FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team continued its winning ways on Saturday afternoon, defeating Seattle Pacific in five sets for its second defeat of the Falcons this season. The Nanooks took the first set 25-23 but fell 23-25 in the second. Alaska responded with a 25-21 set win in the third, but SPU forced a fifth set after taking the fourth 25-19. From there, Alaska handled business, winning the deciding set 15-11.
Rilee White notched her 1,000th career dig during the contest, as her 16 digs were tied for 3rd on the team in the match.
How it Happened
The opening set began with neither side building more than a two-point lead. However, after SPU took a 7-6 lead, the Nanooks answered with a 5-0 run. After a service error following a Falcons timeout to end the run, Alaska notched three more unanswered points, receiving a kill from Rachel Pierce and two from Josie Jansen to give the Nanooks a 14-8 lead. Alaska maintained a comfortable lead for most of the set until six straight Falcons points brought their advantage down to two at 22-20. Despite the late surge, the Nanooks kept their lead, finishing off the set with a kill from Pierce and two from Karli Nielson to take the opener by two points. Alaska was out-hit by the visitors, .390 to .333 during the first, but made up ground in its serving, notching three aces while not allowing one.
Both teams were tied at seven to start the second, with Alaska receiving kills from Nielson, Pierce, White and Elena Guc during the opening portion of the set. However, the Falcons would open up an 11-7 lead after four straight points. Despite seven tied scores for the remainder of the set, the Nanooks could not take the lead, falling by two in the second. Alaska hit .182 as a team during the set.
The Nanooks would not hold the lead during the opening portion of the third, as the Falcons led up until a White kill and Kristina Head service ace gave Alaska the 14-13 lead. After an Allison Wilkes kill tied the score, the Nanooks scored three straight, aided by a Guc kill and Ainsley Smith ace. They led 17-14 heading into a Seattle Pacific timeout. The Falcons came out of the break scoring three of four to bring their deficit to one. Pierce responded with back-to-back kills, while a Nielson kill and Cynphany Henderson service ace gave the Nanooks a 22-18 advantage. Alaska kept SPU at a distance for the remainder of the set, with Guc closing it out with a kill to give the Nanooks the 25-21 set victory. Alaska hit .308 during the third compared to .350 for SPU, but once again notched three service aces while allowing none.
The Nanooks established an early 10-5 lead to start the fourth, with a White service ace forcing a Falcons timeout. However, a 6-1 run by Seattle Pacific tied the set at 11. Alaska would momentarily retake the lead on a Pierce kill to make it 12-11, but the Falcons retook the lead and would not relinquish it for the remainder of the set. Alaska dropped the fourth set by a score of 25-19 and would need a fifth set to get its fifth consecutive victory. The Nanooks posted their lowest hitting percentage of the contest, swinging .143 during the set.
Alaska and Seattle Pacific started the final set tied at four before four straight Nanooks points gave them the advantage at 8-4. Alaska was aided by two Head kills and a block to help ignite the run. Despite SPU bringing Alaska's lead down to 12-10 later in the set, the Nanooks hung on, receiving two kills from Jansen in the final stages of the set, including one to seal the victory. The Blue and Gold swung .273 during the deciding set, scoring nine of their 15 points on kills.
By the Numbers
- Pierce tallied a team-high 18 kills on a .372 hitting percentage. She also collected three blocks during the match.
- Three other players reached double-digit kills for Alaska, with Nielson notching 15, Jansen finishing with 13 and Guc posting 12 put-downs on the afternoon. Jansen also led the Nanooks in hitting percentage (.435) and blocks (4).
- Smith logged a team-high 30 assists over the five sets while also leading the team in service aces with three and finishing second in digs with 17. Henderson followed with 25 assists and two aces for the Blue and Gold.
- Tessa Onaga finished the contest with 10 assists and a team-high 18 digs.
- Alaska was out-hit .251 to .290 but was strong in the service department, posting nine aces while surrendering four.
What's Next
The Nanooks are on the road for the next three matches as they begin their road trip with a showdown against Northwest Nazarene next Thursday at 5 p.m. AKT.
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