PORTLAND, Ore. – Among myriad indicators of a successful coaching tenure within Brian Scott's office at the University of Alaska is one item that came before his time and has stood out to him recently.
 
Tucked away amid a collection of photos – among them is one of Nanook Hall of Famer Sam Harthun's GNAC-record 40-kill night on Nov. 5, 2015 – is a black and white photograph he estimates was taken in the 1980s. It depicts a former Nanook elevating for a serve, with a jam-packed crowd in the background at the Patty Center. "I told my assistants and my wife that I just wanted to see that again someday," said Scott, who is now in his 11th season in charge of the Nanook volleyball program.
 
That wish came to fruition on Thursday night, when a capacity crowd of 1,451 piled into the very same arena to watch their home team win its 12th consecutive match with a 3-1 triumph over rival Alaska Anchorage. "I swear I could feel the floor shaking," said senior middle blocker Elizabeth Jackson. "If you all keep showing up like that, it'll be impossible for the 'Nooks not to win." The victory broke a tie between two teams that were deadlocked, each entering the night off to stellar 13-1 starts to their seasons. The win earned the Nanooks the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team of the Week honor, leaving them as the lone undefeated squad in conference play at a perfect 5-0 (14-1 overall). "I have never seen anything like that," Scott said on the crowd adorned mostly in white t-shirts on 'White Out Night.' "It was kind of a surreal moment – it is something I have wanted for a while. It was about as filled to capacity as it could be in there. It was cool to see."
 
For senior right side hitter Elena Guc, who put down 13 kills and three block assists in the winning effort, it was one of the highlight moments of her four-year career in Fairbanks. "To see the difference in our home crowd even from just a few years ago to today has been so surreal and such a blessing to be a part of," said Guc, who hails from East China, Mich., and made her debut in 2022. "I caught myself looking around the gym halfway through the match just thinking about how cool this entire experience has been. From breaking the DII attendance record in Anchorage (last year) to breaking our home court record – it just goes to show Nanook Nation is unlike any other and what a gift from God that is."

The Nanooks, who received their first-ever national ranking at No. 23 in last week's American Volleyball Coaches Association top-25 poll, dropped just one match this season in five sets to Hawaii Hilo on Aug. 29. It has been nothing but victories otherwise for one of the most balanced teams in Division II volleyball. Thursday's win in particular carried extra meaning for fifth-year senior setter Ainsley Smith, who is from North Pole, Alaska. "I am very blessed and thankful to God to be on a team that works hard every day in the gym and for a crowd that gives us so much love and support," said Smith, who shares the court with her younger sister McKenna Smith  – a sophomore libero for the Nanooks. "Looking back to my freshman year when there were a few people in the stands, to now where we are breaking attendance records, all I have to say is thank you to Fairbanks for supporting us and believing in us."

Guc, a preseason all-conference pick, leads the team with 2.83 kills per set while ranking fourth on the squad with 0.85 blocks per set. Well on her way to her best season yet, Guc is averaging nearly half a kill more than last season's total and is on the cusp of passing 700 kills in her career. "She is a true leader on the court off the court," Scott said of the 6-foot right side hitter. "She was unanimously asked to be a captain and she is one of those people you can just rely on to give you a solid performance night in and night out. On and off the court you know what she is going to do for you."
 
Defensively, Alaska has one of the top liberos in the GNAC in junior Tessa Onaga, who leads the conference with 4.64 digs per set. In less than two seasons Onaga has already accumulated 724 career digs with her figure of 4.28 digs per set ranking in the top-30 in league history. "She is one of the best, if not the best liberos in the country in my opinion," Scott said on Onaga, who has twice been named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week this fall. "She does such a great job of leading our serve-receive, leading our defense and helping control what happens in the back court. We give her a lot of freedom to do what she feels she needs to do, and she seems to always make the right choices and right decisions."

While Scott was planning on junior returner Cynphany Henderson being a big part of the Nanook lineup this season, it wasn't until later in the game that he nabbed her older sister Mikala Henderson "out of retirement" to be a difference maker as well. A regular starter at setter this fall, Cynphany Henderson has completed eight double-doubles and on four different occasions has been within three kills of a triple-double. One of those efforts came on Thursday night, when she distributed 20 assists, had 18 digs, added seven kills and had four total blocks. Her big sister was another source for loud cheers from the raucous crowd, posting a match-high 15 kills on a .303 attack percentage and completing a double-double with a dozen digs. "She can do it all – she plays defense, runs the offense and can attack a ball herself. She is an all-around complete player," Scott said on Cynphany, who is in her fourth year in the program. "Mikala is a transfer and had a fifth year available. She was working a job, and it happened that the timing was perfect for her to come spend a fifth year with us."
 
Seniors Smith and Jackson are also part of the glue that has held together one of the nation's top-performing teams. Smith is right behind Henderson at 5.11 assists per set, providing the Nanooks with an equally competent and experienced setter. Jackson meanwhile is second on the team with 1.09 blocks per set this season and is up to 281.0 total blocks and is in the top-30 in GNAC history with 1.09 blocks per set in her career. "They both have a super steady presence, and you know exactly what you're going to get night in and night out," Scott said on the veteran duo. "Ainsley is very comfortable running the offense, and EJ is such a defensive presence as well. She puts up a big block for people to have to try to go around. They have been consistent performers their entire careers."

The Nanooks had several key departures from last year's team, none bigger than 2024 All-American Karli Nielson and fellow GNAC first-teamer Rilee White. Filling those shoes from a Nanook team that went 21-7 overall and tied for second in the GNAC at 13-5 in league play last year was perhaps the biggest question this offseason. Newcomers like Peri Hoshock, Haylee Lyons and Kelli Wright have answered the call in a big way this season.
 
Hoshock, a 6-foot middle blocker who transferred from The Citadel, and Lyons, a 5-foot-9 redshirt freshman from Kalani High School in Kaimuki, Hawaii, have each had big impacts on the stat sheets. Hoshock leads the team and ranks fourth in the GNAC with 1.29 blocks per set, while contributing 1.47 kills per set on the offensive side. Lyons meanwhile ranks third on the team with 2.12 kills per set and has had two double-doubles in her last three matches. "Haylee is one of our freshmen I feel has really stepped up this fall and discovered something about herself and what her abilities are. She uses her strengths to the best of her ability and will capitalize on what she is really good at," Scott said on Lyons. "Peri is one of our transfers who came in and has bought in completely with what we are trying to do and how we are trying to do it. She has such a passion for being out on the floor and to be contributing. She does whatever it takes to be in that role."
 
Wright is a sophomore eligibility wise, but her career also started in 2022 before she embarked on a mission and missed each of the last two seasons. Now back in the lineup, she ranks second on the team with 2.37 kills per set as a 6-foot outside hitter. "Kelli is another underclassman, who came back from a two-year break while serving a mission," Scott said. "We didn't expect her to be fulfilling such a big role right away. She has stepped up to fill the hole of one of our two outsides we graduated and has done a great job taking that load."

Despite tying for the fifth-most wins among Division II west region teams last fall, the Nanooks were denied what would have been their first-ever NCAA playoff berth. The team was ranked 10th in the final regional rankings, with the top-eight earning playoff spots. After breaking the program record for wins in a season last fall, Scott's group is hungry to take the next step in 2025. "There is a feeling of some unfinished business – there was a little we left on the table last year that we want to rectify," Scott said. "That has been a motivator for us this year. We have had some key returners who have stepped up their level of play, and a couple of underclassmen who have filled some big shoes. We feel the chemistry is high and we have this unified vision of what we want to see happen this year. Everyone has worked hard to make it happen so far."
 
It has taken tremendous work by Scott and his staff to elevate the Nanook program from the cellar of the conference to its current status as a legitimate conference title contender. In his fourth season in charge in 2018, he delivered the program's first winning season in over a decade. Since then, the Nanooks have gone a combined 109-82 (.571) overall including 61-49 (.555) in conference play. In his 10-plus seasons, Scott has accounted for 64% (160 of 250) of Alaska's overall victories in the 25-year history of the GNAC.

There was a time when the Nanooks stood little chance against their spirited rival, going a combined 4-16 against the Seawolves across Scott's first nine seasons. Thursday marked Alaska's third consecutive victory in the head-to-head series, as that narrative, too, has begun to change. Though the rivalry is fierce and both fan bases turn out in droves (UAA broke the Division II record for attendance with 4,388 last fall at the Alaska Airlines Center on Nov. 16, 2024), it is rooted in mutual respect. "Both teams felt that motivation – we both had something we were fighting for, and something on the line," Scott said on his outlook prior to Thursday's win. "I believe that was the first time in history that the two Alaska schools had been battling for the top spot in the conference. We felt as though a little state pride was on the line for this match in particular."
 
As Alaska looks down on the nine chasing teams from the top spot in the GNAC standings, the task ahead is the largest it will face this season. Alaska travels to No. 7 Simon Fraser (11-1, 5-1 GNAC) on Thursday night (7 p.m. PT/6 p.m. AK) before a date with a 19th-ranked Western Washington team that is 11-2 overall, 5-1 in league play and just snapped a 10-match winning streak of its own on Saturday in Bellingham, Wash. (7 p.m. PT/6 p.m. AK). An Oct. 18 home match (2 p.m. AK) against preseason favorite Central Washington (8-4, 4-1), which received votes in the latest AVCA rankings, makes it three matches in the next four against top-tier competition.
 
"This will be the toughest road trip of the year so far," Scott said on his team's upcoming venture across the Canadian border. "Both of them are very good teams, and those are very hard environments to go play in. We just look forward to the opportunity to test ourselves and it is a good chance for us to find out and prove a little bit more of who we are. We like challenges and want to see if we are able to rise to the occasion."