FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team will look to keep their two-match winning streak alive with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches on the road this week. Alaska will travel to Seattle, Washington to take on the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Thursday, Oct. 4 before facing the Saint Martin's Saints in Lacey, Washington on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Where to Watch & Listen
If fans aren't able to make this week's games in Seattle or Lacey, 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 in the 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 respective home school.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks returned home after two weeks on the road with a pair of GNAC sweeps last week. The Nooks went 3-0 against Western Oregon on Thursday before taking down Concordia 3-0 on Saturday.
GNAC Standings
Alaska currently ranks eighth in the GNAC standings with a conference mark of 3-5 through eight league matches. Seattle Pacific sits in fourth place with a 5-3 league record, while Alaska's other weekend opponent, Saint Martin's, sits in 11th place with a 0-8 record. Western Washington remains undefeated in conference play with a 8-0 record to stay in first place, while Central Washington creeps behind in second with a 8-1 mark.
@NanooksVB Named GNAC Team of the Week
After last week's sweeping of Western Oregon and Concordia, the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team was named the GNAC Team of the Week by the conference on Monday morning. The pair of conference victories mark the first time since the 2004 season that Alaska had swept in back-to-back league matches at their home court.
All-Time Series
The Alaska Nanooks trail the all-time series record against Seattle Pacific 13-38, with the first meeting between the two teams coming as a 3-2 loss for the Nooks on the road on Oct. 1, 1991. The Nanooks defeated the Falcons 3-2 on the road in their last meeting on Oct. 21, 2017.
All-time against Saint Martin's, Alaska is 26-10 overall. The first meeting between the Saints and the Nanooks resulted in a 0-3 loss for Alaska on neutral turf on Oct. 9, 1998. SMU and Alaska split last season with the Nanooks winning 3-1 at home on Sept. 22, 2017, while the Saints won 3-1 on their home court on Oct. 20, 2017.
Scouting the Opponent – Seattle Pacific (7-8 Overall, 5-3 GNAC)
Seattle Pacific dropped a pair of road matches last week, falling 3-2 to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday before being swept by Central Washington on Saturday. Seattle Pacific enters the week averaging 11.85 kills and 16.64 dis per set with a .146 hitting percentage. As a team, SPU is fourth in the GNAC and 21st in NCAA Dviision II with 2.28 blocks per set.
Individually, Seattle Pacific is led by junior outside hitter Gabby Oddo, who is sixth in the GNAC with 3.20 kills per set and is second with 0.38 aces per set. Last week, Oddo produced 30 kills and 40 digs in two matches. Additionally, senior middle blocker Shaun Crespi ranks third in the conference and 16th in NCAA Dvisiion II with 1.27 blocks per set.
Scouting the Opponent – Saint Martin's (2-12 Overall, 0-8 GNAC)
Saint Martin's is currently riding a nine-match losing streak after taking a pair of three-set losses against Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Saint Martin's enters the week averaging 11.06 kills and 15.48 digs per set with a .154 hitting percentage. The Saints are third in the GNAC with 1.63 aces per set.
Individually, senior outside hitter Megan Vernoy added 15 kills last week and leads SMU with 3.08 kills per set. Freshman setter Alyssa Bartlett came up with 55 assists last week, posting 34 assists and seven digs at CWU before finishing with 21 assists and eight digs at Northwest Nazarene. Bartlett is seventh in the GNAC with 8.37 assists per set.
#NookNotes (Courtesy of the GNAC VB Notebook)
- Sophomore outside hitter Lahra Weber paced the offensive performances last week with 26 kills, 12 digs and five blocks in the two matches. She finished with 11 kills, four digs and two blocks against Western Oregon and then led all players with 15 kills, eight digs and three blocks against Concordia.
- Sophomore outside hitter Tatum Upchurch shared top honors with Weber against Western Oregon as she psoted a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs.
- Freshman libero Makena Overbey finished with 34 digs in the six sets. She finished with 19 digs and fou assists against Western Oregon and added 15 digs, four assists and three aces against Concordia.
- Alaska enters the week averaging 11.81 kills and 16.21 digs per set with a .162 hitting percentage.
Alaska Leaders
Three Nanooks rank within the top-10 individually in the GNAC in four different statistical categories:
- Assists
- Digs
- Kills
- Points
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVolleyball on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
