LACEY, Wash. - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team kicked off the second half of its GNAC schedule on Thursday evening with a trip to Saint Martin's. After taking the first two sets 25-12 and 25-21, the Nanooks dropped the next two 25-20 and 27-25, forcing a fifth set. Despite being one point away from defeat multiple times, Alaska fought back and took the final set 19-17. With the win, the Nanooks improve to 14-6, 6-4 GNAC, while the Saints drop to 5-13, 3-7 GNAC.

How it Happened
The Nanooks controlled most of the opening set. After dropping the first point, Alaska never trailed for the remainder of the first. After six straight points gave the Nanooks a 14-7 lead, they would not lead by fewer than five for the remainder of the set, ending the opener on a 9-1 run. Karli Nielson and Rachel Pierce led Alaska in kills during the first, slamming five apiece, while Elizabeth Jackson notched three consecutive service aces for the Nanooks. The team posted its best hitting percentage of the evening, swinging at a .481 clip compared to .074 for SMU.

The second set proved closer than the first, as despite the Nanooks jumping out to a 9-4 lead early on, Saint Martin's would bring Alaska's lead down to one after a 5-1 run made it 13-12. The Nanooks responded by scoring four of the following six points, receiving kills from Pierce, Elena Guc and two from Rilee White to give them a 17-14 lead. However, three straight Saints kills would tie the set at 17. Despite SMU tying the set twice more at 20-20 and 21-21, Alaska ended the set scoring the final four points, with two kills from Nielson and one from Guc before a Cynphany Henderson service ace closed the second. Nielson and White each had a team-high six kills, while the Nanooks once again hit over .400, posting a hitting percentage of .417.

Alaska built a 5-3 lead to start the third, with White and Josie Jansen chipping in with kills. However, two Nanooks attacking errors and a Saints ace saw the Nanook's lead disappear as SMU jumped ahead 6-5. Pierce would tie it up with a kill, but two straight Saints kills saw the hosts take a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the set. Alaska would fall by five points in the third set while posting its lowest hitting percentage of the contest at .081.

The fourth began well for the Nanooks, who built a 15-9 advantage in the first half of the set, but a 5-0 Saints run saw the lead fall to one. Alaska stayed ahead thanks to three SMU attacking errors and a Nielson kill to make it a 19-15 score. However, Saint Martin's scored the following seven points, giving the Saints a 22-19 advantage over the Nanooks. Alaska received kills from Guc and Nielson, along with a couple of combination blocks from Nielson and Jackson, to tie the set at 23 and force an SMU timeout. Guc slammed another kill out of the break, but Saint Martin's responded with a kill and ace to put the Saints one point from forcing five. Despite Guc keeping the Nanooks in the set with another kill to tie the score at 25, SMU claimed the 27-25 set victory with a kill and a block. Alaska outhit the Saints in the set .102 to .064 but struggled in the service department, allowing two service aces and committing five service errors.

The Nanooks found themselves trailing 6-9 to start the deciding set before kills from Nielson, Guc and two from Pierce tied the score at 10. Following a Saint Martin's timeout, the Nanooks notched two more points to take the 12-10 lead. A Nielson kill and service ace put the Nanooks one point from victory at 14-13, but two SMU points gave the Saints the advantage at 15-14. Both sides traded the following four points, with Saint Martin's holding the 17-16 lead. However, the Nanooks responded by scoring the following three points, capped off by a block from Guc and Nielson, to come back and take the set 19-17 and secure the victory over the Saints. Alaska posted a .161 hitting percentage in the final set and was led in kills by Nielson with four.

By the Numbers

• Nielson posted a team-leading 20 kills during the match while collecting 17 digs to give her the double-double.
• White also ended the match with double-digit kills and digs, recording 14 and 15, respectively.
• Pierce followed with 12 kills during the contest, while Guc tallied 10 on a team-high .333 hitting percentage.
• Guc also led Alaska with 3.5 total blocks on the evening while Jackson followed with three.
• Ainsley Smith notched 29 assists to lead the squad while logging 13 digs. Henderson followed with 22 assists for Alaska.
• Tessa Onaga finished with a team-high 22 digs and picked up seven assists.
• The Nanooks hit .228 in the match while out-blocking the Saints 10-9.

What's Next
The Nanooks return to action on Saturday when they face off in a road contest against Western Oregon at 6 p.m. AKT.

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