PORTLAND, Ore. - The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its Player of the Week awards on Tuesday afternoon, with Alaska's Ainsley Smith earning Defensive Player of the Week honors for volleyball.

"Ainsley had a great weekend in Hawaii," said head volleyball coach Brian Scott. "Very excited for her to receive this recognition. Ainsley has spent many hours working on becoming a great defender while on the court. It is nice to see those efforts paying off."

Smith led the team in digs per set, posting a mark of 2.58 over three matches in the Nanook's weekend tournament in Hawaii. She logged 14 digs in four sets against Chaminade and tallied nine in Alaska's first win against Hawaii Pacific. She also chipped in with two block assists over the weekend for the Nanooks.

The setter tallied 107 of Alaska's 124 assists during the Hawaii-Alaska Challenge, recording a GNAC-leading assist per set mark of 8.92. She tallied 12 kills, including going a perfect 5-for-5 in Alaska's win over HPU, and posted five service aces during the three contests.

The Nanooks continue their road trip this weekend in Irvine, Calif., for the Golden Eagle Classic. Their first match comes on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 3:00 p.m. against Cal. State Dominguez Hills.

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