FAIRBANKS - 1451 fans filled the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center on Thursday, Oct. 3. With the crowd behind them, the Nanooks picked up a 3-1 win over Alaska Anchorage to improve to 14-1, 5-0 GNAC.
How it Happened
Alaska Anchorage came out swinging in the opening set. Behind 17 kills and just four errors, UAA ran away with the first, 25-16. The Nanooks managed just 10 kills with seven errors to open the match. Despite this, the Nanooks turned it around and grabbed the next three sets for the victory. The second went Alaska's way as they flipped the script and posted 18 kills with a .292 swing percentage and only four errors. UAA's attack was steady, but the 'Nooks slowed it enough as they held them to 14 kills. In the third, Alaska forced UAA into 10 errors and picked up a 25-21 win to take a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was back-and-forth and ended up a 27-25 win for the 'Nooks. They used 19 kills to push themselves over the top. They kept the Seawolves' offense at bay, holding them to 12 kills in the fourth.
Inside the Numbers
- The Nanooks posted 60 kills in the win. They were led by Mikala Henderson who finished with 15. Elena Guc followed with 13.
- Henderson finished the night with a double-double, posting 12 digs, an assist and a block in the win. Guc added three blocks and a pair of digs.
- Tessa Onaga and Cynphany Henderson both ended with a team-high 18 digs. Onaga had 11 assists and two aces while C. Henderson had 20 assists, seven kills, four blocks, and an ace.
- Ainsley Smith led the way in distribution with 23 assists. She added 12 digs for a double-double. Off the bench, Kellan Flynn added 10 digs for the Nanooks.
- Elizabeth Jackson also filled the stat sheet with five kills (.556%), four blocks, and three digs.
- Alaska has now won three straight matches over UAA.
What's to Come
The Nanooks have the rest of the week off. They hit the road next week for battles at Western Washington and Simon Fraser. Both opponents ranked in the AVCA National Poll this past week as WWU checked in at No. 19 and SFU was ranked No. 7.
Follow the 'Nooks
IG - @NanooksVB
X - @NanooksVB
FB - Alaska Nanooks Volleyball
