FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team won their first game in the 2022 Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic. They defeated Black Hills State in four sets, winning 25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 25-15. This moves the Nanooks to 7-2, 0-0 GNAC, their best start to a season in five years. 

The 'Nooks used a 65% sideout percentage and forcing BHSU into nine errors in the first to grab the first set victory. They followed up with 14 kills and an 82% sideout rate. In the third, two errors played the difference as the Nanooks had 14 kills and seven errors but Black Hills State had 14 with only five errors, stealing the game 23-25. The fourth set proved to be the final one as Alaska hit .406 with 15 kills.

In the first, the 'Nooks and Yellow Jackets traded points to a 5-5 tie before the 'Nooks extended their lead to 11-7, capitalizing on kills from Ella Bines and Kristina Head. After growing their lead to five at 17-12 on a Karli Nielson service-ace and forcing BHSU to take a timeout, the Nanooks momentum grew. She followed up with another ace, making it 18-12. They quickly pushed it to an eight-point lead, making it 24-16 on an attack-error. BHSU pushed back, but another Bines kill put the set away at 25-20. Elizabeth Jackson and Karli Nielson led the way with three kills each while Ainsley Smith posted 11 first-set assists.

Alaska opened the second on a quick note, jumping to a 10-4 lead on a pair of Smith aces. The 'Nooks continued their run, moving ahead 13-6 on a Karli Nielson kill. The Yellow Jackets made a small push, pulling within four before the Nanooks finished off BHSU 25-16 with a solo-block by Elizabeth Jackson. Rilee White led the offensive burst, posting four kills on five attempts. Kristina Head and Karli Nielson tallied three of their own in the second. Black Hills State took the third set from the Nanooks, overcoming a handful of two-point deficits. After overtaking the Nanooks after a 20-20 tie, BHSU won it 23-25.

The Nanooks made quick business in the fourth-set. After a 6-6 tie, Alaska stormed ahead to take a 13-6 lead. Black Hills State clawed back within three before the 'Nooks took off one final time. They moved ahead by seven at 19-12 on another block by Elizabeth Jackson and ultimately took the final set and win 25-15. 

Rilee White led the way with 14 kills, a .286 hit percentage, six service-aces, five digs and two blocks. Karli Nielson followed with 11 kills, hitting .308, collecting four digs and hitting four service-aces. Bines, Head and Jackson all ended the night with eight kills. Jessa Long led the 'Nooks with 18 digs while Kinley Erickson added a dozen of her own. 

Alaska is back in action on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. against Florida Southern College in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center.

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.