GNAC Online Version
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team was selected as the projected fourth place finisher in the 2021 GNAC Volleyball season by coaches on Monday, August 16. They received 66 total points.
Western Washington took home the preseason crown, receiving 95 points and five of the 10 first-place votes, edging out Alaska Anchorage who took the other five first-place votes, tallying a total of 92 points. Just in front of the 'Nooks, in third place, came Central Washington, earning 73 total points. Seattle Pacific grabbed the fifth-place spot, totaling 56 points through votes. Simon Fraser (54), Northwest Nazarene (47), Montana State Billings (35), Saint Martin's (21) and Western Oregon (11), rounded out the preseason poll.
Alaska finds themselves returning everyone but
Markie Miller from their 2021 spring season. Senior
Cate Whiting was a First Team All-GNAC selection in 2019, and in the past spring, she averaged 7.49 assists and 2.73 digs per set alongside 17 aces. Senior
Lahra Weber also returns after earning 2019 Honorable Mention All-GNAC honors. She led the 'Nooks during the spring with 2.50 kills per set.
AveRee Reynolds, the 2019 GNAC Newcomer of the Year, returns for one more go in the blue and gold. She averaged 1.12 kills per set during the spring after an impressive outburst in her first year with the 'Nooks that saw her average 2.49 kills per set in 2019.
Emily Moorhead also returns to the 'Nooks after posting 37 total blocks in 11 matches played in the spring. She added 75 kills and 13 digs.
Head coach
Brian Scott returns for his seventh season and looks to build upon his run in Fairbanks. After not placing higher than seventh in the previous decade, Scott has turned this Alaska squad into a consistent top-five finisher. They grabbed the fifth-place spot in the GNAC both in 2018-19 and look to make the leap this season to the top. In 2019, the Nanooks ranked third in the conference with a 12.01 kills/set mark while cracking the top-20 in the NCAA ranks for blocks/set with an average of 2.33. They continued those numbers into last spring, totaling 11.44 kills/set and 1.81 blocks/set.
The Nanooks host their annual Blue/Gold Scrimmage on Saturday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. and will officially kick-off their season in Hawaii on Friday, August 27.
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.
