PORTLAND, Ore. - Tessa Onaga of the Nanooks volleyball team was named this week's GNAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week. This is Onaga's second straight week winning this weekly award. 

Onaga helped propel the Nanooks to a perfect start in conference play, leading the team to road wins over Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific. The junior earned her second consecutive Defensive Player of the Week honor after averaging 7.00 digs per set—over two digs more than any other GNAC player who appeared in two matches last week. She opened the weekend with 16 digs against the Yellowjackets before recording 26 against the Falcons, her second-highest total of the season. Beyond her defensive impact, Onaga added three service aces and eight assists, while committing no service or reception errors across the two matches. She currently ranks second in the GNAC with 4.74 digs per set.

Head coach Brian Scott spoke highly of Onaga's play and her ability to elevate herself and those around her, "Tessa seems to constantly take her level of play to new heights. She made defensive plays look very easy last weekend. She did a fantastic job of making a quality dig or save, which allowed our offense to run in an efficient manner and put us in good positions to score."

This was Onaga's second-career player of the week, both coming this year. 

Alaska is back home this week as they play host to Saint Martin's and Western Oregon for their first GNAC home matches. Thursday's match begins at 7 p.m. while Saturday's first serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. AKST.

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