FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team hits the road one last time this regular-season with a trip to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. After this road trip to Washington and Idaho, the Nanooks will end with three home-matches.
Follow Along
Live stats and YouTube streams will be available from each home team. Links to the streams and stats can be found in the table above or located on the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball schedule on AlaskaNanooks.com.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks fought off a four-game slide, prevailing against Simon Fraser on Saturday, Oct. 30 in four-sets. After falling to #19 Western Washington on Thursday, Oct. 28, the Nanooks broke the spell and knocked-off their counterparts from British Columbia. They were led by 14 kills from both
Lahra Weber and
AveRee Reynolds.
Dani Dodge and
Rilee White both collected 16 digs on the defensive side and
Sophie Schilling posted eight blocks.
The win moved the Nanooks to 14-11 overall and 7-6 in the GNAC.
Looking Ahead
After the Nanooks final road trip, they will welcome their in-state rivals, the Anchorage Seawolves on Nov. 13 before wrapping-up their regular-season with Saint Martin's and Western Oregon on Nov. 18 and Nov. 20. On Saturday, Nov. 20, the Nanooks will celebrate Senior Day.
Crunching Numbers
Weber led the way for the Nanooks, averaging 3.22 kills and 2.56 digs per set in the two matches against WWU and SFU. On night one, in the Nanooks' five-set loss to WWU, Weber fell short of a double-double, posting 15 kills and nine kills. She got that accomplishment the next game, including the win, posting 14 kills and 14 digs with three assists and two blocks added in the four-set win. She is averaging 2.28 kills and 2.19 digs per set this season.
Senior
AveRee Reynolds averaged 2.67 kills and 0.78 blocks per set this past weekend. She opened with 19 kills and two blocks versus Western Washington. In the Alaska win over Simon Fraser, Reynolds posted 14 kills, six digs and five blocks. She enters this week averaging 2.61 kills and 0.94 blocks per set.
Sophie Schilling has been a force at the net for the Nanooks all season. This past weekend the sophomore middle added to her season-totals. She averaged 2.11 kills and 1.44 blocks per set against WWU and SFU. Against Western, Schilling posted nine kills and five blocks. Against Simon Fraser, she posted 10 kills and eight locks. She is currently eighth in the GNAC with 1.06 blocks per set and 14
th in Division II with 101 total blocks.
As a team, the Nanooks are averaging 12.59 kills per set. They rank third in the GNAC with 16.23 digs per set and are second in opponent hitting percentage, keeping their opponents to an average of .158. They are fourth in the GNAC and 12
th in Division II with 2.46 blocks per set and are third with 238.5 total blocks.
Scouting the Opponents
Central Washington
The Wildcats find themselves 11-7, 7-5 GNAC. They boast a perfect 8-0 record at home this season. The Wildcats, as a team, average 12.1 kills per set and 11.5 assists per set. On the other side of the net, the Wildcats average 15.1 digs and 2.5 blocks per set. Sophomore outside-hitter Ashley Kaufman leads CWU. She has 201 kills on the season and averages 2.96 per set.
On defense, the Wildcats are led by Hannah Stires and Emma Daoud-Hebert. Stires holds a 4.81 digs per set average with 327 total while Daoud-Hebert has 59 total blocks and an average of 1.40 blocks per set.
Northwest Nazarene
The Nighthawk are 5-15, 2-10 GNAC through this point of the season. As a team, NNU averages 11.9 kills per set and 11.1 assists per set. On the defensive side, NNU averages 17.2 digs and 1.50 blocks per set. They are led offensively by Natalie Sullivan, who has posted 291 kills on the season. She averages 3.88 kills per set and has a swing percentage of .193 on the year.
On the other side of the net, Caroline McMahon leads with 327 digs, including a 4.30 digs per set average. Anna Gable is the big piece to their net-game. She has posted 55.0 total blocks; two solo and the rest being assisted. She averages 0.74 blocks per set.
GNAC Standings
Western Washington University has taken control of the GNAC. Using their 10-game winning-streak, the Vikings have moved to 11-1 GNAC and 15-4 overall, moving ahead of UAA by two games. UAA is now 9-3 and have dropped their last two matches. Just behind them is Simon Fraser at 9-4. The middle of the pack is Seattle Pacific (8-5), Central Washington (7-5) and Alaska (7-6). Rounding out the GNAC standings is MSUB (5-8), Saint Martin's (3-9), Northwest Nazarene (2-10) and Western Oregon (1-11).
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.
