FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks volleyball team improved to 8-1 on the season with a five-set victory over the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes on Friday, Sept. 12. With the win, the Nanooks are 2-0 in the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic and have a shot at the title tomorrow night.
How it Happened
Similar to Thursday night, the Nanooks had to come back from a 2-1 set deficit. CSUSB grabbed the first set 25-20 before Alaska tied it with a 25-17 set two win. The Coyotes grabbed the third quickly, winning 25-16 before Alaska rallied in the fourth to win 26-24 and ended the night victorious behind a 15-12 fifth-set win. In the first, the Coyotes posted 15 kills, out-attacking the Nanooks by six. Alongside that, the 'Nooks swung only .089 while CSUSB hung a .174 swing percentage. The second set saw much of the offensive momentum swing to the 'Nooks as they posted a .200 swing percentage and had 13 kills to just five errors. They managed to keep CSUSB in the negatives, as the Coyotes had seven kills and nine errors. Alaska tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 set two win.
The next two sets saw minimal offensive efficiency as San Bernardino picked up a quick set three win, 25-16. Alaska swung in the negatives in the third while CSUSB only swung .091. The fourth was similar to the third, but Alaska improved to .082, and had 14 kills to San Bernardino's eight. The fourth also saw late-set heroics from Alaska as they trailed 19-16 late in the set. A service error, attack error,
Cynphany Henderson kill, and
Peri Hoshock and Henderson block immediately pulled the Nanooks back even with CSUSB. The two sides traded points before Alaska put up three-straight to take a 24-22 lead. The Coyotes responded with a pair of points but a pair of CSUSB errors gave the Nanooks a 26-24 win and the momentum heading to the fifth.
In the fifth set, the two sides were evenly matched until the change of sides. Cal State San Bernardino held an 8-7 lead at the change but Alaska rattled six-straight points together to make it a 13-8 set.
Kelli Wright posted three kills in that span, giving her 21 on the night.
Elena Guc also added three kills in the final points, including the match-winner, giving Alaska a 15-12 set five win.
Inside the Numbers
- Kelli Wright had a career night for the Nanooks. The outside hitter posted 21 kills, a new career-high, while adding four digs and blocks.
- Peri Hoshock had a big night for Alaska at the net. The MB had nine blocks while adding seven kills, three digs, and an assist.
- Cynphany Henderson had another 20-assist, 20-dig match, finishing with 23 digs and 22 assists. She also just missed out on a triple-double, posting seven kills in the win. She also added four blocks.
- Ainsley Smith joined with a 20-assist, 14-dig double-double. Tessa Onaga led the way with 29 digs. She added six assists and three aces.
- As a team, the Nanooks posted 106 digs. That total is the most in a single match since Sept. 13, 2019 when the Nanooks defeated Hawaii Pacific in five sets and finished with 107 digs.
- Alaska also had 18 team blocks tonight, their most in a match since Oct. 31, 2019 when they posted 19 in a five-set loss at Central Washington.
What's to Come
The Nanooks face Rockhurst tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center. Tournament standings are listed below.
Alaska, 2-0
Alaska Anchorage, 1-1
Cal State San Bernardino, 1-2
Rockhurst, 0-2
Rollins, 2-1
Food Truck Rally
From 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. the UAF Patty Center parking lot will be home to the third annual Alaska Nanooks Food Truck Rally. Admission to any match on Saturday is FREE with the purchase of food from any participating food truck.
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