ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team closed out the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational on a high note, as the Nooks earned their first two victories of the 2018 season at the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday. Alaska defeated Western New Mexico University 3-1 in the morning before sweeping Barton College 3-0 later that afternoon.
Coach's Comments
"We made some good defensive adjustments today and some better results in our blocking and defending. Offensively, we rode some highs and some lows. We would've liked to finish the day with a better performance from our middles. Next week will definitely be a battle and we look forward to making those improvements." – Head coach
Brian Scott
Alaska (1-1) vs. Western New Mexico (1-3)
The Nanooks earned their first win of the 2018 campaign against Western New Mexico University on Saturday, defeating the Mustangs 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-21.
Inside the Box Score
- Redshirt-sophomore outside hitter Tatum Upchurch posted a game-high 18 kills and was the only Alaska player to collect double-digit kills against the Mustangs.
- Freshman libero Makena Overbey led all players in digs, collecting a game-high of 24, while also chipping in two assists.
- Sophomore setter Cate Whiting tallied a game-high 37 assists, while also producing seven digs, two kills, two aces and two block assists.
- Sophomore middle blocker Emily Moorhead chipped in five kills, a game-high three aces, three digs and two blocks.
- As a team, the Nanooks posted 16 block assists to WNMU's six.
- The Nanooks' best offensive set was the first, as Alaska had 14 kills off of 31 total attempts with only four errors, finishing the set with a team hitting percentage of .323.
Alaska (2-1) vs. Barton (0-4)
In their second match of the game, the Nanooks swept the Barton College Bulldogs in their first-ever meeting on the court. Alaska downed Barton 25-15, 25-18 and 25-18 to improve their overall record to 2-1, while BC falls to 0-4 on the year.
Inside the Box Score
- Upchurch and sophomore outside hitter Lahra Weber led all players in kills, producing 11 each.
- Upchurch posted her second double-double in three games, adding 10 digs to her 11 kills, while also chipping in three service aces, two assists and one block assist.
- Overbey was the only other Alaska player to tally double-digit digs against Barton, posting 17 in only her third collegiate appearance.
- Whiting posted another solid performance, registering a game-high 24 assists with four service aces and four digs.
- Alaska outdid their opponents in almost every major statistical category including kills (33-28), hitting percentage (.198 - .035), assists (31-26), aces (9-2) and digs (51-46).
The UAA Invitational will be announcing an All-Tournament Team following UAA's game against Michigan Tech on Saturday night. Any Alaska Nanooks named to the team will be announced in Monday's @AlaskaNanooks Weekly Athletics release.
Next Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team continues nonconference play in San Rafael, California next week, as they compete in the Division II West Region Volleyball Showcase. Alaska will take on Cal State Monterey Bay (12pm AKT) and Dominican University (6:45pm AKT) on Friday, Aug. 31 before facing Point Loma (9:45am AKT) and Cal State LA (2:15pm) on Saturday, Sept. 1.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
