FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team played its conference home opener on Thursday evening, facing off against the Wolves of Western Oregon. After taking the opening set 25-21, the Nanooks dropped the following two, 25-22 and 25-18, to fall behind two sets to one. Alaska won the third set 25-23 before sealing the victory by taking the final set. 16-14. With the win, the Nanooks move to 10-3, 2-1 GNAC, while Western Oregon falls to 8-3, 1-2 GNAC. 

How it Happened
The Nanooks started the opener down 8-5 to the Wolves. Alaska made it a one-score set, as a block from Josie Jansen and Rachel Pierce, followed by a kill from Jansen, brought the score to 9-8. After a Wolves kill brought their lead back to two, the Nanooks rattled off five straight points, capped off by a pair of Rilee White service aces to make it a 13-10 score. Both teams traded the following 14 points, with an Ainsley Smith kill giving Alaska a 20-17 lead and forcing a Western Oregon timeout. The Wolves notched two straight points out of the break to bring the Nook's lead down to one. A kill from Karli Nielson and a block by Elena Guc and Elizabeth Jackson helped the Nanooks to a 3-0 run, giving them a 23-19 lead and pressuring the Wolves into their second timeout of the set. The Nanooks would hold onto their lead, with Jackson notching the kill to give Alaska the 25-21 set victory. Nielson paced the squad with three kills during the opening set, and the Nanooks hit .214 as a team compared to .161 for the Wolves.

Alaska received kills from Pierce, Nielson and Jackson to give the Nanooks a 5-2 lead at the start of the second set. Alaska surrendered the following five points to give Western Oregon the 7-5 lead. The Nanooks retook the lead with a 3-0 run but could not keep up with the Wolves and fell behind 24-18. Despite four straight Nanook points bringing the deficit down to two, WOU closed the set with a Madison Hornback kill. The Nanooks posted their best hitting percentage of the evening at .464 but surrendered five service aces and 17 kills during the set. Nielson added five kills to her total during the second set to lead the team.

The Nanooks again jumped out to a 5-2 lead to start the third before Western Oregon would tie things up at six. Both teams traded leads until a 7-1 run by the Wolves gave them a 15-10 advantage. Alaska brought the deficit down to two later in the set after a Pierce kill made it 20-18, but WOU closed the set scoring the last five points, taking a 2-1 lead in the match. Jackson led the team with three kills while the Nanooks matched their first set hitting percentage at .214.

The Wolves led most of the fourth set, with their biggest lead coming at 17-13. The Nanooks clawed their way back into the set thanks to two kills from Jackson and one from Elena Guc, helping the Nanooks bring the score to 17-16. The Wolves scored three of the following five, making it a 20-18 contest. Kills by Jansen and Nielson tied the set at 20 before a block from Jansen and Kristina Head gave Alaska its first lead of the set. White followed with an ace, making it 22-20 and forcing a Western Oregon timeout. The Wolves tied the set at 22 before two Nielson kills put the Nooks one point from forcing five. After a kill from WOU's Madison Hornback put the Wolves within one, a service error sealed the 25-23 comeback victory for the Blue and Gold. Jansen and Nielson tied with four kills during the fourth, while the team hit .419 with a match-high 17 kills.

Alaska built a 5-3 lead in the final set thanks to a pair of kills from Nielson and an ace by White, but the Wolves fought back to tie the set at five with a kill and ace of their own. The Nooks scored four of the following five to take a 9-6 lead. They held the lead until a 3-0 run put the Wolves ahead 14-13 and within a point of taking the match. Following Alaska's final timeout, Nielson tied the set with a kill, and Jackson and Guc gave the Nanooks the lead with a block. With Alaska now in the driver's seat, Guc closed things out with a kill to give the Nooks a 16-14 set victory and the five-set triumph in their first GNAC home match of the season. Nielson collected five of Alaska's seven kills during the set, and the Nanooks posted a .263 team swinging percentage.

By the Numbers

• Nielson led the way with 19 kills for Alaska, hitting .313 while adding two total blocks and nine digs.
• Guc was the only other Nanook to finish with double-digit kills, collecting 10 on a .667 hitting percentage.
• Jackson ended the evening with seven kills and a team-best .700 hit percentage while tying for the team lead in total blocks with three. Jansen also posted three total blocks during the match.
• Two Nanooks had double-digit digs, with Tessa Onaga leading the way with 15 and Cynphany Henderson following with 14.
• Smith notched 40 assists to lead the team.
• Alaska posted a .329 hitting percentage compared to a .263 mark for the Wolves. The Nooks also out-blocked the visitors 11-0.

What's Next
The Nanooks continue their homestand on Saturday afternoon when they square off against Saint Martin's in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at 2 p.m.

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