PORTLAND, Ore. – Alaska Nanooks volleyball standouts Elena Guc and Ainsley Smith have been selected to the 2025 Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team, the league office announced Wednesday.

Guc, a senior right-side hitter from East China, Michigan, returns to the court after a strong 2024 season where she appeared in all 28 matches and 110 sets. She tallied 259 kills (2.35 per set) with a .243 hitting percentage, while adding 89 digs and 84 blocks. Guc turned in a career-best 16 kills against Colorado Christian on Sept. 6 and recorded a double-double against Hawaii Hilo with 15 kills and 11 digs. She was recognized as an All-GNAC Honorable Mention last season.

Smith, a senior setter from North Pole, Alaska, orchestrated the Nanooks' attack in 2024, leading the GNAC with 869 assists (7.90 per set) while also contributing 281 digs, 28 service aces and 29 blocks. She notched 14 double-doubles throughout the season, highlighted by a career-high 56 assists in a five-set win at Western Washington on Sept. 19 and a personal-best 17 digs against Seattle Pacific on Nov. 2. Like Guc, Smith earned All-GNAC Honorable Mention honors a year ago.

Western Washington's Devyn Oestreich was named the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year, headlining the 14-player preseason all-conference squad that also featured standouts from Alaska Anchorage (1), Central Washington (2), Northwest Nazarene (1), Saint Martin's (1), Simon Fraser (3), Western Oregon (1), and Western Washington (3).

The Nanooks enter 2025 following a historic 2024 campaign in which they matched the program record for wins (21), finishing 21-7 overall and 13-5 in GNAC play. Their .750 winning percentage was the best in program history, surpassing the mark set by the 1995 squad.

The 2025 season begins later this month as Alaska looks to build on last year's success and continue its rise among the conference's elite.

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