PORTLAND - The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced their weekly awards and the GNAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week award went to Jessa Long of the Nanooks volleyball team. This is Long's second Defensive Player of the Week award this season. 

"We couldn't be happier for Jessa and her teammates!" Said head coach Brian Scott, "It has been exciting to see her evolution as she gets comfortable with the team and as we develop systems around her abilities. I think this is just the beginning of great things to come for Jessa and her teammates." 

Long earned the honor after posting big numbers in the Nanooks two game span this past week. In eight sets, the graduate-transfer posted 64 digs for an average of 32 per game and 7.75 digs/set. Her first big day game on Thursday, Sept. 22 against Simon Fraser when she posted 28 digs, seven assists and three service aces. The Nanooks grabbed a 3-1 win over the Red Leafs. In their next game against Western Washington on Saturday, Sept. 24, the Nanooks fell to the Vikings, but Long posted a historic day, picking up 34 digs, tying the fourth-most digs in a single-game by a Nanook. She tied Allison Oddy, who dug 34 balls on two-separate occasions; Sept. 24, 2009 and Oct. 29, 2011. Long added two assists against Western Washington. 

Her 34 digs in a four-set match is tied for the 10th-most in the NCAA Division II this season. She now has a GNAC-leading 319 digs on the season. She sits in second in the conference in digs/set with a 4.62 digs/set average. With her 319 total digs, she currently sits in fifth-place in the NCAA Division II volleyball statistics. 

The Nanooks have a one-game week this week as they welcome Alaska Anchorage to Fairbanks on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2:00 p.m. 

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