PORTLAND, Ore. - Karli Nielson of the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team was named the GNAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 23 after a big week that saw the Nanooks go 2-0 on their home court. 

On Thursday, Oct. 19, the Nanooks made volleyball history, defeating Western Washington University for the first time since the 2008 season. Not only did they defeat the Vikings, but they did it in straight-set fashion; their first sweep of WWU since Oct. 10, 1998. The preseason all-conference selection had a killer weekend on the offensive end, putting up nine kills and seven digs in the sweep before posting 14 kills and nine digs in the Nanooks' four-set win over the Simon Fraser Red Leafs on Saturday, Oct. 21. 

With the pair of wins, the Nanooks are 3-1 in their last four matches, including wins over #16-ranked CWU, WWU and RV SFU. "Karli is always a statistical leader for us in kills and she does a great job scoring points for us," said head coach Brian Scott. "That held true last weekend and she was able to come up big for us in key moments. She worked really hard to be a solid passer in serve-receive and that really allowed our offense to run. She'd be the first to tell you that you can't be good without good teammates, and any award that comes out of our success is a reflection on the whole group."

This honor was Nielson's first-career GNAC Player of the Week award. 

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