FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team is back home after a road-trip to Western Oregon and Saint Martin's last week. They went 1-1 on the road, sweeping the Wolves before being swept by the Saints. 

Thursday, Oct. 12
vs. Northwest Nazarene | Alaska Airlines Gymnasium
Kids Field Day

Saturday, Oct. 14
vs. #16 Central Washington | Alaska Airlines Gymnasium
Military Appreciation Day

Watch Here | Live Stats | Tickets

Last Time Out
Alaska is fresh off of a trip to Oregon and Washington in which they split the two-game trip. They started the week off with a bang, collecting a sweep of Western Oregon on Oct. 5. The 3-0 win gave the 'Nooks their second-consecutive sweep following their Sept. 30 sweep of MSUB in Fairbanks. Karli Nielson led the offensive attack with 11 kills and Ainsley Smith distributed a game-high 31 assists. On the defensive end, Josie Jansen had two blocks while Grace Steurer picked up 25 digs. In game two, the Nanooks fell to Saint Martin's. The Saints grabbed the win in straight-sets, defeating Alaska by two in each set. Nielson, once again, led the offensive attack with eight kills. Kristina Head had a big game with seven blocks and Steurer added 13 more digs to her weekly total. She ended the week with 38 total digs in six sets, good for a 6.3 digs/set average. 

Quick Hitters

• The Nanooks enter this week sixth in the nation in team total blocks with 160.5...that total also makes them second in the GNAC, following only Alaska Anchorage
• Alaska has 137 service aces this year making them #28 in the nation...they are second in the GNAC
• Finally, the Nanooks are second in kills and assists in the GNAC with 841 assists and 902 kills...they are 13th in the nation in assists and 17th in kills
• Josie Jansen and Kristina Head have 63 and 58 blocks this season making them 55th and 86th in the nation...Jansen is fifth in the GNAC and Head is 8th
• Grace Steurer's 256 digs puts her in the top-100 in the country at 95th...she is fourth in the GNAC
• Karli Nielson is 48th in the nation in kills and second in the GNAC with 225
• The Nanooks look to keep the recent momentum against NNU. In the last five matchups, Alaska has taken four, including last year's final matchup, a five-set win at home after being swept by NNU earlier in the season. 
• It's been a tough 13 years for the Nanooks when it comes to Central Washington. They have won one match in the past 22 matches. Their first win since 2010 came on Oct. 9, 2021, a 3-1 win over CWU in Fairbanks. 
• Alaska is currently riding a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats.

National Rankings
Central Washington is the highest ranked GNAC volleyball team in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II WVB Poll. They came in at #16 this week. Seattle Pacific follows at #22. No other GNAC teams are ranked or receiving votes.

GNAC Standings

1. Seattle Pacific (13-3, 7-1 GNAC)
2. Central Washington (11-4, 5-2 GNAC)
3. Western Washington (5-10, 5-2 GNAC)
4. Saint Martin's (10-6, 4-3 GNAC)
5. Simon Fraser (9-6, 4-3 GNAC)
6. Alaska Anchorage (11-11, 3-4 GNAC)
7. Northwest Nazarene (7-8, 3-4 GNAC)
8. Western Oregon (8-7, 2-5 GNAC)
9. Alaska (9-12, 2-5 GNAC)
10. Montana State Billings (3-15, 1-7 GNAC)

Field Day (Thursday)
We'd like to extend a big thank you to Alaska 529 for sponsoring our Field Day on Thursday, Oct. 5 - thanks to them, we'll have nearly 1,000 elementary/middle school students in attendance as part of a field trip day with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District! 

Military Appreciation Day
On Saturday, Oct. 7, we'd like to extend a thank you to all Military members. If you show a current Military ID, you'll get into the 2:00 p.m. game for free! 

Full Day at the Patty
Looking to get in the Patty Center early? Come down to the E.F. Horton Rifle Range before the 2:00 p.m. game on Saturday against CWU and spend it with the Alaska Nanooks rifle team, the defending national champions, as they shoot against Ohio State University at 9:00 a.m.! We'll have coffee and donuts available to those in attendance. 

Follow the 'Nooks
Instagram - @NanooksVB
X - @NanooksVB 
Facebook - Alaska Nanooks Volleyball