Box Score LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Alaska volleyball team got in the win column at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase in Los Angeles this Friday, Sept. 13. After two hard losses to Cal State, LA and Cal State, East Bay on Sept. 12, the Nanooks returned to action and won a hard fought five-set match over Hawaii Pacific, 25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11.
The 'Nooks grabbed the early lead with a solid first set on offense and defense. UAF as a team tallied 15 kills and a .208 hit percentage. After taking the first set, the Sharks responded with a strong second and third sets, taking both from the Nanooks 25-22. In those sets, the Sharks outhit the 'Nooks 28-25 even with Alaska hitting .306 as a team in set three.
Set four saw UAF make their comeback. After trailing off the bat, the back and forth battle became the Nanooks game at the 10-9 point. With five straight points Alaska was off and running.
Lahra Weber continued her attack on opposing defenses with her first double-double of the season with 17 total kills and a hit percentage of .261 and an additional 17 digs.
AveRee Reynolds also reached double digit kills with 14 and a hit percentage of .235.
None of this would be possible without a stellar performance from setter,
Cate Whiting. Whiting assisted on 49 of the team total 52 assists and had 19 digs.
"It was a great defensive effort tonight. I've been waiting for us to have a match like this where we really showcase our abilities on the defensive end." stated Coach
Brian Scott. "We had lots of people contributing on both the block and back court."
After pushing the match to a fifth set, the 'Nooks held the advantage and never looked back. Once Alaska reached double digits it was smooth sailing to their first win over Hawaii Pacific since 2009. The Nanooks as a team reached over 100 digs with 107 combined;
Makena Overbey led the team with 24 digs,
Mica Chen added 20 and
Tatum Upchurch had 13 as well.
"We have a little more work to do managing some hitting errors, but overall we made good progress today." said coach Scott.
The Nanooks volleyball team plays one more game in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 1:30 p.m. against Azusa Pacific before returning home and starting their GNAC schedule in Lacey, Wash. against Saint Martin's University.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
