FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team fell in four sets to the Western Washington Vikings on Sept. 24. The Vikings took the win with 23-25, 15-25, 25-20, 17-25 set wins. This loss drops the Nanooks to 13-5, 3-3 GNAC.

The Nanooks outhit the Vikings in set one with 15-11 kills, but they posted six more errors, falling by two in the opener. WWU grabbed all the momentum in the second, winning by 10, taking a 2-0 lead. The Nanooks used a strong push late in the third set to pull within a set, but Western eventually took the four-set win with a fourth set win, 25-17.

Out of the gates, the Nanooks and Vikings traded points out to a 6-5 Vikings lead. The Nanooks rallied back to tie it at 9-9 on a Rilee Whiteace. The two teams traded points to a 14-14 tie before WWU went on a 7-2 run to make it 21-16. Alaska found a small run, making it 22-21. Two WWU points made it 24-21 before the 'Nooks pulled within one again at 24-23 but WWU put it away on an attack error by Rilee White. The second started similarly to the first. Alaska grabbed a quick 7-6 lead before WWU pulled away. A 5-0 run made it 11-7 Vikings but the 'Nooks cut back into that with back-to-back Ella Bines and Rilee Whitekills. 

Three-straight points pulled the Nanooks back to within one at 15-14 but the Vikings responded with nine-straight points putting the second away in the blink of an eye. A White kill ended the run but WWU ended it the next point. 

In the third, Western jumped out to a 5-2 lead. The Nanooks made a quick run, pulling within one at a 6-5 deficit before taking a one-point lead at 9-8. They pushed ahead further, grabbing a 14-11 lead on a Karli Nielson kill and slowly pulled away, making it 19-14 with a pair of kills, an ace and big block from Kristina Head. After two WWU points, the Nanooks poured four more on, extending their lead to 23-16 before winning it 25-20 on a White kill. 

Western closed out the match with a strong fourth. After a Nanooks lead at 7-6, WWU quickly turned it into a three-point lead. The two teams traded points until the 17-15 mark. WWU turned it into a 20-15 lead and put it away 25-17 on a 5-0 run to end the day. 

Rilee White led the way for the Nanooks with 14 kills. She posted a double-double with 12 digs. Karli Nielson posted 13 and a .310 hit percentage. Jessa Long posted a historic day with 34 digs. She tied the fourth-most digs in a single-game. Taylor Overn and Ainsley Smith both hit the 20+ mark in assists as Overn posted 21 and Smith added 20. 

The Nanooks are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 1 as UAA comes to town. 

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.