FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks fell to 10-3, 0-1 GNAC on Thursday night at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium. Western Oregon snapped the 'Nooks seven-game winning streak with a five-set win to open GNAC play.

The Nanooks took the first before WOU answered with sets two and three. Alaska battled back with a fourth-set win, forcing the deciding fifth set before the Wolves ran away late to snag the 2-3 victory.

Alaska took the first set 25-19 behind a 78% sideout rate, going 15-19 on WOU's serves. Karli Nielson led the way for the Nanooks in the first, posting four kills on six attempts, hitting .667. Ainsley Smith and Taylor Overn shared the distribution, posting six assists each. The Nanooks fell behind early, trailing 2-4 on a service-error by Rilee White, but answered right back, forcing 10 ties through the first set. Outside of their 1-0 start, their next lead came at the 7-6 mark on an attack error. The two teams traded leads until the 13-12 lead on another error by WOU. 

After taking the one-point advantage, the. 'Nooks ran out to a 16-12 lead, their largest at the time. They pressed on for a 25-19 set win using a Karli Nielson kill to put it away. 

In the second, WOU used a late push to take the set win 27-29. This set opened the same, with the Wolves jumping ahead early before the Nanooks crawled back to take the lead. The two traded leads until the 'Nooks used two-straight attack errors by the Wolves to grow their lead to six at 14-8. They'd maintain the lead despite pushback from the WOU until they saw their 23-19 advantage diminish. Western Oregon bounced back to take a 23-24 lead. The 'Nooks tied it at 24-24 and eventually saw their shot at a set-point with a 27-26 lead, but the Wolves rallied for three-straight, taking the 27-29 set win. 

Western Oregon took the third 20-25, capitalizing on nine Nanook errors. The Nanooks jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead on kills by Ella Bines, Kristina Head and Rilee White. They maintained their lead until the Wolves tied it at the 12-12 mark. They grabbed the lead before another tie at 14-14 and 16-16. WOU took the lead for good, making it 16-17 on a Taylor Overn service-error. They went on to take the third set 20-25, forcing the Nanooks into a must-win set four. The 'Nooks did just that. After falling behind early, they battled back. The Wolves moved ahead by five, 8-13, but Alaska roared back with four-straight, making it 13-14. WOU stalled the Nanook run but they pushed through with another, this time for five-straight points as they took the lead 18-16 on a Rilee White kill. 

The two teams were tied at 19-19 before Alaska rallied for another five-point run to make it 24-19. Elizabeth Jackson grabbed the final two points for the 'Nooks on kills, giving them the 25-20 win in set four, forcing the deciding fifth. 

Unfortunately for the Nanooks, the Wolves' final run was the deciding factor in the match. WOU pushed ahead 3-6 before running ahead 5-12 on a six-point run. The Nanooks made a late push, taking five of six points, pulling back within three on a Rilee White kill and WOU attack error, but it was not enough. WOU put it away with back-to-back kills, winning the fifth 10-15 and the match, 2-3.

Karli Nielson and Rilee White led the Nanooks offense with 14 kills each. Nielson swung .263 and added three digs and one block. Kristina Head added 10 kills while swinging .360. She added two blocks. Jessa Long posted 31 digs and Ainsley Smith managed the distribution, posting 38 assists. 

The Nanooks are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 2:00 p.m. when they welcome the Saint Martin's Saints. There will be a pregame tailgate outside the Patty Center beginning at 12:00 p.m.

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.