HILO, Hi. - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team won the 2026 Hawaii/Alaska Challenge on Saturday, Aug. 22. The 'Nooks went 3-1 over the three days and capped off the title win with a 3-0 sweep of Hawaii Hilo.
The Vulcans wrapped up the match with one more kill than the Nanooks, but the Nanooks' efficiency was a big difference-maker as they surrendered eight fewer errors than UHH. In the first set, the Nanooks posted 15 kills behind a .211 swing percentage. They held off Hilo with a 25-23 set one win before another close set in the second. Alaska posted their best set of the day with 16 kills and a .270 hit percentage and pulled out a 25-22 set win for a 2-0 advantage. In the third, Alaska held Hilo even with a .000 swing percentage on 12 kills and 12 errors and finished the sweep with a 25-18 win.
To open the first set, both sides traded runs and leads. Alaska used back-to-back kills from
Cori Leavitt and
Haylee Lyons to grow a three-point lead at 12-9, but UHH answered and used a strong run to eventually take an 18-22 lead. The Nanooks did not budge with the pressure; after another Lyons kill, Alaska rallied off six-straight points to erase the four-point deficit and win the first 25-23. In that run, Lyons added two more kills, Leavitt added one more, and
Ashlyn White picked up a kill. White added an ace and the 'Nooks won the opener on a Hawaii Hilo attack error.
The Nanooks used the momentum from the end of the first to start the second and opened up with a 6-2 lead. Hawaii Hilo rallied to pull within one but
Presley Engelauf and Lyons turned them away with back-to-back kills. The Nanooks led for much of the second, but down the stretch, the Vulcans crawled back to take a one-point advantage. Again, the Nanooks did not budge, posting four-straight points to win the second 25-22.
Emma Freeman and
Peri Hoshock teamed up for a block on the final point, making it 2-0. The third started in similar fashion with an early Nanooks' lead, but this time, they ran away with the win.
After a UHH kill to make it 9-8, Alaska extended their lead to 16-8 on seven straight.
Lucy Braegger led the charge with two kills and a block. Back-to-back blocks by Freeman and Hoshock put the Nanooks within striking distance of the sweep and then two service errors by Hilo gave the Nanooks the win.
Inside the Numbers
- Alaska finished with 38 kills and swung .218 as a unit. Haylee Lyons led the Nanooks' attack with 12 kills on 33 total attacks. She added six digs in the win.
- The 'Nooks tallied 50 digs in the sweep. Tessa Onaga led the way with 23 digs and finished the week with 87 digs and 6.21 digs per set.
- Cynphany Henderson and Ashlyn White split the distribution for the offense. Henderson led the way with 18 assists, adding eight digs and an ace. White finished with 12 assists, picking up four digs, four aces and three kills.
- Presley Engelauf led the Nanooks with four blocks in the victory. Emma Freeman and Peri Hoshock each added three of their own.
All-Tournament
The Nanooks had two named to the Hawaii/Alaska Challenge All-Tournament Team.
Haylee Lyons was named the Most Valuable Player, finishing the four matches with 52 kills (3.71/set), a .308 swing percentage, five aces, 38 digs (2.71/set) and two blocks.
Tessa Onaga joined Lyons on the All-Tournament Team, leading the way with 87 digs (6.21/set), 12 assists, and four aces.
What's Next
The Nanooks return to the 49th state next week and will play in Anchorage Aug. 27-29. They will face Chico State, Texas Woman's University, and Lenoir-Rhyne. All three matches can be viewed on the GNAC Network with a subscription.
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