ANCHORAGE - The Nanooks volleyball team capped off a 3-0 weekend in Anchorage with a sweep of Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Alaska improves to 6-1 on the season. This is the second straight season the Nanooks were 6-1 through their first seven matches.
Alaska owned every aspect of the match today. They posted an advantage in all team categories, owning points 57-40, kills 39-31, aces 8-2, blocks 10-7, assists 36-31, and digs 42-38. In the first, LR had one more kill than the Nanooks but surrendered four more errors. The Bears hit .212 while the Nanooks hit .333 - Alaska won the opener 25-23. The Bears had an early 6-8 lead but three-straight points by Alaska gave them a 9-8 advantage. The two sides traded runs and Lenoir-Rhyne eventually found themselves up four. After trailing 18-20, Alaska scored five times in a row on four
Cynphany Henderson serves and took a 22-20 lead.
Cori Leavitt made it 24-22 and then
Peri Hoshock and Leavitt teamed up for a block to win the final point and the first set.
In the second, Alaska had 14 kills and seven errors while LR had 10 kills and seven errors as well. The Nanooks took the second 25-18. The blue and gold jumped ahead 8-3 and extended it to a 17-11 lead. Their lead reached seven on multiple occasions and
Haylee Lyons put the second set away with a kill. The third was a 25-16 runaway set for the Nanooks who forced LR into the negatives on seven kills and eight errors. Alaska had 12 kills and six errors and swung .158. Alaska quickly opened up with an 11-4 lead. LR would pull to within two at 15-13, but the 'Nooks responded with 10 of the next 13 points to cruise to a sweep of the Bears.
Inside the Numbers
- Haylee Lyons led the Nanooks with eight kills. Three other Nanooks finished with seven kills. Lucy Braegger, Presley Engelauf, and Emma Freeman all posted seven kills in the win.
- Freeman hit .462 while Engelauf followed with a .417 swing percentage.
- Cynphany Henderson had a match-high 17 assists while Ashlyn White followed with 15. Henderson added seven digs while White added five, two aces, and two kills.
- Lyons filled up the stat sheet adding nine digs to her eight kills. Alongside that, she finished with three aces, two blocks, and one assist.
- Peri Hoshock led the way with six blocks today. Engelauf and Freeman added four each. Hoshock finished with three kills, one ace, and one dig.
What's Next
The Nanooks open up their home schedule next week with the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic. Alaska will play in the 7 p.m. time slot each night, Sept. 3-5. They welcome Alaska Anchorage, Fresno Pacific, Minnesota State Mankato, and Tiffin to Fairbanks for the 2026 installment of the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic. Saturday will feature the fourth annual Food Truck Rally from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. in the Patty Center Parking Lot. Fans who purchase food throughout the day will receive free admission to all three matches that day. All matches at home next week can be watched on the GNAC Network.
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