FAIRBANKS – The Nanooks volleyball team made its return to the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium on Thursday evening for its home opener against the Tiffin University Dragons. The Blue and Gold would cruise to a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-22, 25-7) in their first match of the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic to improve to 7-1 on the season.
The 'Nooks held the advantage in kills 41-21, assists 37-19, blocks 10-3, aces 8-4 and digs 35-33, while posting an impressive .372 hitting percentage and holding Tiffin to a -0.012 swing percentage.
Alaska did not trail the entire first set, but could not build a lead greater than four until going ahead 14-9 following a 4-0 run, featuring kills from Ashlyn White and Cori Leavitt. The Dragons brought Alaska's lead down to two after a pair of Morgan Morley service aces made it 15-13, but the 'Nooks responded by scoring seven of the following nine points, getting two kills from Ava Kronenberg and one from Leavitt to go along with aces from Genevieve Willis and Haylee Lyons. From there, the Nanooks cruised to the set victory, with kills from Lucy Braegger and Emma Freeman setting up a White service ace to end the set. The Blue and Gold posted a .292 hitting percentage during the set while holding Tiffin to a -0.087 hitting percentage.
The Dragons would start stronger in the second, jumping out to an early 6-4 lead, but back-to-back Tiffin attack errors saw the Nanooks level things up. Despite tying the score five times, Alaska could not establish a lead until consecutive kills by Leavitt and Lyons put the 'Nooks up 13-12. Both sides traded the next seven points, and after a 4-0 run gave the Nanooks a 20-17 lead, they would not trail for the remainder of the set, surviving a late Tiffin scare that saw them pull back to tie it at 21.
The Nanooks left nothing to chance in the third, establishing a 10-4 advantage after receiving three kills from Lyons and two from Presley Engelauf to begin the set. Alaska would go on to cruise to victory, ending the match on a 15-2 run to take the final set by 18 points. The 'Nooks posted their best hitting percentage of the evening in the third set, swinging 0.48 while recording 13 kills to just one attack error.
Inside the Numbers
- Cori Leavitt led the way with 11 kills on the evening, posting a .500 hitting percentage and recording six block assists.
- Ashlyn White recorded a team-high 19 assists to go along with two service aces.
- Presley Engelauf had a team-best eight block assists for the 'Nooks and slammed six kills during the contest.
- Tessa Onaga led the squad with 15 digs.
What's Next
The Nanooks are back at it tomorrow evening for their second match of the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic. They face off against Minnesota State at 7 p.m. at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium.
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