FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball welcomes their in-state rivals, the Alaska Anchorage to the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center on Saturday, Oct. 1 for a GNAC matchup.

Saturday, Oct. 1
Alaska Anchorage | Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center | 2:00 p.m. 

Last Time Out
The Nanooks are fresh off of a weekend split with a win over Simon Fraser on Thursday, Sept. 22 before falling in four to the Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, Sept. 24. In the SFU game, the Nanooks were led by Kristina Head with 13 kills and Karli Nielson with 10. Ainsley Smith and Taylor Overn posted 22 and 13 assists each while Jessa Long collected 28 digs. Smith posted a double-double, tallying 11 digs of her own. In the WWU game, the Nanooks were led by Rilee White who posted a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs. Taylor Overn led the way with 21 assists and Smith posted 20. Jessa Long had herself a great game from the back row, posting 34 digs. 

Quick Hitters

• The Nanooks currently sit in fifth-place in the current GNAC standings. They are tied with Seattle Pacific at 3-3 in conference play and trail CWU who currently sits at 3-2. 
• Jessa Long won her second GNAC Defensive Player of the Week award this week. She averaged 7.75 digs/set against SFU and WWU last week, including 34 digs against WWU, the fourth-most in Nanook volleyball single-game history.
• Karli Nielson led the 'Nooks on the offensive end with 2.88 kills/set. She posted 10 kills against Simon Fraser before adding 13 kills, four digs and two blocks on WWU with a .310 hit percentage. She currently sits in 10th-place in the GNAC with 2.78 kills/set.
• Rilee White added 2.50 kills and 2.38 digs/set. She had a double-double against WWU with 14 kills and 12 digs. White currently ranks eighth in the GNAC with 2.84 kills/set. She is second in the GNAC and 25th in Division II with 0.59 aces/set and she leads Division II with 41 total aces. 
• As a team, the Nanooks are averaging 12.61 and 14.23 digs per set with a .217 hit percentage. The 'Nooks lead the conference and rank 21st in Division II with 2.32 aces per set. They rank second in the GNAC and 11th in Division II with 2.52 blocks per set. The Nanooks also lead Division II with 808 team assists and 174 team blocks. 
• Elizabeth Jackson is currently 18th in Division II with 1.22 blocks/set and she currently leads Division II with 85 total blocks. 
• Kristina Head follows close behind with 74 total blocks, tying her for fifth with Emma Daoud-Hebert from CWU. 
• Jessa Long sits in fifth in Division II with 319 total digs.

Rivalry Weekend
The Nanooks and Seawolves come together for the first time since Nov. 13, 2021 when Alaska beat UAA in four sets. The Nanooks have had recent success at home versus the Seawolves in the past four seasons. On Oct. 9, 2018, the Nanooks defeated the Seawolves for the first time in nearly a decade. This led to another win on Sept. 24, 2019, a March 27, 2021 win in Anchorage, their first win on the road against UAA since Sept. 18, 2010 and the Nov. 2021 victory. 

Over the last 10 matchups, the Nanooks have won four while UAA has taken six.

Meet the Opponent - UAA
The Seawolves remained unbeaten in six GNAC matches with wins over Western Washington and Simon Fraser. They were predicted to finish third in the GNAC VB Preseason Coaches Poll and have taken the rest of the conference by storm with their 16-1, 6-0 GNAC record. UAA swept Western Washington (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) before taking the win over Simon Fraser (25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21) in four sets. 

Eve Stephens has 271 kills on the year (4.59/set), a .378 hit percentage, 36 aces, 142 digs (2.41/set), 39 total blocks and nine solo blocks to lead the Seawolves. Ellen Floyd is the main source of distribution for UAA with 617 assists (10.46/set) while adding 25 aces, 156 digs and 25 total blocks. 

UAA comes into this weekend's matchup ranked #11 in the latest AVCA Division II Volleyball Poll. 

GNAC Player of the Week (stats as of last weekend)
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. 

In-Venue Alcohol Sales
At upcoming Nanooks volleyball and basketball games in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center, alcohol sales will be available to patrons – a practice that has become more common at NCAA sites and events. The Nanooks will become the latest to join several other schools who have in-venue alcohol sales available to those in the crowd.

Director of Athletics Brock Anundson is excited to bring this experience to the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium and the Alaska Nanooks fan experience, "Our wet section addition to the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium is an exciting enhancement to the Nanook game day experience. Much like the Carlson Center, it provides our fans with the opportunity to enjoy the Nanook 65 Golden Ale, and continue to add concession options while cheering on their favorite Nanook teams."

The Alaska Nanooks' concessions stand will serve the newly released Nanook 65 Golden Ale (read more here) for $8 a pint with $1 of each purchase going towards student-athlete scholarships and other options including; hard seltzer and cider, individual sized sangria/red/white wine options and limited selection of Bud Light, Coors Light and Michelob Ultra. The northwest side of the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium (across from benches) will act as the "wet" area while the bench, scorer's table side and upper mezzanine area will remain "dry" with no alcoholic drinks allowed. 

Everyone seated in the lower bowl "wet" area will be carded upon entrance and anyone under the age of 21 must be accompanied by a legal parent or guardian over the age of 21. 

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.