FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks dropped their fourth-straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference match on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Simon Fraser Clan 3-0 at the Alaska Airlines Court in Fairbanks. In a back-and-forth battle, Alaska went 21-25, 22-25 and 21-25 against the Clan in the first meeting between the teams this season.

The loss marks the first time throughout the 2017 Alaska volleyball season that the Nooks have dipped to below .500, as their overall record drops to 8-9 (1-7 GNAC), while the Clan improve to 7-9 overall (4-4 GNAC).

"As a coaching staff, we aren't satisfied with our performance on the court today," head coach Brian Scott said on Saturday. "We are going to learn from this as a team and move forward. We're looking forward to the opportunities on the road this weekend to collect ourselves and finish the rest of the season playing like we know we can."

Turning Point

• After SFU captured the first set, Alaska responded by dominating the majority of the second set and taking an 18-11 lead over the Clan
• Simon Fraser called a timeout and returned to the floor by going on a five-point run to make it a 18-16 game
• From that point forward, the Clan's offense took care of business and tied the game at the 20-20 mark before running away with the momentum and taking the second set 22-25.

Inside the Box Score

• Freshman middle blocker Emily Moorhead tied for the team-high and tallied a career-best seven kills
• Sophomore outside hitter Kim Wong, who also registered seven kills on the night, recorded only three errors off of 13 total attempts for a team-best hitting percentage of .462
• Both senior setter Rachel Nichols and rookie setter Cate Whiting posted double-digit assists on Saturday, totaling 14 and 17, respectively
• Redshirt-senior outside hitter Maddie Davis led all players with five service aces
• Sophomore libero Jenna Hickel was the only Nanook to post double-digit digs on Saturday, recording 13

Next Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks will hit the road this week, taking on the Concordia Cavaliers in Portland on Thursday, Oct. 12 before facing the Western Oregon Wolves on Saturday, Oct. 14.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.