BURNABY, B.C. - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team fell to Simon Fraser in three sets on Saturday afternoon, ending its program-record nine-game winning streak. Alaska falls to 9-3, 1-1 GNAC, while SFU moves to 6-3, 2-0 GNAC.

How it Happened
Alaska found itself trailing 9-4 to start the first set before scoring six of the following seven points to tie the set at 10. After two straight Red Leaf kills, the Nanooks rattled off four consecutive points, receiving a service ace from Rilee White and a block from Josie Jansen and Ainsley Smith. They held a 14-12 lead heading into an SFU timeout, with White adding another ace on the other side of the break to extend Alaska's lead to three. Later in the set, the Nanooks held a 20-17 advantage over SFU but surrendered six consecutive points to lose their lead. Despite a kill from Elena Guc to end Alaska's scoreless streak, the Red Leafs scored the following two points, taking the first set 25-21. Guc led the Nanooks with four kills during the opening set, while Alaska posted a hitting percentage of .114.

The Nanooks could not recover from a slow start to set two, falling behind 16-4 after seven straight points by SFU. Alaska dropped the second set 25-10, with no player recording more than one kill. The Nanooks hit -.192 during the set compared to .429 by the hosts. Alaska fell behind early once more to start the third, trailing 13-9. However, the Nanooks responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead, receiving a kill and an ace from Kristina Head and forcing a Red Leafs timeout. After the stoppage, SFU retook the lead with a 5-0 run of their own, and Alaska trailed 18-14. Despite bringing the deficit down to 20-18, Simon Fraser ended the contest scoring the final five points, taking the third and final set 25-18. Rachel Pierce had a team-high three kills and the Nanooks posted a -.024 hit percentage during the closing set.

By the Numbers

• Guc led the team with five kills, while Jansen, Pierce and Karli Nielson had four. Jansen had Alaska's highest hitting percentage at .273.
• Jansen posted a team-leading five block assists, while the Nanooks had nine total blocks to SFU's seven.
• Smith notched 11 assists during the contest, and Tessa Onaga logged 10 digs.
• White had two of Alaska's four service aces.
• The Nanooks recorded a hitting percentage of -.020 during the match, tallying 21 team kills.

What's Next
Alaska returns to Fairbanks for another GNAC contest against Western Oregon on Thursday, September 26, with first serve set for 7 p.m.

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