MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Nanooks volleyball season grabbed a win in their regular-season finale at Western Oregon to match their win total from a year ago. They took the five-set win to end the 2022 season 18-12, 8-10 GNAC. 
 
The Nanooks managed to overcome a 2-0 deficit for the second-straight match and ended the year on a three-game winning streak. WOU jumped ahead behind 26-24, 27-25 set wins before the Nanooks grabbed a set three win 25-15, a set four win 25-20 and a fifth set win 15-12 to complete the comeback. On the day, the Nanooks outhit the Wolves .189 to .143 and posted 65 kills to WOU's 45. 
 
The first set saw the Nanooks jump out to a quick 5-1 lead behind kills from Johnasia Michelle Carr, Elena Guc and Kristina Head. They maintained the lead through the 10-10 mark, before WOU grabbed an 11-10 lead. That lead was short-lived as the 'Nooks pushed seven of eight points across the board, making it 17-12. Unfortunately, the Wolves returned the favor, scoring eight of the next nine points, making it 20-18 WOU. The Nanooks evened it out at 24-24 on a Guc kill but WOU tallied the next two points for the 26-24 set one win. In the second, WOU jumped ahead early with a 5-3 lead. Alaska hung around and then grabbed a quick lead at 12-10. That lead grew to 19-15 on a three-point stretch and eventually turned into a 23-20 lead. WOU put a run of four together to take a 24-23 lead. The Nanooks had a look at set-point with a 25-24 lead off a Kristina Head ace but the Wolves ended the set with three-straight points, winning it 27-25.
 
In the third, the Nanooks used a mid-set run to jump ahead 15-9. After a 9-9 tie, kills from Marine Angely and Guc rallied Alaska to a six-point run. WOU posted two points, ending the run, but the 'Nooks turned right around and posted a seven-point run, growing their lead to 11 at 22-11. They used five errors on WOU, two kills from Nielson and a Rilee White ace to grow their lead before winning the third 25-15 on a kill from Carr. 
 
In the fourth, Alaska jumped out to a 5-1 lead with a pair of Nielson kills and a Guc kill. Their lead grew to 11-4 after a pair of three-point runs. WOU crawled back into the set, pulling within three at 14-11 on a five-point run but Alaska immediately answered back with seven of the next eight points, making it 21-12. Western made one last run, but the 'Nooks tied it at 2-2 with a 25-20 set four win, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. 
 
To start the fifth, the Nanooks made it 5-2. They quickly capitalized on another White ace, Guc kill and three WOU errors including a block by Carr. The lead grew to 8-4 as the two teams changed sides before WOU pulled close. They pulled within one at the 13-12 mark but Nielson made it 14-12 with a kill and Ella Bines and Carr teamed up for a block, putting the set and match away. 
 
Elena Guc led the way with 15 kills. She added a .333 hit percentage, four blocks and two digs. Nielson ended the night with 13 kills on a .051 hit percentage while adding two blocks and digs. Johnasia Michelle Carr ended the night with 11 kills and seven blocks on three block solos and four block assists. Rilee White posted six kills, 10 digs, five aces and one block while Jessa Long ended with 26 digs. Finally, Ainsley Smith led the way in distribution, totaling 40 assists while Taylor Overn added 16 of her own. 
 
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