FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A season- and career-best 21-kill night by redshirt-freshman outside hitter Markie Miller couldn't stop the Seattle Pacific Falcons' comeback on Thursday night, as the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team fell 2-3 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at the Alaska Airlines Court. The Nooks went 25-22, 28-26, 24-26, 13-25 and 13-15 to drop to an overall record of 7-5 (0-3 GNAC), while the Falcons improve to 7-4 overall (2-1 GNAC).

"That was a roller coaster tonight, Seattle Pacific is a good team," head coach Brian Scott said on Thursday. "The GNAC is so tough and competitive, I imagine we're going to have battles like this week-in and week-out. We just need to manage the ebbs and flows a little better. Tonight, we were riding a high after the first two sets and then we fell in the third. It wasn't any different than set one or set two, the other guys just got the job done and I don't know how well we responded after that."

In a game that saw 41 tie scores and 16 lead changes, the first set proved to be one of Alaska's best this season, as the team averaged a .405 hitting percentage. The Nooks posted 18 kills with only three errors out of 37 total attacks to post their best-hitting set of the night. The Nooks also tallied a 69 percent sideout percentage (16-of-23) to capture their first set at home through the 2017 season.

The second set didn't start off in favor of the Nanooks, as the Falcons had a five-point lead over the Nanooks in the first 10 plays of the set. Fear not, as redshirt-senior outside hitter Maddie Davis led the Nooks on a four-point run to pull the Alaska to within one point of their opponent at the 9-10 mark. From the 20-point mark onward, it was a back and forth battle between the Nooks and the Falcons, as Alaska had to go all the way to the 28-point mark in order to steal the second set.

The Falcons weren't leaving without a fight, as there was no more than a three-point lead from either team until a four-point run by SPU made it a 12-17 game in favor of the visitor. Attacking errors by SPU and back-to-back kills from Lahra Weber gave the Nooks the confidence they needed to come back from an 18-19 deficit to a 21-20 lead. Unfortunately, SPU was able to capitalize on their hitting to keep the game alive and take the third set 24-26.

The Nooks weren't in top form for the fourth set, as the Falcons posted two, four-point runs and one six-point run to tie the game at two sets apiece. Despite leading the majority of the fifth set, SPU captured the comeback and sealed the match three sets to two.

Miller's 21 kills off of 39 attempts with only three errors gave her a .462 hitting percentage on the night. Miller also chipped in five digs, two block assists and one service ace for a 23.0-point night.

Besides Miller, freshman outside hitter Lahra Weber (13), Davis (12) and sophomore outside hitter Gabby Lerma (11) all recorded double-digit kills against the Falcons. Senior setter Rachel Nichols posted Alaska's only double-double of the night with a season-best 36-assist night and 11 digs. Freshman setter Cate Whiting had 22 assists on the night while senior Riley Podowicz and sophomore Kim Wong both registered two solo blocks against the SPU.

Sophomore libero Jenna Hickel collected a game-high 24 digs for the Nanooks.

"When we play the way we are capable of playing, we are a very good team," Scott concluded. "Offensively, we're good and defensively, we are solid. We are tough for opponents to tackle on any given day. Again, if we can just keep these roller coaster rides in check and manage them a little better, I think we'll be in good shape."

The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team will be back in action tomorrow (Friday), Sept. 22 with another GNAC match at the Alaska Airlines Court, this time against the Saint Martin's Saints. Game time is set for 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.