FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team fell to the Saint Martin's Saints on Saturday afternoon in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium. The 3-1 loss ended the Nanooks home schedule for 2026. They will wrap up the season next week on the road.
Saint Martin's opened up with a 2-0 lead on the Nanooks using 25-21 and 25-23 set wins. The Nanooks managed to keep the match alive with a 25-20 third-set win but the Saints held off a late comeback attempt by Alaska in the fourth to end the match in four. In the first, the Nanooks had 14 kills, six errors and a swing percentage of .229 but SMU was near-perfect with 16 kills, just two errors and a .424 swing percentage. The Saints led for much of the second-half of the first set, taking a 15-14 lead before extending it to four, and eventually taking it 25-21. In the second set, the Nanooks opened up with a 6-1 lead. SMU chipped away and eventually tied the set at 9-9 before taking a 12-10 lead.
Alaska responded, retaking the lead with three-straight points and then running out to a 17-13 advantage. The Nanooks were the first to 20 in the second, taking a 20-15 lead, but SMU scored seven of the next eight points to flip the scoreboard towards themselves and hold a 22-21 edge. Two ties occured down the stretch at 22-22 and 23-23, but the Saints pulled out the final two points to win the second 25-23. Alaska had the upper hand in the third set, outhitting the Saints .343 to .179. Both sides posted 15 kills but the Nanooks surrendered five less errors and got on the board with a 25-20 set win. Saint Martin's held an early lead but the Nanooks used a five-point swing to take a 12-9 lead. They extended it out to 14-10 before SMU battled back to take a 17-16 lead. Alaska grabbed the momentum to finish the third, winning eight of 10 points to earn the 25-20 set-three win.
Presley Engelauf put the set away with a kill, one of her seven in the set.
In the fourth, the two sides played evenly for much of it until SMU found a 23-20 lead. They then had match point at 24-21 but Alaska had one final push in them: they scored three-straight points to make it 24-24, but unfortunately SMU used a kill and service ace to put the match away 3-1.
Inside the Numbers
- Presley Engelauf had a career day, ending with a match-high and career-high 18 kills. She swung .708, which is fifth all-time in GNAC history for an attack percentage on 18 or more kills.
- Engelauf also added six blocks, one assist, and one dig in the Senior Day match.
- Haylee Lyons joined her on the attack with 12 kills and a .206 swing percentage. She added eight digs and one assist.
- Cynphany Henderson had a team-high 31 assists and added 13 digs. She posted six kills, three blocks, and two aces.
- Genevieve Willis added 21 assists and had a double-double with 11 digs. She added two aces.
- Peri Hoshock posted nine kills on a .368 swing percentage. She had five blocks, two digs, and one ace.
- Tessa Onaga had a team-high 14 digs today. She added four assists.
- Cori Leavitt matched Engelauf's six blocks for a team-high today. She added six kills and a pair of digs.
What's Next
The Nanooks will wrap up their 2026 season next week on the road at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings.
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