Wednesday, October 25, 2017

NET PROFIT FOR THE GNAC: The GNAC has developed a reputation for solid work at the net in volleyball and the trend continues in the 2017 season.

The conference currenty boasts three athletes in the top-five in Division II in blocking and and an impressive seven in the top-50. Central Washington senior Sabrina Wheelhouse leads the list. She leads the nation with an average of 1.71 blocks per set and a total of 135 blocks. Western Washington’s Joslyn Bopray is second nationally with 1.47 blocks per set while Northwest Nazarene’s Madi Farrell is fifth with 1.40 blocks per set.

Three GNAC teams rank among the nation’s top-50 programs. Central Washington leads the way, averaging 2.95 blocks per set. Western Washington is third with 2.79 blocks per set and Alaska Anchorage is 42nd with 2.17 blocks per set.

Rounding out the individual top-50 is Western Washington’s Michaela Hall (20th at 1.26 per set), Seattle Pacific’s Nicole Tchabanov (24th at 1.21 per set), Central Washington’s Sarah Joffs (45th at 1.12 per set) and Concordia’s Colby Barnette (49th at 1.11 per set).

IN THE POLLS: Western Washington continues to pace the GNAC in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25, coming in at No. 8 for the second consecutive week. Northwest Nazarene climbed back up two spots to No. 12. Central Washington, which had sat on the outside looking in all season, finally broke into the top-25 at No. 25.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Kendra Bodine, Northwest Nazarene
OH • 5-10 • Senior • Eugene, Ore.

Bodine had an impressive week for the Nighthawks, finishing with 39 kills, 6.50 kills per set, 29 digs, six blocks and a .607 hitting percentage in wins over Western Oregon and Concordia. She finished with a double-double of 20 kills and 13 digs with a .655 hitting percentage in Thursday’s sweep of Concordia. Bodine then finished with 19 kills, 11 digs, four blocks and hit .562 in Saturday’s sweep of Western Oregon.

Also Nominated: Leah Swiss (Alaska Anchorage), Shelby Mauritson (Central Washington), Rebecca Mitchell (Saint Martin’s), Abby Phelps (Western Washington).

DEFENSIVE
Joellee Buckner, Western Washington
OPP • 5-10 • Senior • Colville, Wash.

Buckner led the Vikings with 37 digs, averaged 6.17 digs per set and has nine blocks as the Vikings extended their win streak to nine matches. She came close to a triple-double with 18 digs, eight blocks and seven kills in Tuesday’s three-set sweep at Simon Fraser. Buckner then finished with 19 digs to go along with six kills in a three-set sweep at Montana State Billings on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Keala Kaio-Perez (Alaska Anchorage), Kyla Morgan (Central Washington), Emily Gooding (Saint Martin’s), Jayme Bratsberg (Simon Fraser).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
LAST WEEK: Oct. 12: Oct. 20: Lost at Saint Martin’s, 3-1. Oct. 21: Won at Seattle Pacific, 3-2.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: vs. Northwest Nazarene, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: vs. Central Washington, 7 p.m.

• Alaska succeeded in a split on its Puget Sound road trip last weekend, snapping a two-match losing streak with a five-set win over Seattle Pacific.

• Senior outside hitter Maddie Davis paced the Nanooks with 25 kills in the two matches. She finished with 10 kills in the loss at Saint Martin’s and added a double-double of 15 kills and 15 digs against Seattle Pacific. Davis leads Alaska offensively with a .243 hitting percentage and 2.54 kills per game.

• Sophmore middle blocker Kim Wong had a .351 hitting percentage in the two matches and topped her week with a 13-kill performance against Seattle Pacific. Wong is fourth in the GNAC with a .318 hitting percentage.

• Senior setter Rachel Nichols finished with five aces in the matches three of those against Seattle Pacific. The Nanooks enter the week second in the GNAC with 1.66 aces per set. Freshman setter Cate Whiting is sixth in the GNAC with 0.35 aces per set.

• Alaska enters the week third in the GNAC with a .216 hitting percentage and third with 12.94 kills per set. The Nanooks are fourth in the league with 12.05 assists per set.

• At 10-11 overall, Alaska has won its most matches since going 12-15 during the 2009 season.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
LAST WEEK: Oct. 19: Won at Seattle Pacific, 3-2. Oct. 21: Won at Saint Martin’s, 3-1.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: vs. Central Washington, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: vs. Northwest Nazarene, 7 p.m.

• Alaska Anchorage ran its current win streak to four matches with a pair of hard-fought wins over Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s.

• Junior outside hitter Leah Swiss led the Seawolves with 36 kills and a .234 hitting percentage in the two matches. She led all players with 23 kills to go along with 11 digs and three blocks against Seattle Pacific and added 13 kills and 11 digs at Saint Martin’s. Swiss is 10th in the GNAC with 3.08 kills per set. She also leads the league and is 22nd in Division II with 0.52 aces per set.

• Junior outside hitter Chrisalyn Johnson had 28 kills in the two matches, notching 17 kills, 13 digs and five blocks at Seattle Pacific and 11 kills at Saint Martin’s.

• Junior middle blocker Tara Melton added 11 blocks to her total, seven of which came in the win at Seattle Pacific. Melton is eighth in the GNAC at 1.09 blocks per set as the Seawolves rank third in the GNAC and 42nd in Division II at 2.17 blocks per set.

• Alaska Anchorage continues to lead the GNAC and is 20th in Division II with 1.93 aces per set. In addition to Swiss, senior defensive specialist Keala Kaio-Perez is 27th in Division II with 0.49 aces per set.

• The Seawolves enter the week with a .188 hitting percentage and are averaging 12.15 kills per set.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Oct. 19: Beat Western Oregon, 3-0. Oct. 21: Beat Concordia, 3-2.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: at Alaska Anchorage, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: at Alaska, 7 p.m.

• The Wildcats ran its win streak to five matches with a three-set sweep of Western Oregon and a hard-fought five-set win over Concordia.

• The victories finally allowed Central Washington to crack the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25, coming in at No. 25. The Wildcats had received votes in the first eight polls of the season.

• Junior outside hitter Shelby Mauritson once against led the CWU offense with 40 kills, a .242 hitting percentage and 27 digs. She opened the week with 16 kills and nine digs against Western Oregon and finished with a double-double of 24 kills and 18 digs against Concordia. Mauritson is fourth in the GNAC with 3.65 kills per set and is 29th in Division II with 11.81 attacks per set.

• The nation’s leading blocker, senior middle blocker Sabrina Wheelhouse, added 12 blocks to her total last week. Seven of those blocks came in the five-set win over Concordia. Wheelhouse leads Division II with 1.71 blocks per set and 135 total blocks.

• Sophomore libero Kyla Morgan notched 43 digs in the two matches, topped by her 26 digs against Concordia. Morgan is fifth in the GNAC with 4.90 digs per set.

• Central Washington continues to lead Division II with 2.95 blocks per set and is second nationally with 233 total blocks. In addition to Wheelhouse, senior middle blocker Sarah Joffs is sixth in the GNAC and 45th in Division II with 1.12 blocks per set.

• The Wildcats enter the week second in the GNAC with a .148 opponent hitting percentage and fourth with a .213 hitting percentage as they average 12.78 kills per set.

CONCORDIA
LAST WEEK: Oct. 19: Lost to Northwest Nazarene. 3-0. Oct. 21: Lost to Central Washington, 3-2.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: vs. Simon Fraser, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: vs. Western Washington, 2 p.m..

• Concordia dropped a pair of road matches to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington as its road losing streak extended to five matches.

• Senior opposite Lindsey Dorsey continues to lead the Cavaliers’ offense, finishing with 22 kills in the two matches. 16 of those kills came in the five-set loss at Central Washington. Dorsey enters the week seventh in the GNAC with 3.45 kills per set while ranking fourth with 4.14 points per set.

• Senior middle blocker Colby Barnette is now ranked 49th in Division II with 1.11 blocks per set. She added 10 to her total in the two matches, paced by eight blocks against Central Washington. Barnette is also ranked sixth in the GNAC with her .291 hitting percentage.

• Senior setter Michele Brown added 65 assists in the two matches and had a double-double of 49 assists and 11 digs against Central Washington. Brown is ranked third in the GNAC with 10.15 assists per set.

• Concordia enters the week fourth in the GNAC with 12.79 kills per set and 1.45 aces per set while maintaining a .193 hitting percentage.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
LAST WEEK: Oct. 20: Lost to Simon Fraser, 3-1. Oct. 21: Lost to Western Washington, 3-0. Oct. 24: Lost to Rocky Mountain, 3-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: at Saint Martin’s, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: at Seattle Pacific, 7 p.m.

• Montana State Billings lost all five matches in its recent home stand, which included a four-set loss to Simon Fraser and three-set losses to Western Washington and cross-town rival Rocky Mountain.

• Freshman outside hitter Maddi Vigil led Montana State Billings with 27 kills in the three matches. She had 11 against Simon Fraser and eight each against Western Washington and Rocky Mountain. Vigil is ninth in the GNAC with 3.34 kills per set and 10th with 3.64 points per set.

• Freshman defensive specialist Izela Alvarez enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked 26th in Division II with 5.63 digs per set. She finished with 74 in the three matches, topped by her 37 against Rocky Mountain and 20 against Simon Fraser.

• Both of MSUB’s freshman setters are ranked in the GNAC top-10 in assists. Kylee Clarke is fifth with 9.16 assists per set while Alexa Smythe is eighth with 7.50 assists per set. Clarke led the Yellowjackets with 62 in the three matches.

• Montana State Billings enters the week with a .152 hitting percentage, averaging 11.17 kills and rank fourth in the GNAC with 17.80 digs per set.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
LAST WEEK: Oct. 19: Beat Concordia, 3-0. Oct. 21: Beat Western Oregon. 3-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: at Alaska, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: at Alaska Anchorage, 7 p.m.

• Northwest Nazarene has won three straight, all of which have come in three sets with sweeps of Concordia on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.

• The victories moved Northwest Nazarene up two spots to No. 10 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25.

• Senior outside hitter Kendra Bodine was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after she finished with 39 kills, 6.50 kills per set, a .607 hitting percentage, 24 digs and six blocks in the two matches. She had a double-double of 20 kills and 13 digs against Concordia and finished with 19 kills, 11 digs and four blocks against Western Oregon. Bodine leads the GNAC and is 11th in Division II with 4.40 kills per set. She is also seventh in the GNAC with a .285 hitting percentage.

• Senior middle blocker Madi Farrell finished with 18 kills and 12 blocks in the two matches, led by an 11-kill, eight-block performance against Western Oregon. Senior outside hitter Mari Thomas had 17 kills, 11 of which came against Concordia. Farrell enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked third in Division II with a .432 hitting percentage.

• Senior setter Hailey Cook registered 75 assists in the two matches with 42 of those coming against Western Oregon. Cook continues to lead the GNAC and is ranked ninth in Division II with 11.62 assists per set.

• Northwest Nazarene currently leads the GNAC and is 15th in Division II with a .257 hitting percentage. The Nighthawks also lead the league and rank 16th in Division II with 14.07 kills per set. They also top the GNAC and are 41st in Division II with a .141 opponent hitting percentage.

SAINT MARTIN’S
LAST WEEK: Oct. 20: Beat Alaska, 3-1. Oct. 21: Lost to Alaska Anchorage, 3-1. Oct. 24: Lost to Seattle Pacific, 3-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: vs. Montana State Billings, 7 p.m.

• Saint Martin’s continued a five-match home stand with a win over Alaska and losses to Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific.

• Senior outside hitter Rebecca Mitchell led Saint Martin’s with 32 kills in the three matches. She finished with 15 kills and 10 digs against Alaska, added eight kills against Alaska Anchorage and nine kills and 14 digs against Seattle Pacific. Mitchell is sixth in the GNAC with 3.46 kills per set and eighth with 3.82 points per set.

• Junior outside hitter Rachel Gondrezick added 26 kills in the three matches, which included 11 against Alaska and nine against Seattle Pacific.

• Freshman middle blocker Kamille Langford added 11 more kills in the three matches, which included five against Alaska and three against both Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific. Langford is ninth in the GNAC with 1.03 blocks per set.

• Saint Martin’s enters Thursday’s match with Montana State Billings with a .164 hitting percentage, averaging 11.90 kills and 16.83 digs per set.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
LAST WEEK: Oct. 19: Lost to Alaska Anchorage, 3-2. Oct. 21: Lost to Alaska, 3-2. Oct. 24: Won at Saint Martin’s, 3-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 28: vs. Montana St. Billings, 7 p.m.

• The Falcons came close to a sweep of the Alaska schools, instead losing to both Alaska and Alaska Anchorage in five sets. Seattle Pacific rebounded for a three-set sweep of Saint Martin’s on Tuesday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Oddo finished with 44 kills in the three matches. She posted a double-double of 21 kills and 15 digs against Alaska Anchorage and had 15 kills and 16 digs against Alaska. Oddo enters the week eighth in the GNAC with 3.39 kills per set and ninth with 3.76 points per set.

• Senior outside hitter Hannah Lautenbach added 34 kills and 17 blocks in the three matches, paced by her near triple-double of 20 kills, 19 digs and nine blocks against Alaska. Lautenbach is averaging 2.45 kills and 0.89 blocks per set.

• Sophomore middle blocker Nicole Tchabanov did not play in any of the last three matches but remains ranked 24th in Division II with 1.21 blocks per set.

• Junior setter Symone Tran had 119 assists in the three matches, which included 36 against Alaska Anchorage and a double-double of 51 assists and 14 digs against Alaska. Tran is fourth in the GNAC with 9.72 assists per set and is 42nd in Division II with 855 total assists.

• Seattle Pacific enters the week with a .171 hitting percentage, averaging 12.03 kills and 16.51 digs per set. The Falcons are fifth in the GNAC with a .178 opponent hitting percentage.

SIMON FRASER
LAST WEEK: Oct. 17: Lost to Western Washington, 3-0. Oct. 20: Won at Montana State Billings, 3-1.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26 at Concordia, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: at Western Oregon, 7 p.m.

• Simon Fraser split its matches last week, falling in three sets to Western Washington before taking a four-set win at Montana State Billings.

• Junior outside hitter Tessa May finished with 22 kills and a .409 hitting percentage in the two matches to lead the Clan. She finished with seven kills against Western Washington and had 15 kills and a .520 hitting percentage at Montana State Billings. May is second in the GNAC and 32nd in Division II with a .356 hitting percentage.

• Sophomore outside hitter Betsie de Beer added 18 kills in the two matches, including a double-double of 11 kills and 16 digs at MSUB. Sophomore outside hitter Kirsten Pinkney had 12 kills in her lone match of the week at MSUB.

• Junior libero Jayme Bratsberg had 36 digs in the two matches, which included 23 against Montana State Billings. Bratsberg is second in the GNAC and 37th in Division II with 5.39 digs per set.

• As a team, Simon Fraser enters the week ranked third in the GNAC and 26th in Division II with 18.59 digs per set. The Clan has a .186 hitting percentage, averaging 12.75 kills per set.

WESTERN OREGON
LAST WEEK: Oct. 19: Lost to Central Washington. 3-0. Oct. 21: Lost to Northwest Nazarene, 3-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: vs. Western Washington, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: vs. Simon Fraser, 3-0.

• Western Oregon dropped both matches on an eastern road swing, falling in three sets to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.

• Sophomore middle blocker Katherine Huntington led the Wolves offensively with 14 kills in the two matches. She finished with seven kills against Central Washington and added seven kills and two blocks against Northwest Nazarene.

• Senior outside hitter Alisha Bettinson had 13 kills in the two matches, capped by a seven-kill, eight-dig performance at Central Washington. Bettinson enters the week ranks fifth in the GNAC with 3.54 kills per set and sixth with 3.91 points per set.

• Junior setter Leila Holt finished with 39 assists and 22 digs in the two matches, led by a double-double of 27 assists and 13 digs against Central Washington. Holt enters the week ninth in the GNAC with 6.65 assists per set.

• Western Oregon enters the week with a .179 hitting percentage, averaging 12.14 kills and 17.55 digs per set.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Oct. 17: Won at Simon Fraser, 3-0. Oct. 21: Won at Montana State Billings, 3-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 26: at Western Oregon, 7 p.m. Oct. 28: at Concordia, 7 p.m.

• Western Washington made it a 10-match win streak with a pair of three-set road sweeps over Simon Fraser and Montana State Billings.

• The Vikings remained at No. 8 in this week’s AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25. It is the 75th consecutive poll, dating back to the 2012 season, where WWU has been ranked.

• Senior opposite Joellee Buckner was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after she finished with 37 digs and nine blocks in the two matches. She finished just short of a triple-double with 18 digs, eight blocks and seven kills against Simon Fraser and added 16 digs and six kills against Montana State Billings. Buckner is eighth in the GNAC with 4.59 digs per set.

• Junior outside hitter Abby Phelps paced the offense with 31 kills and a .377 hitting percentage. She registered 13 kills and 10 digs against Simon Fraser and added 18 kills and nine digs at Montana State Billings. Phelps enters the week third in the GNAC and 35th in Division II with 3.90 kills per set. She also leads the GNAC and is 27th in Division II with 4.51 points per set.

• Western Washington is second in the GNAC and third in Division II with 2.79 blocks per set and finished with 26 team blocks in the two matches. Sophomore middle blocker Joslyn Bopray had 15 of those, nine of which came against Simon Fraser. Junior middle blocker Michaela Hall had 10 blocks and junior setter Brette Boesel had nine.

• Western Washington is second in the GNAC and is 20th in Division II with a .253 hitting percentage. The Vikings lead the GNAC and rank 12th nationally with 19.34 digs per set as well as second in the GNAC and 22nd in Division II with 14 kills per set.