ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Nanooks split on day two of the Seawolf Invitational on Friday, Sept. 3. In game one, the Nanooks picked-up a straight-set sweep of the UIndy Greyhounds. In their second game of the day, they fell in four-sets to Biola Univ. (Calif.).
In game one, the Nanooks pulled out set wins of 25-23, 25-8 and 25-18 for their second sweep of the 2021 season. Alaska outhit the Hounds 36-23 through all three sets, including a .179 hit percentage compared to a negative outcome for UIndy at -.036. An even matchup in the digs column with the Nanooks edging UIndy out 49-46, but the big difference came in the service-ace column. The Nanooks tallied five aces on the day to the Greyhounds one.
After falling behind early in set one, 3-7, the Nanooks pushed back to pull within one at 10-11 before taking the lead 14-12 on a 7-1 run. The Greyhounds made a run of their own, retaking the lead, but Alaska, once again, roared back to tie things up. After falling behind 20-23, the Nanooks ended the first set on a 5-0 run, winning the opening set, 25-20. In set two, the Nanooks exploded for a huge set-win. They started off with an 11-1 lead out of the gates, eventually extending it to 20-5. After a couple of points from UIndy, the Nanooks ended the second-set quickly on a 5-1 run taking it 25-8.
Set three saw the Nanooks pick-up their second sweep of the season. They quickly found a lead and ran away with it. Following a 10-10 tie, the Nanooks pushed their eventual-lead to 19-12 on a
Cate Whiting kill. The 'Nooks would claim the win 25-18 and the sweep behind eight kills from
AveRee Reynolds,
Lahra Weber and
Rilee White.
Cate Whiting posted 29 assists and
Dani Dodge had 13 digs.
In the second game of the night, the Nanooks faced-off with the Biola Eagles.
After falling in the first set, 21-25, the Nanooks returned to grab a 25-20 set two win. They fell in the final two sets, 17-25 and 18-25. Alaska was outhit in the match, .151 to .074, also dropping the total kills category, 46-49. Both teams were quite even in the team categories as they tied in total blocks, both having 10. Biola stole the assists column with two more, 45-57 and aces, four to five.
The first set was all Biola, despite a comeback from Alaska late. Biola jumped out to an early 3-8 lead, eventually pushing it to 7-16. Despite the hole, the Nanooks came back to make it a 15-17 deficit. Unfortunately, two points was the closest Alaska would get to Biola in set one. Set two was a strong performance from Alaska. After falling behind they grabbed a four-point streak to take a 6-5 lead. Following two kills from Whiting and two Biola errors, that lead was expanded to 11-7. After back-and-forth volleyball, the Eagles pulled within one at 20-21. The Nanooks closed the door in set two with a 4-0 run.
This was unfortunately the only win for the Nanooks during the nightcap.
Sets three was a battle to begin for the Nanooks. After finding an early lead at 14-12, Biola's comeback began. They won 13 of the final 16 points, retaking the lead and winning the set 17-25. In set four, Biola grabbed an early lead over the Nanooks, 5-10. They continued to push it out to 10-18. Alaska managed to pull within five at 15-20, but that was it for the Nanooks as the Eagles pulled away for an 18-25 win.
AveRee Reynolds and
Lahra Weber led the way for the Nanooks with 14 and 11 kills each, respectively.
Cate Whiting distributed 34 assists and tallied 23 digs.
Dani Dodge posted a game-high 28 digs, leading the way on both sides of the net. The Nanooks end their trip in Anchorage on Saturday, Sept. 4 with a matchup versus Texas A&M Int'l at 2:30 p.m.
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.
