ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Nanooks volleyball team is set to face off against in-state rival Alaska Anchorage for its lone contest this week.

Saturday, Nov. 16
7:30 p.m. at Alaska Anchorage | Watch | Live Stats
Anchorage, Alaska | Alaska Airlines Center

Last Time Out
The Nanooks split their two matches last week, defeating Northwest Nazarene in straight sets before falling in a five-setter to Central Washington.

Alaska took the three sets against the Nighthawks by scores of 25-16, 15-20 and 25-21. Elena Guc paced the Nanooks in kills during the 3-0 win, slamming 12 on a team-high .611 attacking percentage. Karli Nielson followed with nine kills on a .214 hitting percentage and posted three aces and 11 digs. Kristina Head led the team with 2.5 total blocks and notched three kills on six attempts for a .500 swinging percentage. Ainsley Smith tallied a team-high 16 assists in the match, and her 14 digs tied Tessa Onaga for the team lead.

The Nanooks held a 2-0 lead over CWU, winning the opening sets 25-20 and 25-23 but dropping the following three 25-19, 25-19 and 15-13. Both teams were evenly matched in the final statistics, with each side posting 55 kills, 15 blocks, 52 assists and 89 digs. Alaska logged nine service aces to CWU's seven, but the Wildcats out-hit the Nanooks .183 to .108. Nielson had a team-leading 16 kills and collected 12 kills. Head was the other Nanook to notch double-digit kills, finishing with 11. She was the only Alaska player to hit over .100, posting a .391 hitting percentage. She also led the team in blocks with 10 block assists. Smith had a team-leading 24 assists while collecting 15 digs. Onaga had 27 digs in the contest and led the Nanooks with four service aces.

Quick Hitters

• The Nanooks rank 26th in Division II in blocks per set, posting a mark of 2.41 on the season.
• Middle blockers Elizabeth Jackson and Josie Jansen rank fourth and sixth in blocks per set among GNAC players with 1.09 and 1.08, respectively.
• Karli Nielson is second in the conference with 3.44 kills per set, while her .254 swinging percentage places her in 11th.
• Rilee White's 0.5 aces per set puts her third in the GNAC.
• Tessa Onaga is tied for fifth in the conference with 3.96 digs per set, putting her level with UAA's Madison Galloway.
• Ainsley Smith has notched the second-most assists per set in the GNAC with 8.0. She currently sits at 100 set assists this season, the highest mark in the conference.
• The Nanooks are tied with Central Washington in hitting percentage; both teams have posted a mark of .231 to tie them for second in the GNAC.
• Alaska's 13.01 kills per set put it behind Simon Fraser for second in the conference.

Chasing History
Rilee White is five service aces away from breaking the all-time GNAC record set by UAA's Ellen Floyd. White currently sits on 209 aces for her collegiate career. She is also 27 kills from 1,000 in her career and could become the first GNAC player to reach 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs and 200 aces.

Meet the Opponent
Alaska Anchorage 14-11, 8-7 GNAC
Head Coach: Stacie Meisner (2nd Season)
Player to Watch: Tia Allen, Junior, OH (2024 Stats: 209 kills, 2.3 kills per set, .203 hitting percentage, 0.25 aces per set, 2.95 digs per set, 0.37 blocks per set)

The Nanooks took their last match against Alaska Anchorage in four sets earlier this season. After UAA took the first set 25-23, Alaska came back to win the final three by 25-21, 25-22 and 25-19. Karli Nielson paced the Nanooks with 16 kills during the contest, hitting .275 while picking up five digs, three aces and four total blocks. Elena Guc and Rilee White would join Nielson in double-digit kills, each slamming 12. They posted hitting percentages of .346 and .391, respectively, while White led the team with four service aces. The Nanooks hit .282 as a team, compared to a .239 mark for the Seawolves.

UAA is coming off a five-set win against Northwest Nazarene, coming back from down 2-1 in the match to take the final two sets. The Seawolves have won four of their last five contests, with the only loss coming in a sweep at Central Washington on Thursday, November 7.

Senior middle blocker Leilani Elder ranks second in the GNAC in total blocks this season with 97. The Seawolves sit second in the GNAC in team aces per set and digs per set, posting figures of 1.95 and 16.33, respectively.

GNAC Standings
Simon Fraser (17-5, 13-2 GNAC)
Central Washington (15-6, 13-2 GNAC)
Alaska (18-7, 10-5 GNAC)
Western Washington (11-10, 10-5 GNAC)
Alaska Anchorage (14-11, 8-7 GNAC)
Seattle Pacific (8-16, 8-8 GNAC)
Western Oregon (15-9, 7-8 GNAC)
Northwest Nazarene (7-16, 4-11 GNAC)
Saint Martin's (5-18, 3-12 GNAC)
Montana State Billings (7-19, 0-16 GNAC)

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