FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team welcomes their in-state rivals, the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, to town on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Patty Center.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off of a road-trip split at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene last weekend. On Thursday, Nov. 4, the Nanooks fell to Central Washington in straight-sets, 0-3. This loss gave the Nanooks a season-split against the Wildcats. They were led by
AveRee Reynolds' 10 kills.
Sophie Schilling added seven of her own.
Cate Whiting posted 27 assists.
Alaska responded well, sweeping Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Nov. 6 in Nampa, Idaho. Schilling led the 'Nooks with 13 kills and
Rilee White added eight. Schilling also led the game with seven kills while
Emily Moorhead and
Rilee White added five.
Rivalry Week
The biggest rivalry in the state continues on Saturday. The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves and Alaska Nanooks will square-off one last time this volleyball season at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium in the Patty Center. UAA took the first matchup of the season, 0-3 on Oct. 16. Overall, Anchorage leads the all-time series, 35-78 with the first recorded games coming on Sept. 26-27, 1980. UAA won the first 12 games of the series.
Lately, the Seawolves have had a surge of dominance, taking the past three and 21 of the last 24. Recent success has found the Nanooks, however, as head coach
Brian Scott has led the Nanooks to three victories in his tenure, including the Nanooks' first win in Anchorage since Sept. 18, 2010, on March 27, 2021.
Stats Update
Sophie Schilling led the Nanooks last weekend, averaging 3.33 kills and 1.50 blocks per set. In game one, against CWU, Schilling finished with seven kills, two blocks and added a .353 hit percentage. She then led Alaska with 13 kills in their straight-set win over NNU. She added seven blocks and a hit percentage of .429. She is averaging 2.17 kills per set and is eighth in the GNAC with 1.09 blocks per set. She is 16
th in Division II with 110 total blocks.
AveRee Reynolds joined Schilling with solid attack-weekends last week. She finished with 2.50 kills per set, posting 10 at Central Washington and five blocks and a pair of blocks at NNU. She is averaging 2.61 kills per set and 0.91 blocks per set.
Cate Whiting averaged 10.17 assists and 3.83 digs per set on the Nanooks final road trip. Whiting had 27 assists, eight digs and four kills at CWU before posting 34 assists, 15 digs and two kills and a block at NNU. She finds herself fourth in the GNAC with 9.49 assists per set and is 18
th in Division II with 977 total assists.
As a team, the Nanooks are averaging 12.59 kills per set. They rank third in the GNAC with a .161 opponent hitting percentage. That is helped by 2.47 blocks per set, good enough for fourth in the GNAC and 10
th in Division II while also coming in at fourth with 254.5 total blocks.
Blue Out
Wear everything blue this Saturday! We want nothing but Nanook blue in the stands as we host a blue-out against the Seawolves. There will be prizes and giveaways all throughout the game for those dressed head-to-toe in blue!
Scouting the Opponent – UAA Seawolves
The Seawolves enter this weekend's matchup riding a two-game losing-streak. UAA fell to Central Washington in three sets on Saturday, Nov. 6 after knocking-off NNU in four on Thursday, Nov. 4. Following their games at CWU and NNU, the Seawolves traveled to WWU for a top-two matchup. WWU took care of Anchorage in four sets on Monday, Nov. 8 in Bellingham, Wash. dropping the Seawolves to third in the GNAC.
Eve Stephens is the big name for the Seawolves' attack. Stephens, on the season, has tallied 371 kills for an average of 3.86 per set. Alongside the attack, Stephens adds depth on defense, picking up 225 digs for an average of 2.34 digs per set. Talia Leauanae leads the way for UAA in the digs department with 370 this year and an average of 3.85 per set. At the net, Vera Pluharova and Akor Maywin lead the way with 104 and 74 total blocks, respectively. Stephens trails Maywin by just one, totaling 73.
Next Week
Next week and weekend, the Nanooks welcome the Saint Martin's Saints and Western Oregon Wolves to town for the final regular-season matchups of the year. They'll take on Saint Martin's on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7:00 p.m. and Western Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 2:00 p.m. Both games will take place in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium in the Patty Center.
Senior Day
Come celebrate the Nanooks Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 20 against Western Oregon. Alaska will celebrate a send-off of their seniors both before and throughout the game. Purchase your tickets
here!
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter, @AlaskaNanooksVB on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
