FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks volleyball team dropped its matchup against Northwest Nazarene in five sets on Saturday afternoon. Alaska took the first set, 25-20, before dropping the next two, 25-23 and 26-22. They forced a fifth set with a 25-16 triumph in the fourth but fell in the decisive set, 15-11. With the loss, the Nanooks fall to 12-6, 4-4 GNAC, while the Nighthawks improve to 6-9, 3-4 GNAC.

How it Happened
Aided by Karli Nielson and Rachel Pierce kills, the Nanooks jumped out to a 5-2 lead over the visiting Nighthawks in the opening set. Northwest Nazarene took the lead at 8-7, but Alaska responded to its run by scoring five unanswered points and forcing an NNU timeout. The Nanooks received two kills from Elizabeth Jackson and one from Elena Guc to help them retake the lead at 12-8. Following the timeout, Northwest Nazarene countered by trimming Alaska's lead to one at 16-15, but two blocks from Pierce and Jackson helped the Nanooks score four unanswered to bring their lead to five. Alaska went on to take the opening set by five, with Pierce and Jackson leading the way with four kills each. The Nanooks opened up swinging at a .250 clip, notching 13 team kills.

The Nanooks started set two with a 6-4 lead, but quickly fell behind after a 4-1 run by the Nighthawks gave them the 8-7 advantage. However, Alaska retook the lead, finding itself up 14-12 thanks to a 4-0 run aided by two straight Nielson kills. NNU responded with a 4-0 run of their own before three consecutive points heading into a Northwest Nazarene timeout gave the Nanooks the lead right back at 17-16. Both sides traded the lead thrice in the following eight points, ending with the Nighthawks holding a 21-20 advantage over the Nooks. Alaska kept themselves in the set, and a Guc kill gave the Nanooks life at 24-23, but the Nighthawks closed it out with a Maren Machado kill, taking the set and tying the match at one. Nielson led all Nanooks with six kills during the second set. 

Nielson and Rilee White helped Alaska score the first four points of the third set, with Nielson notching two kills and White adding a kill and an ace to force an early Nighthawks timeout. However, after the break, Northwest Nazarene stormed back to score 11 of the following 12 points and forced a Nanooks timeout with the visitors leading 10-5. This time, it was Alaska's turn to respond out of the timeout, scoring 10 of 11 to take the lead back from the Nighthawks at 14-11. NNU tied it up at 14, but Alaska kept itself ahead, holding a 22-19 lead late in the third. Following a 3-0 run for the Nighthawks to tie the set and force a Nanooks timeout, NNU would take the lead on a blocking error. Kills from Josie Jansen and Pierce kept Alaska in it at 24-24, but Northwest Nazarene closed out the set with two straight Abby Black kills, taking the 2-1 advantage over the Nanooks. White and Jansen each tallied a team-high four kills in the set. Despite out-hitting the Nighthawks .261 to .184, five NNU service aces helped the visitors grab the set in extra points.

The Nanooks built a 7-3 lead to start the fourth, but the Nighthawks fought back to tie the set at nine. A 7-0 run for the Nanooks helped them build a 22-15 lead, as consecutive kills from Guc and back-to-back blocks from Guc and Kristina Head gave the Nanooks some breathing room. The Nanooks wrapped up the set comfortably as a White service ace closed out the nine-point set victory. Alaska posted its best hitting percentage of the contest at .355 while recording three blocks.

The deciding set began with the Nighthawks building a 6-3 lead over the Nanooks. After shrinking the deficit down to two thanks to a pair of White kills and another block from Head and Guc, NNU slammed two straight kills to put them ahead 14-10 and one point from victory. Following an Alaska timeout, White notched another kill to keep the Nanooks alive, but the Nighthawks slammed the door the following point, taking the final set 15-11 and securing the five-set victory.

By the Numbers

• Nielson paced the team with 15 kills during the match while picking up 11 digs for a double-double.
• Guc notched 13 kills, posting a hitting percentage of .478 and collecting four block assists.
• Pierce and White both notched double-digit kills with 13 and 12. Pierce notched a solo block and four more block assists, while White picked up a double-double with 16 digs.
• Ainsley Smith led the team with 31 assists during the contest, while Cynphany Henderson finished with 26 assists and 17 digs.
• Jackson slammed six kills on a team-best .556 hitting percentage and tallied five block assists.
• Tessa Onaga posted a team-high 18 digs during the match.
• The Nanooks committed seven blocking errors and 11 reception errors in the contest compared to three and six for the opposition, respectively.

What's Next
The Nanooks stay at home for one contest next week as they take on in-state rival Alaska Anchorage in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium on Thursday, October 17, at 7 p.m.

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