FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks volleyball team returns to the Patty Center this week for matchups against Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific. Alaska begins the week tomorrow against the Yellowjackets, with first serve set for 7 p.m., before continuing play on Saturday against the Falcons at 2 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31
7 p.m. vs. Montana State Billings
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center
Halloween Costume Contest

Saturday, Nov. 2
2 p.m. vs. Seattle Pacific
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center
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Last Time Out
The Nanooks took both their contests last week in five sets. They held on to beat Saint Martin's in the first match, winning the first two sets against the Saints before dropping the following two. They followed that by mounting their own comeback, completing the reverse sweep against Western Oregon.

Alaska took the first two sets against SMU 25-12 and 25-21 but 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. Karli Nielson posted a team-leading 20 kills during the match while collecting 17 digs to give her the double-double. Rilee White joined her with double-digit kills and digs during the contest, recording 14 and 15, respectively. Rachel Pierce and Elena Guc were the two other Nanooks to slam 10+ kills, posting 12 and 10, respectively. Guc also hit a team-leading .333 and led the team with 3.5 total blocks. Ainsley Smith notched 29 assists to lead the squad while logging 13 digs, and Tessa Onaga picked up 22 digs and seven assists.

The Nanooks found themselves down 2-0 against the Western Oregon Wolves in their second match last week, having dropped the opening two sets 25-21 and 25-19. After taking the third set 25-23, Alaska fought back from being down 21-18 late in the fourth, earning the 25-22 set victory to force five. From there, the Blue and Gold secured the 15-9 win in the deciding set, completing the reverse sweep to pick up their third straight win. Nielson set a career-high in kills during the win, recording 23 while leading the team with a .362 hitting percentage. The outside hitter also picked up eight digs and two block assists. Guc would also notch double-digit kills, tallying 13 in the contest. She hit .235 while collecting four block assists. Smith was Alaska's leading assist-getter again, as her 33 set assists paced the squad. She also posted double-digit digs for the second consecutive match, collecting 13. Onaga led the team in digs, registering 17 for the Nanooks.

Quick Hitters

• Nielson's 3.46 kills per set put her second in the GNAC, while her .268 hitting percentage is good for ninth-best in the conference.
• Guc ranks 12th in hitting percentage in the GNAC, swinging at a .254 clip this season.
• Smith has recorded 8.44 assists per set this season, which is second-most in the conference.
• White leads the Nanooks and is tied for second in the GNAC with 0.48 service aces per set.
• Alaska has two of the top five blockers in the conference, with Elizabeth Jackson ranking third with 1.11 blocks per set and Josie Jansen in fifth with a mark of 1.07.
• Onaga is fifth in the GNAC with 3.93 digs per set.

GNAC Award Winners
The Nanooks swept the GNAC weekly awards this week, with Karli Nielson earning her second GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season and Elena Guc garnering Defensive Player of the Week accolades.

Nielson finished the week with 43 kills over the two contests, averaging 4.3 per set while hitting a team-high .313 for the Nanooks. The outside hitter out of South Weber, Utah, averaged 2.50 digs per set over the two victories while recording four service aces and six blocks.

"Karli was outstanding this week," said head coach Brian Scott. "She had moments this weekend where she looked absolutely unstoppable on the attack. She also made some clutch defensive plays and serves in both matches. Karli would be the first person to tell you that she can only be good at what she does because she has teammates that are good at what they do."

This marks Guc's first weekly player award. The right side hitter from East China, Mich., led the team with 10 blocks last week, averaging a block per set. She posted six blocks in the match at Saint Martin's, picking up one solo block for the Nanooks. Guc added eight digs for Alaska over the week. Finally, her 23 kills and .281 hitting percentage in the two matches ranked second on the team behind Nielson.

"Elena seemed to make the right play at the right time all weekend," said Scott. "When we needed to have a kill she got it. If it was a stop we needed, she came up with the block. She was extremely good at making the right decisions at all the right times."

Meet the Opponents
Montana State Billings 7-14, 0-11 GNAC
Head Coach: Casey Williams (9th Season)
Player to Watch: Jordin Taulua (2024 Stats: 202 kills, 2.99 kills per set, .116 hitting percentage, .23 service aces per set, 1.86 digs per set, 0.42 blocks per set)

The Yellowjackets have seven wins this season but are still looking for their first conference victory. In their last matchup against the Nanooks, Alaska recorded the sweep, winning by set scores of 25-14, 25-23 and 25-22. White led the team with nine kills during that contest, while Jackson picked up seven blocks.

MSUB is coming off a pair of three-set losses against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington last week.

Seattle Pacific 6-13, 6-5 GNAC
Head Coach: Jason Rhine (3rd Season)
Player to Watch: Hannah Hair (2024 Stats: 151 kills, 1.99 kills per set, .325 hitting percentage, 113 total blocks, 1.49 blocks per set)

Alaska recorded the three-set sweep in its last matchup against SPU, winning each set 25-19. The Nanooks were led in kills by Guc, who posted 13 in the contest. Pierce also picked up double-digit kills with 10 while recording seven blocks, second-most on the team behind Jansen, who tallied eight.

Despite a slow start that saw Seattle Pacific win one of its first 13 contests, the Falcons are on a good run of form, having won their last four matches and five of their last six. Their only loss during that run was to GNAC leader Simon Fraser. SPU's winning streak started with a five-setter against Western Oregon, followed by a pair of 3-1 wins over Saint Martin's and Central Washington. The Falcons are coming off a sweep of Northwest Nazarene, which saw their conference record improve to 6-5, putting them in fifth place in the GNAC. They are the top blocking team in the conference, as their 2.55 blocks per set are 0.15 more than the next closest GNAC team.

GNAC Standings
Simon Fraser (13-4, 9-1 GNAC)
Central Washington (11-6, 9-2 GNAC)
Alaska (15-6, 7-4 GNAC)
Western Washington (7-9, 6-4 GNAC)
Seattle Pacific (6-13, 6-5 GNAC)
Western Oregon (13-7, 5-6 GNAC)
Alaska Anchorage (11-10, 5-6 GNAC)
Northwest Nazarene (7-12, 4-7 GNAC)
Saint Martin's (5-14, 3-8 GNAC)
Montana State Billings (7-14, 0-11 GNAC)

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