HONOLULU, Hawaii - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team opened up their 2022 season with a pair of wins over Hawaii Hilo (3-0) and the #25 Chaminade Silverswords (3-2). These wins moved the 'Nooks to 2-0, 0-0 GNAC to open up the year.
Head coach Brian Scott was proud of his team's ability to rise to the occasion, "We can't complain about the play for our first day. We started with some jitters, and had some moments where we showed our youth, but on every occasion rose up to that challenge and made the needed improvements."
Game One
A spread offense played a key part in the Nanooks victory as three 'Nooks combined for 22 of the Nanooks 33 kills. Karli Nielson led the way in game one, posting eight kills while two freshmen, Ella Bines and Kristina Head, each picked up seven in their blue and gold debuts. Elizabeth Jackson added five kills in the middle while Rilee White dished out four more. Elena Guc rounded out the offensive firepower with a pair of kills in her debut.
In set number one, the Nanooks and Vulcans got out to a back-and-forth start. Following a UHH attack error and Nielson kill, the Nanooks 2-0 lead was quickly turned away as Hilo matched them, tying the set at 2-2. After again tying it at 4-4, the Vulcans took the momentum and ran ahead at 4-8 with five-straight points. The 'Nooks managed to stall the momentum and shift it to their side of McCabe Gymnasium. After pulling within two on another Nielson kill, Alaska scored four more consecutive points, regaining the lead at 12-10. The two sides traded runs with Hilo getting to 20 first. Trailing 18-20, the Nanooks used back-to-back Nielson kills to tie it at 20-20 before pushing ahead 23-20 and eventually taking set one 25-22.
Set two started back-and-forth, like set one, but the Nanooks eventually stretched their lead to three at 10-7, using consecutive attack errors to their advantage. A pair of Elizabeth Jackson kills got the Nanooks back on track as their lead grew to five, making it 15-10. UHH killed the run with a quick kill by Kamryn Childs, but freshman Ella Bines took the momentum back, picking up back-to-back kills. The Vulcans battled their way back to within a pair at 19-17 but Kristina Head made it 20-17 and a pair of errors made it a five-point lead for the 'Nooks, stretching it to 22-17. Hilo scored two more but the Nanooks capitalized on more errors to take a 25-19 set two win.
The final set was all Alaska. They pushed ahead out of the break, making it a 4-1 lead. Two quick points for Hilo made it 4-3 before a six-point streak, making it 10-3 on two Kristina Head service-aces and a pair of kills from Karli Nielson.
Alaska went on another tear, stretching their lead to 16-8 and eventually 21-11 behind a handful of Hawaii Hilo attack and service-errors. UHH went on a small run, scoring four of five points, making it 22-15 but Elena Guc and Elizabeth Jackson picked up a pair of kills making it 24-15. The 'Nooks capitalized on one final attack-error by Hilo and won 25-15, sweeping Hilo for their first win against the Vulcans since Aug. 31, 2007.
Ainsley Smith and Taylor Overn shared the load at setter as each posted 13 assists in game one. Smith added seven digs while Overn added three digs and two service-aces. Jessa Long posted a game-high 11 digs in her debut while also adding five assists.
Game Two
The Nanooks ended a six-game losing streak that spanned back to Sept. 10, 2009 against Chaminade. This time, they knocked them off as the #25-team in the AVCA Preseason Poll.
Chaminade jumped out to an early 0-1 lead, taking the opening-set 18-25. The 'Nooks answered, pulling it even at 1-1 with a 25-22 second-set win but could not maintain the momentum as Chaminade won the third set with ease, 13-25. The Nanooks pulled together and posted a .355 hit percentage in the fourth set to force a fifth. They then pulled the win out, taking the fifth-set 15-12.
In the first, the two teams shared the opening points, remaining tied until the 4-4 mark. Chaminade put together a run, taking five of the next six points, going ahead 5-9. Ella Bines sparked a small run by the 'Nooks, pulling Alaska back to within one at 8-9. Two more separate occasions saw the 'Nooks fall behind but pull back within striking distance. After pulling within one at 14-15, Chaminade went on their next-to-last run, making it 15-21 before closing out the first set 18-25. In the second set, the Nanooks had to play from behind late, but managed to even the score at 1-1.
The Nanooks jumped ahead 7-4 on two service errors and a block from Elizabeth Jackson and Rilee White. Following the three-point lead, Chaminade matched Alaska and tied it at 7-7. Chaminade slowly pulled ahead, taking a three-point lead at the 14-17 mark of the second. Rilee White sparked the comeback, collecting back-to-back-to-back kills to tie the set score at 18-18. After falling behind by one, the 'Nooks scored four-consecutive, making it 22-19. They then grabbed the final three points of the set after the Swords tied it at 22-22. A service error started the end before Kristina Head made it 24-22 and Karli Nielson put the set away with a kill.
Set three was all Chaminade. They pulled ahead early, making it 3-6. The 'Nooks pulled within two, but that was as close as they got. Chaminade went on to take the third 13-25.
Alaska used the fourth-set to grab the momentum back. After falling behind to start, they quickly answered with a four-point run, making it 7-4, using back-to-back blocks. A Kristina Head kill made it 11-7 and started a back-and-forth set of points. After trading 11 points, the Nanooks hit their stride and used an Ella Bines kill and two attack errors on Chaminade to create a six-point lead at 18-12. They then fended off a late run from the Swords that pulled them within three at 24-21 but a Nielson kill made it a 25-21 fourth-set win and forced a winner-take-all fifth.
The fifth set saw the 'Nooks jump ahead quickly, taking a 4-2 advantage behind a Nielson and White kill. Chaminade tied it up and eventually took a 9-10 lead following the teams changed sides. Ella Bines quickly tied it up at 10-10 sparking the final stretch of Nanook points. Nielson followed up, making it 11-10 before the Swords tied it one last time. Head gave the 'Nooks the lead one more time before Ainsley Smith posted two-straight service-aces and Head put it away with the final kill for the five-set win.
Following the game, the Nanooks bench spilled on to the court in celebration, giving them their first 2-0 start to a season since the 2017 season when they began the year 3-0.
The Nanooks are back in action tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. AKT with a matchup against Hawaii Pacific at the Shark Tank in Honolulu, Hi. Following HPU, they'll matchup with Chaminade again at 9:30 p.m. AKT at McCabe Gymnasium.
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.
