BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Nanooks volleyball team fell on the road at the No. 20-ranked Western Washington Vikings (13-2, 7-1 GNAC). The loss drops Alaska to 14-3, 5-2 GNAC. 

How it Happened
The Nanooks battled in each set, but came up just short in all three. In the first set, Alaska fell by two, losing 25-23 to go down 1-0. Similar to the first, the Nanooks hung close in the second, but ultimately fell 25-21. In the third, WWU ran away late, picking up the sweep on a 25-15 set three win. 

The first set saw WWU's offensive efficiency take over. Alaska posted three more kills than Western, 15-12, but the Nanooks surrendered nine kills while swinging .143. The Vikings had just three errors and swung .220 to grab the opener by two. In the second, Alaska outhit WWU .179 to .175, and had two more kills, but lost a 12-7 lead after a momentum shift saw WWU run out to a 16-13 lead. Alaska pushed back to tie the set at 21-21, but Western posted four-straight points to take the 25-21 win. 

Alaska went toe-for-toe with WWU in the first half of the third, but after a 12-12 tie, Western quickly strung a run together, allowing the Nanooks to score just three more points in the final set. The Vikings finished the third on a 13-3 run to grab the win. 

Inside the Numbers

• Mikala Henderson led the Nanooks with 15 kills. Elena Guc and Ava Kronenberg followed with six each. 
• Henderson finished the night with a 15-kill, 14-dig double-double while swinging .433. 
• Ainsley Smith distributed 30 assists for the Nanooks. She added 11 digs. 
• Tessa Onaga had 14 digs, matching Henderson for the team-high performance. 
• Alaska had 5.0 team blocks. Elena Guc led the way with four block assists. Kronenberg added three off the bench. 

What's to Come
The Nanooks welcome Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene to Fairbanks next week. They face NNU on Thursday night at 7 p.m. and CWU on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Follow the 'Nooks
IG - @NanooksVB
X - @NanooksVB
FB - Alaska Nanooks Volleyball