FAIRBANKS – The Great Northwest Athletics Conference (GNAC) announced their weekly awards on Monday, Oct. 17, and for the third time this season, Jessa Long of Nanooks volleyball was named the GNAC VB Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
"Jessa continues to put together solid defensive plays." Said head coach Brian Scott, "We love the effort her and the team put into making it difficult on our opponents' ability to score. As we head into the second half of conference play, that defensive mentality will be extremely important."
 
Long was named the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after she averaged 5.12 digs and 1.12 assists per set in a couple of Nanook wins. On Thursday, she finished with 15 digs, four assists and two aces, helping the Nanooks sweep aside the MSUB Yellowjackets. On Saturday, the Nanooks got their revenge on the SPU Falcons, grabbing the win in a five-set thriller. Long posted 26 digs, five assists and an ace in the win over Seattle Pacific. 
 
Long now leads the GNAC in digs per set with an average of 4.69/set. She also leads the conference in total digs with 403. This total puts her 25^th in the NCAA Division II stat standings. 
 
This is Long's third weekly award of the season and the third in her Nanook career. 
 
Alaska takes to the road this week with stops in Bellingham, Wash. and Burnaby, B.C. Their first stop is Western Washington; they'll look to get past the Vikings who took the earlier matchup with season 3-1. Following WWU, the Nanooks will head to Canada for a matchup with the Simon Fraser Red Leafs. They'll look to complete the season sweep of Canada's team after defeating SFU 3-1 earlier this season in Fairbanks. 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.