BILLINGS, Mont. - The Nanooks volleyball team continued its road trip on Saturday morning with a contest against the Yellowjackets of Montana State Billings. Alaska notched its second consecutive sweep, taking down MSUB in straight sets with scores of 25-14, 25-23 and 25-22.

How it Happened
It wasn't an ideal start for the Nanooks, who fell behind 7-2 in the first set. However, they would get things going with a 7-0 run to take a 9-7 lead and force a Yellowjackets timeout. A 5-0 run built on Alaska's lead, putting them ahead 15-10. From there, the Nanooks held at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the set, ending on a 5-0 run and taking the opener 25-14. Rilee White led the team with three kills during the first, while Karli Nielson and Josie Jansen followed with two.

Alaska began the second set by scoring the first three points, receiving kills from White and Elena Guc. After MSUB cut Alaska's lead down to one by making it 5-4, the Nanooks notched another 3-0 run, aided by kills from Jansen and Rachel Pierce. The Nanooks held a four-point advantage at 12-8, but a 5-2 Yellowjackets run once again cut the lead to one. Alaska responded with a 6-1 run, with two block assists from both Jansen and Pierce putting the Nanooks ahead 20-14. With Alaska holding a 24-19 lead and one point away from taking the first two sets of the match, Montana State Billings scored the following four points unanswered, notching three kills during the run to make it a one-point score. The Nanooks held on to their lead, and a Yellowjacket ball handling error put the Nanooks within one set of taking victory. Alaska hit .093 as a team during the set, with Nielson and Elizabeth Jackson each slamming three kills for the Nanooks.

The third set saw the Nanooks hold a 6-3 advantage before MSUB tied the set at six. From there, both teams remained within two points of each other until four straight Nanook points gave them a 16-12 lead. However, the Yellowjackets came back to tie the set at 19. Both teams traded the following two points before a 3-0 run from the Nanooks, which gave them a 23-20 lead and forced an MSUB timeout. Alaska held onto the lead as White slammed her ninth kill of the contest to close out the match. White and Guc led the team in kills during the third with five and four, respectively, and the Nanooks posted their best hitting percentage of the match during the closing set, swinging .361 as a team.

By the Numbers

• White led the team in the kills department with nine. She added 1.5 blocks, four digs and an ace.
• Nielson followed with seven kills and posted two aces and nine digs.
• Jackson led the team with four total blocks while tallying five kills on a .300 hitting percentage.
• Pierce and Jansen both finished with five kills and 2.5 total blocks, with the latter posting a team-best .333 hitting percentage.
• Ainsley Smith led the squad with 19 assists and tied for the lead with two service aces. Cynphany Henderson also had double-digit assist totals in the contest, recording 14.
• Tessa Onaga continued her 10+ dig streak, with her 14 digs giving her eight straight matches where she had crossed double-digits.
• Alaska hit .170 as a team during the match, while MSUB posted a mark of .027.
• The Nanooks had twice as many blocks as the Yellowjackets, tallying 12 to Montana State Billings' six.

What's Next
The Nanooks are back in Fairbanks for their next three contests, starting with a match against Central Washington on Thursday, October 10 at 11 a.m.

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