HONOLULU -  The Nanooks volleyball team dropped a nail-biter in five sets to the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans on Friday afternoon in their second match of the Hawaii-Alaska Challenge. Alaska falls to 0-2, 0-0 GNAC on the season, while UHH picks up its first win to move to 1-0, 0-0 PacWest.

How It Happened

Alaska took an early 10-7 lead in the first set after a pair of kills by Elizabeth Jackson. After the Vulcans took the lead, the Nanooks kept it close, trailing 16-15 before six-straight UHH points brought the deficit to seven. Alaska would get itself back into the set, scoring seven of the following nine points with kills from Jackson, Karli Nielson, Rilee White, and two by Elena Guc to bring the score to 24-22. However, a Chase Koepke kill for the Vulcans sealed set one as Alaska fell 25-22.

In the second set, Alaska found itself down 7-2 early. However, as was the theme for the afternoon, the Nanooks mounted a comeback, aided by two Kristina Head kills to take a 10-9 lead. The remainder of the set was tightly contested, with neither team building a lead of over two points, but Alaska could not complete the comeback and dropped the second set 25-23.

The third set saw the Nanooks race out to a 9-1 lead, with White collecting three kills. The Vulcans would bring Alaska's lead down to five after an attacking error made it 15-11. However, the 'Nooks wrapped things up, finishing the set 25-16 over UHH. Alaska outhit the Vulcans 12-8 in the set, posting a .267 team hitting percentage to .037 for Hawaii Hilo. Additionally, the Nanooks tied their match-high in service aces with three while not committing any reception errors.

After holding a 14-13 lead to start set four, the Nanooks went on a 9-2 run, with Nielson chipping in with three kills during the run to build a 23-15 advantage. Despite UHH scoring four of the following five points, the 'Nooks took the set 25-19, forcing a fifth and final set. Alaska set a match-best in kills during the following set, slamming 14 in the fourth while hitting .367 as a team. The Nanooks also committed their fewest number of attacking errors with three. Nielson notched half of the team's kills during the set, notching seven of her 18 for the match.

Hawaii Hilo built an 11-7 lead in the last set, allowing six Vulcan kills. However, after Alaska scored six of the following seven points, it was in the lead at 13-12. After a UHH timeout, Hawaii Hilo scored the following three points, taking the fifth set 15-13 and the match 3-2. Despite leading the Vulcans in kills (9) and blocks (2), the Nanooks' five attacking errors ultimately cost them.

By the Numbers

• Nielson led the team with 18 kills (.326) on the afternoon, while Guc and White followed with 15 (.135) and 11 (.194), respectively.
• Ainsley Smith recorded 42 of Alaska's 51 assists while notching two service aces.
• Head paced the squad with three service aces during the contest and added seven kills. Tessa Onaga also picked up multiple aces with two.
• There was a four-way tie in total blocks, with Guc, Jackson, White and Head posting 1.5 on the afternoon.
• Onaga led the team with 18 digs, while Guc also finished in double-digits in the category with 11.
• The Nanooks outscored the Vulcans in the match, notching 108 points to 100 for UHH.
• The team hit .208 with 61 kills and 26 errors.

What's Next
Alaska wraps up its trip to Hawaii tomorrow at 4 p.m. AKST with a contest against Hawaii Pacific in The Shark Tank.

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