 versus Simon Fraser. The Nanooks and the SFU Clan will be sporting pink to promote breast cancer awareness and encourage fans to wear pink, as well.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks fell victims to two top-NCAA Division II teams last week, falling in a 2-3 heartbreaker to Central Washington on Thursday (Sept. 28) before falling 0-3 to the then-No. 12th-ranked Northwest Nazarene Crusaders on Saturday (Sept. 30).
GNAC Standings
The Nooks are currently tied for ninth place in the GNAC standings with a 1-5 conference mark. Alaska, along with Saint Martin's, have each only won one conference game but Alaska is one of six teams that have accumulated eight-or-more wins throughout the entire season. Northwest Nazarene remains undefeated on the season and sits in first place with a 6-0 GNAC record.
Against the Rest
As a team, the Nanooks rank within the top-three in the GNAC in four different statistical categories including hitting percentage, assists, kills, killer per set and service aces. The Nanooks led the entire GNAC conference in total kills with 732 and rank second in the conference in service aces, averaging 1.70 per set. Alaska ranks third as a team in hitting percentage (.226) and kills per set (13.07).
Conference Leaders
Five Nanooks rank within the top-10 individually in the GNAC in the categories of hitting percentage, service aces and digs. Alaska's offense from their middles continues to prove to be one of the best and most consistent in the conference, as sophomore middle blocker
Kim Wong (.327) and senior middle blocker
Riley Podowicz (.269) rank third and ninth in the category, respectively.
Freshman setter
Cate Whiting and redshirt-freshman outside hitter
Markie Miller rank within the top-10 individually in service aces with Whiting ranking fourth overall, averaging 0.41 aces per set while Miller ranks eighth with a 0.35 aces per set average.
Furthermore, sophomore libero
Jenna Hickel ranks sixth in the GNAC in digs, averaging 4.82 per set.
Scouting the Opponent -#11 Western Washington (11-3, 5-1 GNAC)
The Nanooks will face a tough Vikings team on Thursday, as WWU travels to Fairbanks on a four-game winning streak. The Vikings enter this week's matches leading the GNAC with 19.04 digs per set and rank 16th in NCAA DII with a league-leading 14.08 kills per set. Additionally, the Vikings rank second in the GNAC in blocks (2.37/set) and assists (12.98/set).
Individually, WWU's Abby Phelps leads the conference with 12 double-doubles and is listed among the top-leaders in the league in kills (3.80/set), digs (4.88/set), points (4.41/set), service aces (0.37/set) and hitting percentage (.237).
Scouting the Opponent – Simon Fraser (6-8, 3-3 GNAC)
Like the Vikings, the Clan are coming to Alaska on a three-game winning streak, ranking them sixth in the conference standings. The Clan are led offensively by Kirsten Pinkney, who averages 2.98 kills per set and also averages 1.19 digs per set, as well. Defensively, SFU is led by libero Jayme Bratsberg, who has tallied a 5.26 digs per set average while Tessa May has recorded 59 total blocks this season, averaging 1.13 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.
