FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanook volleyball team will wrap-up their 2020-21 revised spring schedule on Apr. 16-17 against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. The Nanooks and Seawolves have split their last two matchups.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off of a bye week following their split at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The two teams met for the second and final time of the 2020-21 season. The first time around, the Nanooks swept the Nighthawks, taking both games in Fairbanks. Nazarene got their revenge back on Apr. 2, 2021 with a 0-3 sweep of Alaska. The Nanooks responded back the following day, picking up a crucial 3-2 win, moving to 5-4 on the season.
In game one against NNU,
Emily Moorhead and
Lahra Weber led the way in the kills category, collecting nine a piece.
AveRee Reynolds checked in with the second most, at seven. Moorhead also led the way at the net, collecting five total blocks.
Zoey Keene added three.
Cate Whiting posted 25 assists in the loss.
Dani Dodge, Weber and Whiting added 25 combined digs with Dodge collecting the most, 10. In the second game, the 'Nooks responded with a vengeance and responded after falling behind 1-2 in sets. Weber and Reynolds led the way on the offensive side as they both ended with 15 kills.
Karli Nielson had a big game as the freshman added nine kills. Weber and
Rilee White each had two service aces. Moorhead, once again, had five total blocks to lead the way for the Nanooks in the middle. Finally, Whiting and Dodge led the way in assists and digs as Whiting posted a 50-piece in the assists column and Dodge tallied 17 digs. Whiting ended the night just behind with 16 of her own. Whiting was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after her performance in Nampa.
Stats Update
Lahra Weber finds herself leading the way for the Nanooks in the kills category, tallying 90 through 35 sets this season. Not too far behind is
AveRee Reynolds, who has added 88 of her own through the same number of sets. Both players are the only Nanooks to have a kills/set average of above 2.5. As for the one who is getting them the ball,
Cate Whiting is the team-leader in assists with 272 on the season. Up at the net,
Emily Moorhead is the leader in total blocks, with 33 and
Dani Dodge leads the way when it comes to picking up digs. She has 156 in her first season in Fairbanks.
Flipping the Script
The Nanooks have won three of the last five meetings with the Seawolves, winning both of the last home matches before taking one of the last three played in Anchorage. Previously, the Seawolves had won 16 in a row against the Nanooks dating back to Oct. 16, 2010.
Moving On
Markie Miller will be the lone senior to be celebrated this weekend. She has spent the last four seasons with the Nanooks after transferring from the University of Sioux Falls. She has seen time in 87 matches, 281 sets and tallied 615 kills for an average of 2.2 per set. She had a career-high of 230 kills in her first season in Fairbanks. She tallied 122 digs in her first season with the 'Nooks, another season career-high. Miller was a two-time GNAC All-Academic selection, once in 2018 and again in 2020-21.
Scout the Opponent: UAA Seawolves
The Seawolves come to town riding a three-game winning-streak after taking down the Western Oregon Wolves 3-0 in Ellensburg, Wash. in a neutral site game before sweeping the host team, Central Washington, 3-1 and 3-1 on Apr. 10-11. While this weekend will be the end of the season for the Nanooks, it will not be the end for the Seawolves. After UAA's trip to the Interior, they plan to head to Hawaii to face-off with Hawaii Hilo twice, Chaminade twice and Hawaii Pacific once to end their season on Apr. 25. Eve Stephens is the leader for the Seawolves with a 4.32 kills/set average. Ellen Floyd is the go-to distributor for UAA as she pulls down an average of 9.32 assists/set. On the defensive side, Talia Leauanae collects the most digs with an average of 3.68 per set. In their win over WOU, Eve Stephens tallied 12 while Floyd totaled 24 assists. In the first of the two CWU matches, Stephens led the way again, this time with 22 kills. OH Hanna Pembroke and OH Nicole Blue tallied eight kills each in their first win. Floyd had 44 assists in game one vs. CWU. In game two, Stephens added another 20-bomb with 21 kills. Leauanae added 31 digs, the most for a Seawolf since 2017 and MB Vera Pluharova added eight kills. Floyd added a season-high in assists with 49. Stephens and Leauanae were named the the GNAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, sweeping the awards. This came after Blue and Pluharova swept the awards for their play when Fairbanks was in town on Mar. 26-27. UAA has outhit their opponents in all eight matches this year.
Coaches Quotes
When asked about finishing the revised season this weekend and what his biggest take away was;
I Really liked a couple things we saw. We have made some good improvements on the defense side of the game, in terms of digs we are getting more digs and better quality digs. Blocking is also improving and I think we will be a very good defensive team in the fall. I also really liked our mindset throughout the spring. We lost some tough matches and had a couple bad sets, but we rebounded and moved on relatively quickly. If we can continue to improve that mindset, we will be a very resilient team. I feel as though we still have some improvement to make regarding generating kills and making hitting errors and look forward to making further progress in that area.
When asked about the offensive attack, especially behind Reynolds and Weber lately;
I think we have a great group of hitters, with those two in particular leading the way. By the time we start up again in the fall, we will see a couple more very solid hitters emerge. It makes it really easy for Cate to distribute the ball when so many hitters can step up and get us a kill.
When asked about Rilee White and the freshman's contributions through her first season in Fairbanks;
Rilee, and all of our freshman, have been very impressive. I have very high expectations for that class and the impact they will make on our program. Every time they walk into the gym, film, or the weight room, it is with a mindset they are going to make improvements. They are going to see some great things happen in their careers at UAF.
When asked about the blocking abilities of Zoey Keene (5 solo blocks), AveRee Reynolds (5 solo) and Emily Moorhead (33 total) and what they bring to the table as a whole for the defense;
I think this is going to be a strength for us in the fall. We have some great blockers that are getting more disciplined in our systems daily. Zoey in particular has really stepped up as she has been asked to play frequently in the middle blocker position. It is not an easy spot to fill but she has handled the challenge very well. It will make her an even better blocker as an outside hitter.
Fan Policy
Spectators are not permitted at Alaska Nanooks or GNAC games this spring. Live stats & video links at AlaskaNanooks.com.
For more information on the Alaska Nanook volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.
