BILLINGS, Mont. – In a game that saw comebacks and setbacks on both sides, the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team battled but couldn't find a way to overcome Montana State Billings on Friday night, as the Nooks fell 3-2 to the Yellowjackets in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at the Alterowitz Gymnasium. Alaska went 21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-19 and 14-16 against MSUB to drop to an overall record of 7-4 (0-2 GNAC) while the Yellowjackets improve to 5-4 overall (1-0 GNAC).

"Offensively, I thought we played pretty well for the most part. We had some great moments on offense and our serve receive was great, which allowed for us to run multiple plays," head coach Brian Scott said on Friday. "We had a lot of great opportunities to swing one-on-one at the net with our attacker versus their blocker, which is always fun. But even our defense played well, posting 93 digs on the night, that's averaging almost 20 digs per set which we're really happy about."

Turning Points

• In each of the five sets, closing out the match from the 20-point mark (or 10-point mark in the fifth set) proved to be the toughest part of the night for both teams. Whatever team was trailing at the 20-point mark at the end of a set either overcame their opponent or captured the set after a strong push.
• Through five sets, Friday's match averaged 11 plays following the 20- or 10-point mark.
• At the 9-8 mark in the fifth and final set, the Nanooks gave up three service errors and two attacking errors for the Yellowjackets to capitalize on and build momentum.

"I think what hurt is tonight was letting them go on a run in the third set when we had back-to-back errors. We were at set point at one time and we had a service error," Scott continued. "In the fifth set, we were cruising with some kills from Markie (Miller) and then we missed three serves in a row. When we were playing so well offensively, it really is hard to overcome lapses like that."

Quick Team Comparisons (UAF first vs. MSUB)

• Kills: 67-62
• Hitting Percentage: .216-.212
• Assists: 65-62
• Service Aces: 8-6
• Digs: 93-87
• Team Blocks: 4.0-10.0
• Sideout Percentage: 54% (59-of-108) to 54% (59-of-109)

Inside the Box Score

• Redshirt-senior outside hitter Maddie Davis posted Alaska's lone double-double on the night, leading the Nanooks' offense with 17 kills and 17 digs. Davis' 17 digs and 17 kills versus the Yellowjackets was a season-high in both statistical categories for the Puyallup, Washington native.  
•  Besides Davis, sophomore Gabby Lerma and freshman Lahra Weber were the only other Nooks to tally double-digit kills with Lerma posting 14 while Weber recorded 11.
• For the first time all season, five Nanooks tallied double-digit digs, led by sophomore libero Jenna Hickel with 23.
• Senior setter Rachel Nichols led all players with 31 assists on Friday night, while also leading both teams in service aces with three.

Noteworthy

• Friday's match against MSUB was the first five-set match of the 2017 season.
• Hickel's 13-assist performance marks a season- and career-high.
• Freshmen Markie Miller (11)  and Cate Whiting (16) both posted career- and season-high digs.

Scott's Final Thoughts
"We're excited to get back home and play in front of our own crowd. We've been road warriors for the majority of the season thus far with long trips from coast-to-coast and just now traveling to Montana for the longest trip within the conference." Scott concluded. "It will be nice to be home and have the girls get into a rhythm of classes and mentally regroup and get focused for next weekend. We need to step up and overcome the frustrations and setbacks we've had these past two games and dive back into volleyball at home."

Next Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team returns to the Golden Heart City next week, hosting back-to-back GNAC matches against Seattle Pacific (Thursday, Sept. 21) and Saint Martin's (Friday, Sept. 22). Both matches are scheduled to begin 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.