FAIRBANKS – On Monday, Alaska Nanooks volleyball head coach Brian Scott announced the newest addition to the Nooks, as Aaliyah Muhammad has signed her National Letter of Intent to play with Alaska at the start of upcoming season. Muhammad will have two years of eligibility with the Nanooks.

Muhammad joins Ashlee Adams, Marine Angely, Danielle Dodge, Miya Ohms and Rilee White in this year's signing class, Scott's fourth group since taking over the program in July of 2015. With a strong mix of returning leadership and fresh talent, the Alaska Nanooks closed out the 2019 season by earning 10 conference honors with an overall mark of 15-13, going 12-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

"We are very excited to add a student-athlete of Aaliyah's caliber to our team," Scott said on Monday. "She is very athletic middle blocker that can immediately make our gym stronger in that position. In addition to being a talented athlete, Aaliyah is a great individual, whose character will make our program better. We are anxious to add her to our talented squad."

The 6"0" middle blocker/outside hitter from Los Angeles comes to the Nanooks after playing one season with the College of the Desert, located in Palm Desert, California. Muhammad and the rest of the Roadrunners went 15-9 overall and 8-2 in Inland Empire Athletic Conference.

Muhammad appeared in all 24 contests last season, tallying 163 kills, 71 digs and 70 total blocks. Muhammad's best night last season came on Sept. 28 vs. Mt. San Antonio, where she earned a double-double with season-best 12 digs and 16 kills, posting 19.0 points. At the net, Muhammad tallied three solo and three block assists for a season-high six blocks.

Following the 2019 season, Muhammad was named an All-IEAC Honorable Mention.

Prior to College of the Desert, Muhammad appeared in 11 matches for the Casper College Thunderbirds in Casper, Wyoming.

When she arrives on campus next month, Muhammad plans to study Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

On July 17, the GNAC announced the suspension of all fall athletic competition, which affects the 2020 volleyball season. The 2020 volleyball season is not cancelled, but suspended for now, with the GNAC CEO Board continuing to monitor developments related to the pandemic and will make a decision on Oct. 15 regarding the status of competition after Nov. 30.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.