FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team capped off a 4-0 weekend in the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic with two wins on Saturday, Sept. 3. They took their first win of the day in the 2:30 p.m. game against Arkansas-Fort Smith 3-1 (25-13, 9-25, 25-22, 25-22) and 3-2 over Findlay in the 7:30 p.m. game (25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-12).

With these two wins and the perfect weekend, the Nanooks move to 10-2 on the season. 

Game One
In the 2:30 game, the Nanooks started with a bang, coming out on top 25-13 in the first. Unfortunately, Arkansas-Fort Smith returned the favor in the second, making quick work of the 'Nooks with a 9-25 set two win. Despite the big first two sets, the Nanooks came out on top in the third and fourth, closing out the Lady Lions 25-22 in both the third and fourth to move to 3-0 on the weekend. 

In the first, the Nanooks and Lady Lions had two tie scores in the first and only one lead change. Following a 2-2 tie, the Nanooks pushed ahead to a 6-3 lead before UAFS tied it back up 6-6. They then put an 8-0 run on the board, pushing their lead to 14-6. They used three-consecutive aces from Taylor Overn to move ahead. UAFS grabbed back a couple of points but the Nanooks played add-on late as a Kristina Head pushed the lead to 20-11 before Rilee White extended it further with a kill, making it 23-11 and putting it away. The 'Nooks went on to finish off the first 25-13. 

The second set was all UAFS. They quickly jumped all over the Nanooks, taking it 9-25. 

Set three was the most pivotal set of the match as the Nanooks came back from a small deficit to storm back, making it an 11-8 game with a Jessa Long service ace. UAFS picked up a point, pulling back within two before the 'Nooks went on a run. They quickly made it a 16-10 lead with another Head kill. Their run continued while trading points with the Lady Lions, eventually taking a 20-15 lead on a block by Elena Guc and Elizabeth Jackson. Arkansas-Fort Smith battled back to within three at 21-18, but an Ella Bines kill stalled their momentum and swung it back the Alaska way. They went on to take it 25-22, ending it on a Jackson kill. 

Alaska overcame a late deficit to take the fourth set and win it 3-1 over UAFS. The Lady Lions quickly found themselves up three at the 10-13 mark. The Nanooks slowly chipped away, reclaiming the lead at 15-14 on a Karli Nielson ace. She grew the lead to one before the run ended. After a 20-20 tie, the Nanooks went on another run, pushing their lead to 24-22 on a Rilee White kill. After Nielson served again, Elena Guc posted a solo block on a UAFS attack, claiming the four-set victory and moving to 3-0 in the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic. 

Rilee White led all hitters with 15 kills, a .351 hit percentage, 13 digs and four aces. Karli Nielson added nine kills, Ella Bines added eight and Ainsley Smith assisted on 27 kills. Jessa Long posted a team-high 17 digs. 

Game Two
In the final game of the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic, the Nanooks were looking to add preseason hardware. 

With a win, the Nanooks would become the 2022 Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic Champs. They did just that. In a loud Alaska Airlines Gymnasium, the Nanooks used a five-set comeback to knock-off the Findlay Oilers and complete the Classic with a 4-0 record. 

The Nanooks took care of business in the first set, winning 25-18. Findlay found their stride in the second, taking both the second and third set 21-25. After regrouping, the Nanooks re-found their stride, taking the fourth and fifth set, 25-21 and 15-12 to take the title. 

In the first set, the Nanooks outhit the Oilers, .192 to .080 and hit 16% better on the sideout. Battling through four tied scores and two lead changes, Alaska used a late push to grab the win. The two teams traded their ties until the 4-4 mark when Alaska took the lead and ran it out to an 10-4 advantage on a Karli Nielson kill to cap off the run. Their lead dropped to two at the 13-11 mark before an Elena Guc kill got them started again. They quickly ran out to a 16-11 lead before a service-error stalled the run. 

Findlay gathered a couple of points before the Nanooks ultimately grabbed the first-set win 25-18 on an attack-error. Karli Nielson led the Nanooks with six kills in the first set and a .625 hit percentage on eight attacks. Heading into the second, the Oilers grabbed the first point, leading to a 6-10 lead for UF. The Nanooks fought back to a 10-11 deficit, but after a Rilee White kill, the Oilers quickly made it an eight-point deficit for the Nanooks, making it a 10-18 game. The 'Nooks battled back to within three at 16-19, but Findlay capped off the second with three of the final four points, winning it 21-25 over Alaska. Rilee White led the way in the second, posting five kills while Ella Bines and Elizabeth Jackson added three each. In the third, the Nanooks held an early 8-5 lead before the Oilers regained the lead at 9-10. That was the closest the Nanooks came to Findlay the rest of the set. After Alaska's deficit grew to seven at 11-18, they fought back to within five at 17-22. Unfortunately, their run ended there as Findlay took the third 21-25. 

In the must-win fourth set, the Nanooks came out with the momentum; they jumped out to a 4-2 lead before the Oilers tied it at 5-5. They used a small 3-0 run to take a lead at 9-6 before moving it to 11-7 on an attack-error by UF. Findlay tied it at 12-12 before the 'Nooks found their stride again, grabbing a three-point lead at 19-16. They would go on to maintain the lead until their 25-21 set four win behind four Bines' kills. The momentum had officially evened out, proving for a must-watch fifth set. Alaska quickly pushed to a 5-3 lead, forcing Findlay to use their first timeout of the fifth set. Out of the timeout, the Oilers grabbed the point, making it a 5-4 Nanooks' lead. The two teams traded service-errors before a pair of aces from Rilee White made it 10-6. The four-point lead was the biggest of the set until the Nanooks made it 14-10 on an Elizabeth Jackson kill. Findlay rallied for two-straight points before Rilee White put it away for good, giving the Nanooks a 3-2 win and giving them the 2022 Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic title. 

Rilee White was the Nanooks' lone representative on the All-Tournament Team. 

Nielson led the way with 16 kills for the Nanooks, swinging .344 with six digs and a block-solo and assist. Ella Bines and Rilee White added nine kills while Taylor Overn and Ainsley Smith added 22 and 21 assists, respectively. Jessa Long posted a team-high 17 digs while White added 11 of her own for her second double-double of the day.

The Nanooks officially open GNAC play on Thursday, Sept. 8 against Western Oregon at 7:00 p.m. 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.