HILO, Hi. - The Alaska Nanooks volleyball team split their Friday matches at the Hawaii/Alaska Challenge. With the win and loss, the Nanooks are now 2-1, 0-0 GNAC to open the 2026 season.
Match One - Chaminade
The Nanooks volleyball team won their first of two matches on Friday, Aug. 21 with a 3-1 victory over the Chaminade Silverswords. CUH took the first set before Alaska won the next three; 21-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-20.
In the first set, the Nanooks offense was strong but Chaminade outhit them and surrendered three less errors. The Nanooks posted 12 kills and five errors for a swing percentage of .250, but the Silverswords posted 14 kills, just two errors, and a .353 swing percentage. Chaminade jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and then extended it to 9-3. The Nanooks pulled to within four at 15-11 before another Silversword run. After trailing by six, Alaska won seven of 10 points to pull within two at 21-19. Unfortunately, the deficit was too much to climb as CUH won set one 25-21.
Alaska's offensive efficiency stuck around the next two sets as they swung .241 in the second and .294 in the third. In the second set, the Nanooks had nine kills to just two errors and 13 kills to three errors in the third. They held Chaminade to a .071 swing percentage in the second and -.116 in the third, forcing them into double-digit errors in both sets as well. In the second set, the Nanooks jumped out to a big lead early, making it 5-1 in the first six points and then extending it to 8-2. Chaminade battled back to tie the second at 15-15 but Alaska closed it out with five-straight points behind a pair of Tessa Onaga service aces and a Peri Hoshock kill. The third set was all Nanooks. CUH held an early lead before 12-3 run for the Nanooks gave them a 13-6 lead. This time, they fended off a CUH response and rallied off eight-straight taking their lead from 16-11 to 24-11. Haylee Lyons posted two kills in the run while Cori Leavitt added a kill and block. CUH added two more before another Lyons put the set away with another kill.
The fourth set started one-sided for the Nanooks as they opened up with a 7-1 lead. Their lead would grow to 10-4 and they'd eventually double-up CUH at 16-8 but the Silverswords had one more response in them. They used a block, an Alaska error and kill to pull within three at 23-20 but a Presley Engelauf kill followed by a Haylee Lyons kill put the match away in four sets.
Inside the Numbers
- The Nanooks had 46 kills against Chaminade. They were led by Haylee Lyons, the only Nanooks athlete to crack double-digits.
- Lyons added nine digs in the win. Tessa Onaga led the Nanooks from the back row with 28 digs.
- The 'Nooks finished with 63 digs to Chaminade's 60.
- Alaska owned the net tonight, finishing with 12 team blocks. Cori Leavitt led the way with seven. Presley Engelauf and Peri Hoshock followed with five each.
- There were 10 total service aces in match one. Alaska recorded six and Chaminade added four. Tessa Onaga had two.
- Two Nanooks had double-digit assists in match one. Cynphany Henderson led with 20 and Ashlyn White followed with 13. Both added four digs.
- The Nanooks posted a .225 team swing percentage and held Chaminade to .038.
Match Two - Hawaii Hilo
The Nanooks fell in match two against the host school, Hawaii Hilo. Alaska won the second set but Hilo won the first, third, and fourth; 25-27, 25-17, 19-25, 22-25.
In the first set, the Nanooks managed just nine kills with four errors while Hilo posted 18 kills. The two sides traded quick runs to open the first set. Following a Hilo service error, the Nanooks pulled within one at 8-9 but the Vulcans answered and took a four-point lead at 8-12. The Nanooks found a rhythm, winning eight of nine points and taking a 20-16 advantage, but unfortunately, Hilo answered with their own run and regained the lead at 20-21 with five-straight points. The Vulcans ended up grabbing the first 25-27.
In the second, the Nanooks won 25-17, outhitting UHH .182 to .075. Both sides had 11 kills but the Nanooks surrendered three less errors. Alaska jumped out to a 4-1 lead and quickly grew it to 10-4. Soon, they were up 14-7 on an Emma Freeman kill and back-to-back aces from Kellan Flynn. Hilo made a push to pull within three at 20-17, but the Nanooks rattled off five-straight to grab the set two win. In the third, the Nanooks posted 11 kills and seven errors for a .118 hit percentage. UHH posted 15 kills and hit .220 to grab the win. After playing to a 5-5 tie, Hilo went on a run, making it 6-13. Alaska managed to pull within two late in the set but the Vulcans won 19-25.
For most of the fourth set, the Nanooks played from behind and could not manage to fully come back on Hawaii Hilo. Once again, the Nanooks had 11 kills and seven errors for a hit percentage of .118. Hilo had 13 with seven errors for a .150 swing percentage.
Inside the Numbers
- Haylee Lyons led the Nanooks with 15 kills tonight. She added 15 digs for a double-double.
- Tessa Onaga led the way with 19 digs. Cynphany also added a dozen to go along her 24 assists, also earning a double-double.
- Cori Leavitt had nine kills, good for second on the offensive attack.
- Ashlyn White finished with 11 assists, pairing with Henderson's 24.
- Both sides finished with 72 total digs. Hilo won the team comparison; 42-57 in kills, 6-7 in aces, 5-6 in blocks, and 40-55 in assists.
What's Next
These two teams battle again tomorrow at 3 p.m. AKST.
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