Jessa Long yells after a point against Western Oregon
Miles Jordan

Women's Volleyball Nathan Kyle Pearsall

Nanooks and Seniors Close-Out Regular-Season Home Schedule with CWU and NNU

FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team welcomes the Central Washington Wildcats (14-9, 9-6 GNAC) and Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (16-7, 9-6 GNAC) for the final two home games of the regular-season.
 
Thursday, Nov. 3
Central Washington | Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets
7:00 p.m. | Fairbanks | Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center
 
Saturday, Nov. 5
Northwest Nazarene | Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets
2:00 p.m. | Fairbanks | Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center
 
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are currently riding a three-game losing streak into this week's matchup with CWU and NNU. They fell on the road at #10 Western Washington in straight sets on Oct. 20 before falling to Simon Fraser on Oct. 22 in straight sets. A week later, the Nanooks went to Anchorage for their in-state rivalry game with Alaska Anchorage and fell to the Seawolves 3-1. They managed to snag the opening set 25-18 but the Seawolves stormed back to take sets two through four; 25-19, 25-20 and 25-15 to defeat the Nanooks. 
 
Ella Bines led the Nanooks' offense with 11 kills while Karli Nielson and Rilee White added seven. White added four aces and Jessa Long posted three as the 'Nooks serving strengths continued. Taylor Overn posted 19 assists while Ainsley Smith added 17. Long led the game with 16 digs. Kinley Erickson added seven. 
 
#NookNotes
  • Bines, who led the 'Nooks against UAA, has played in all 26 matches and started in nine. She is averaging 2.01 kills per set.
  • Rilee White is averaging 2.62 kills per set and is ranked eighth in the GNAC with 3.42 points per set. She leads the conference in aces per set with 0.57/set. This also ranks her 22nd in the NCAA Division II.
  • Karli Nielson finds herself in the top-19 in the conference for kills per set as the sophomore OH averages 2.70/set. 
  • The Nanooks rank second in the GNAC with 2.10 aces per set. This is good for 37th in Division II.
  • The Nanooks are also second in the GNAC in blocks per set with 2.44/set. This puts them 13th in NCAA DII.
  • The Nanooks were swept by the Central Washington Wildcats on Oct. 8 in Ellensburg, Wash. This moved their losing-streak to two against CWU. 
  • The Nanooks only win in the last 12 years came last season on Oct. 9 in Fairbanks when the 'Nooks grabbed a 3-1 W. 
  • As for Northwest Nazarene, the Nanooks also fell to the Nighthawks earlier this season on Oct. 6 in straight sets. 
  • The Nanooks are 6-4 in their last 10 matchups with NNU. The loss earlier this season snapped a three-game winning streak against the Nighthawks.
 
Meet the Opponents
 
Central Washington Wildcats
The Wildcats come to Fairbanks after having their two-game win streak snapped by the #10-ranked Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, Oct. 29. The 'Cats beat MSUB on Oct. 22 in five sets before sweeping the Simon Fraser Red Leafs on Oct. 27. They took two sets from the Vikings, but WWU grabbed a 16-14 win over their in-state rivals in Ellensburg, Wash. CWU finds themselves as the six-seed in the most recent NCAA West Regional Poll.
 
Ashley Kaufman leads CWU into battle this week as she leads CWU with 272 kills on the season with a 3.06 kills/set average. Just behind with a 2.65 kills/set average and 236 kills is Tia Andaya. Andaya doubles up on the CWU offense as she also has the second-most assists on the team with 481 and an average of 5.40/set, pairing up nicely with Sydney Remsberg, who leads with 494 and an average of 5.55/set. At the net, the Wildcats are led by Emma Daoud-Hebert, who leads the nation with 132 total blocks on 121 block assists and 11 solo blocks. Hannah Stires leads the way in the back row with 368 digs on the season, good for 4.13/set. 
 
Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks
The Nighthawks come into this weekend having dropped their last two games against Western Washington and Simon Fraser. They'll play at UAA on Thursday, Nov. 3 before coming to Fairbanks on Nov. 5. NNU currently finds themselves in the eight-seed of the most recent NCAA West Regional Poll. 
 
NNU is led by Natalie Sullivan on the offensive end. She has posted 302 kills through 82 sets and is averaging 3.68 kills/set while hitting .237 this season. She has added 244 digs with 2.98/set and 29 total blocks. Right behind her on the offensive end is Olivia Wright, who checks in with 269 kills on the season. McKenzie Lee leads the way in the distribution, collecting 813 of the Nighthawks' 996 assists this season. She averages 10.70/set and 2.03 digs/set with a total of 154. At the net, the Nighthawks are led by Wright, who has a team-high 89 blocks this season. Four Nighthawks have more than 40 blocks this season. 
 
History Books
Jessa Long is moving up the top-10 list for total digs in a single-season for the Alaska Nanooks as the graduate-transfer has collected 441 total this season, placing her seventh all-time. Below you'll find those she's passed and those within striking distance as we prep for the final four matches of the regular-season. 
 
1.         Jenna Hickel                506                  2017
2.         Kristen Sullivan           477                  1998
3.         Dani Dodge                 463                  2021
4.         Tiffani Pulver               462                  1996
5.         Tiffani Pulver               456                  1995
6.         Colleen Gleason          444                  1984
7.         Jessa Long                  441                  2022
8.         Crystal Wheelock        438                  2004
9.         Makena Overbey        433                  2019
10.       Makena Overbey        432                  2018
11.       Ruth Peterson             431                  1995
12.       Allison Oddy                415                  2012
 
Senior Send Off
The Nanooks will celebrate three seniors this season. Marine Angely, Jessa Long and Taylor Overn
 
Angely joined the Nanooks during the 2020 season and in her career so far has posted 19 kills, three assists, four aces, 27 digs and three blocks. Long joined the Nanooks this season and has already joined the history books with her 441 digs and is looking to continue to climb. Alongside her 441 digs and 4.59/set average, she has posted eight kills, 95 assists, 23 aces, and 31 points. Finally, Taylor Overn will wrap up her career with a career-season. This year she has posted 429 assists and 4.52/set, while adding 26 aces, 159 digs, 1.67/set and 26 points. 
 
The three will be celebrated more on Saturday, Nov. 5 against NNU at 2:00 p.m.
 
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. 
 
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