FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks volleyball squad moved to 1-3, 0-0 GNAC on the final day of the 2023 Hawai'i-Alaska Challenge in Fairbanks. They grabbed their first win of the season in their 1:30 p.m. matchup with the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans before being swept by the Chaminade Silverswords in the 7:30 p.m. matchup.

Game One
The Nanooks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before having to fend off the surging Vulcans in Saturday afternoon's matchup. Alaska began with a set one win of 25-18 and a set two win of 25-20 before falling in back-to-back sets by the scores of 25-21 and 25-19. In the final set, the 'Nooks battled and pulled out on top 16-14. They used a .455 hit percentage in the fifth-set to claim victory over Hilo. 

The opening set the 'Nooks outhit Hawaii Hilo .242 to .061 and posted four more kills for the six-point win. Hilo jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead before the 'Nooks chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the set at 11-11 using four-straight points. Elizabeth Jackson started the rally with a kill before Lily Stewart joined in on the offensive burst. The two sides traded points until the 16-16 mark when the Nanooks posted five of six to make it 21-17. An attack error ended the run for Alaska, but only briefly, as they'd end the set with four-straight to win it 25-18. Karli Nielson led the Nanooks after the first with six kills. Ainsley Smith posted 13 assists in the first set. In the second, Alaska opened up with an 8-3 lead. Hilo pulled within two at the 9-7 mark but a block by Jackson and Stewart halted the run. Ella Bines and Jackson teamed up on the next point for another block, making it 11-7 Nanooks. Their lead would grow to four at 17-13 before the Vulcans grabbed four-straight to make it 17-17. Karli Nielson took the lead back with a kill before the Vulcans grabbed their first lead since the first point of the set. The two traded points to the 20-19 score before the 'Nooks ran off six-straight to take the 25-20 win. In that six-point stretch, Bines and Stewart earned kills and the 'Nooks benefited from a UHH service error, two attack errors and a ball handling error. 

Set three saw the 'Nooks jump out to a quick 11-3 lead. Despite the lead, Hilo had a handful of answers. They ran off six of eight to pull within four and followed that with a run of nine in 10 points. With that run, the Vulcans found themselves with an 18-15 lead. Alaska pulled within two down the stretch but Hilo pulled out with a 25-21 win. In the fourth, the Nanooks jumped out to another big early lead, going up 5-0 behind a pair of kills and aces. Hilo quickly responded with seven-straight to make it an 8-6 Vulcans lead. The Nanooks rallied with four-straight to take an 11-0 lead on a Josie Jansen kill but Hilo had an answer to each run, eventually making it 20-14 and winning the set 25-19. The fifth was full of excitement as the 'Nooks looked to hold off UHH for their first win of the season. After an early lead, their sights turned to a comeback run as Hilo took a 9-6 lead on an attack error by Alaska. Soon they were down 13-11 but found three-straight to make it 14-13 on an attack error by the Vulcans. After two chances, the 'Nooks had their win. Elizabeth Jackson handled a free-ball at the net and found the court for the game-winning kill, giving the 'Nooks a 3-2 win and 16-14 final set win. 

Karli Nielson led the 'Nooks with 19 kills in the match, hitting .241 and adding eight digs and a block assist. Jackson ended the night with eight blocks on one solo and seven assists and Ainsley Smith put up a monster 53 assists while adding seven digs, four blocks and a kill in the win. Grace Steurer (21), Rilee White (18) and Kinley Erickson (11) all ended the night with double-digit digs.

Game Two
In game two and game four of the Hawai'i-Alaska Challenge, the Nanooks fell to the Chaminade Silverswords in straight sets. Alaska battled but the Swords posted a .493 hit percentage across the three sets and held the 'Nooks to a -.025. 

In the first, the Nanooks went toe-to-toe with CUH, trading points with the Swords and holding the lead at the 10-9 mark on a Lily Stewart kill to tie it before capitalizing on a Chaminade error. Both sides traded runs, leading to a 12-12 tie on a Rilee White service ace. After the tie, Chaminade's offense clicked and it sparked a small run leading to a 19-14 lead. The Nanooks managed to pull within four at 19-15 on a Nielson kill, but that was as close as they'd come as CUH won it 25-17. Sets two and three both ended with scores of 25-11.

In the second, CUH jumped out to a 9-2 lead. The 'Nooks battled but each point and run were matched by another run by Chaminade. Late in the set, Elena Guc and Josie Jansen picked up a pair of kills for Alaska, but the Swords lead was too much. In the third set, Alaska went point-for-point with Chaminade until the 5-5 mark when the Swords found a run and led 8-5. Alaska bounced back and pulled within one at 8-7 but a big run from the Silverswords saw the score and deficit jump to 18-9. That would eventually become a 25-11 loss and sweep. Nielson led the 'Nooks with six kills. She added four digs. Steurer led Alaska with eight digs and added an ace. 

The Nanooks head to Anchorage next weekend for the Seawolf Volleyball Invitational. They'll get four games in three days while in Anchorage before returning home in two weeks for the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic. 

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks volleyball team, follow @NanooksVB on Instagram or X, or like the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team page on Facebook.