GNAC Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team was picked to finish seventh in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Coaches Poll, which was released by the conference on Friday morning.
The Nanooks, who are coming off of the 2017 season with a 12-17 overall record, garnered 49 points in this year's poll and place three spots higher than the 2017 preseason poll. Votes are awarded on an 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale and voted on by all 11 GNAC volleyball head coaches.
Head coach
Brian Scott and assistant coach Robbie Berrett will return for their fourth season as bench bosses for the Alaska volleyball team. The Nooks return eight players from the 2017 season and welcome six newcomers.
Western Washington University collected all 11 first-place votes, becoming a unanimous pick to win the GNAC title again in the 2018 preseason poll. The Vikings received a maximum 121 points in the poll after going 27-4 overall last year and tying the GNAC single-season wins mark with a 19-1 conference record.
Central Washington ranked in the poll with 106 points, while Simon Fraser (91 points) finished third and in-state rival Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene tied for fourth place with 82 points each. The Seattle Pacific Falcons registered 72 points to rank sixth before the Nanooks, while Concordia (47 points), Montana State Billings (29 points), Western Oregon (24 points) and Saint Martin's (23 points) closed out the remaining four spots.
The Alaska Nanooks will hold their annual Alumni game this upcoming Saturday, Aug. 18 at 7pm AKT at the Alaska Airlines Court at the Patty Center. The scrimmage is free of charge and open to the public, but will not be streamed through the Alaska Nanooks Stretch Internet Portal.
The Nooks officially kick-off the 2018 season against Michigan Tech University at the UAA Invitational in Anchorage on Friday, Aug. 24 at 9am AKT.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
