Wednesday, September 9, 2015

For the second consecutive year, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the PacWest Conference are joining forces for the GNAC/PacWest Volleyball Crossover. Central Washington and Seattle Pacific are the two host locations for the tournament, which will feature 32 matches Thursday through Saturday.  Five matches will take place at each site on Thursday and Saturday with six matches taking place at each site on Friday.

The PacWest hosted the first edition of the GNAC/PacWest Crossover, with matches hosted by Cal Baptist in Riverside, Calif., and by Azusa Pacific in Riverside, Calif. The GNAC performed well in the first event, going 20-11 against the PacWest.

This year’s GNAC/PacWest Crossover will involve eight of the GNAC’s 11 volleyball programs (Concordia, Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon will not participate). The event will feature four nationally teams, with PacWest members Point Loma (No. 20) and BYU Hawaii (No. 21) joining the GNAC’s Alaska Anchorage (No. 14) and Western Washington (No. 19). The crossover will also feature three programs that received votes in this week’s AVCA poll: Northwest Nazarene, Cal Baptist and Hawaii Pacific.

The tournament will also feature two undefeated programs in Alaska Anchorage (4-0) and Point Loma (4-0). The Seawolves and Sea Lions will square off on Friday morning, 9 a.m., in Ellensburg, Wash.

The GNAC/PacWest Crossover will be closely followed by the start of GNAC play. Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington will commence conference matches on Monday in Ellensburg, Wash. The rest of the GNAC will open conference play with five matches on Thurs., Sept. 17.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Julia Mackey, Alaska Anchorage
RS • 5-11 • Senior • Fairbanks, Alaska

Mackey was named the SpringHill Suites Invitational’s Most Outstanding Player after leading Alaska Anchorage to 4-0 record, including a pair of wins over Division II top-25 teams. She finished with a conference best .398 hitting percentage with 48 kills on 103 attempts, led by a .600 hitting percentage (12 kills, 20 attempts) against Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday. Her performances moved Mackey into No. 10 on UAA’s career kills list (849). Also Nominated: Joellee Buckner (Western Washington), Lindsey Dorsey (Concordia), Elayna Rice (Northwest Nazarene), Julia Wabinga (Saint Martin’s).

DEFENSIVE
Shantel Gritsch, Concordia
L/DS • 5-7 • Senior • Gresham, Ore.

Gritsch helped lead Concordia to a 4-0 record in their first week as a Division II program at the Grand Valley State Tournament, which included a season-opening win over the No. 7 ranked tournament host. She averaged 5.93 digs per set and had a tournament-high 32 digs in that season-opening win. Also Nominated: Jenna Caywood (Northwest Nazarene), Kayleigh Harper (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• The Nanooks are looking to bounce back from three losses at their own season-opening Nanook Classic last weekend. Alaska dropped five-set matches to Minot State on Friday and Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) on Saturday and closed the tourney with a four-set loss to St. Mary’s (Texas) on Saturday night.

• Alaska’s five-set match against Minot State was the first that the Nanooks had played in at home since Oct. 27, 2012. It was also the first time in three years that they played in back-to-back five-set matches.

• Senior outside hitter Sam Harthun was named to her fourth Nanook Classic All-Tournament Team after finishing with 49 kills in the three matches. She enters the week ranked fourth in the GNAC in kills at 3.50 per set. In the process, Harthun surpassed 1,100 career kills (1,146) and is now No. 20 on the GNAC career all-time list.

• Junior defensive specialist Meagan Olsen enters the week leading the GNAC in service aces at 0.64 per set. She finished with 14 aces in the Nanooks’ three matches last weekend, topped by four aces against Minot State on Friday. Olsen also ranks ninth in the league in digs at 4.00 per set.

• As a team, Alaska finished with 33 aces in the three matches, leading the GNAC. The Nanooks finished with 13 aces on Saturday against St. Joseph’s (Ind.) and 11 on Friday against Minot State.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• The Seawolves opened the 2015 season by winning all four of their matches at their own SpringHill Suites Invitational. Their victories included two on Friday against nationally ranked opponents as they downed No. 23 Rockhurst 3-1 and No. 5 Nebraska Kearney 3-0.

• With the victories, Alaska Anchorage emerged this week at No. 14 on the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll. The Seawolves opened the season among teams receiving votes.

• Senior right side hitter Julia Mackey was named GNAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week and the SpringHill Suites Invitational Most Outstanding Player. Mackey finished with 48 kills and a .398 hitting percentage in the four matches, led by a .600 hitting percentage and 12 kills against Cal Poly Pomona. She enters the week leading the GNAC in hitting percentage. In addition, Mackey moved into No. 10 on UAA’s career kills list with 849.

• Junior setter Morgan Hooe leads the GNAC in assists at 11.50 per set. She finished with a total of 161 assists in the four opening matches. Junior middle blocker Erin Braun enters the week ranked second in the GNAC in blocks per set (1.57) and total blocks (21) and fifth in hitting percentage (.314). Senior outside hitter Katelynn Zanders leads the GNAC with her average of 4.29 kills per game after smashing 60 kills in the four matches. Both Hooe and Zanders were named to the SpringHill Suites Invitational All-Tournament Team.

• Alaska Anchorage enters the week leading the GNAC in hitting percentage (.262), kills (14.57 per set) and assists (13.57) and is tied for first with Central Washington in blocks (3.36 per set).

• Alaska Anchorage’s 4-0 start is their third since the program’s inception in 1980. The start equals that of the 1981 club and trails only the 10-0 Seawolves’ start from 1988.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington hopes that the home court will bode well for changing their fortunes after the Wildcats dropped all three matches at the Concordia-St. Paul Volleyball Tournament. The Wildcats lost four-set matches to Winona State on Friday and Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday and dropped a three-set match to host Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday morning.

• Central Washington will be testing their mettle against two nationally-ranked teams. Point Loma enters the week ranked No. 20 in the AVCA poll and BYU Hawaii is ranked No. 21.

• Senior outside hitter Linden Firethorne led the Wildcats with 42 kills in the three matches. She enters the week ranked second un the GNAC with 3.82 kills per set.

• Senior middle bocker Kaitlin Quirk leads the GNAC with 1.73 blocks per set and is second in the league with her total of 19 blocks (1 solo, 18 assists) in the three matches. She is also ranked fourth in the GNAC with a .328 hitting percentage and ninth with 2.82 kills per set (31 total).

• The Wildcats are tied with Alaska Anchorage for first in the GNAC with 3.36 blocks per set. Central Washington also features four individual players in the GNAC top-10 in blocks: Quirk, Sabrina Wheelhouse (1.20 per set), Kiah Jones and Madison Weg (both at 1.09 per set).

• Junior setter Catie Fry is ranked third in the GNAC with an average of 10.09 assists per set.

• Central Washington will play in the first GNAC counting match of the season on Monday, hosting Northwest Nazarene.

CONCORDIA
• In their first weekend as a Division II program, Concordia took the GNAC by storm. The Cavaliers went 4-0 at the GVSU Laker Riverfront Classic in Allendale, Mich. They opened their Division II journey with a four-set upset of No. 7 ranked and tournament host Grand Valley State.

• Senior defensive specialist Shantel Gritsch was named the GNAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week, the first GNAC weekly honor for the university. Gritsch led the Cavaliers defensively with 83 digs and leads the GNAC with an average of 5.93 digs per set. She topped the weekend with 32 digs on Friday against Grand Valley State.

• Senior setter Jenessa Taylor enters the week ranked second in the GNAC with 10.64 assists per set (149 total). Taylor’s week was topped by 48 assists against Ohio Dominican on Saturday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Dorsey enters the week ranked third in the GNAC with a .330 hitting percentage and sixth in kills with 3.14 per set. Junior outside hitter Brenna Huwe had the second best individual match hitting percentage in the conference last week, hitting .500 (31-1-24) on Friday against Quincy.

• The Cavaliers enter the week leading the GNAC in digs (18.50 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.075). They are ranked second in the GNAC in hitting percentage (.217), kills (13.00 per set), assists (11.93 per set) and service aces (1.93 per set).

• Concordia is one of three GNAC teams that will not participate in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover. The Cavaliers will play four matches at the Western Oregon Tournament.

• Concordia is in the second year of a three-year transition process to NCAA Division II membership. This is their first year playing full Division II and GNAC schedules. While the Cavaliers are eligible to win the GNAC championship, they are not eligible for postseason competition.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets rebounded from two opening losses at the Route 92 Showdown to split a pair of five-set matches on Saturday. Montana State Billings beat Holy Names (Calif.) in five sets before falling to co-tournament host Cal State East Bay in five sets later in the day.

• Montana State Billings’ schedule at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover will open with a rematch against Academy of Art on Thursday. The Urban Knights beat the Yellowjackets in five sets.

• Junior outside hitter Ashlynn Ward enters the week ranked third in the GNAC with an average of 3.58 kills per set and is ninth with a .287 hitting percentage. Ward finished with 68 kills, 21 digs and seven blocks in the four matches. She had the most kills for a single match in the GNAC last weekend, finishing with 23 in the loss to Academy of Art.

• Senior setter Kyndal Williams registered a GNAC-best 179 assists and enters the week ranked fifth in the league with 9.42 assists per set. She is also ranked eighth with an average of 0.47 aces per set.

• As a team, Montana State Billings is ranked third in the GNAC in aces with 1.74 aces per set and is tied for first with Alaska in total aces with 33. The Yellowjackets had 17 aces in the opener against Academy of Art, which included six by Taylor Sherman and five by Miranda McConnell.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The defending GNAC champions struggled to a 1-3 record at the Colorado School of Mines Oredigger Classic, which included five-set losses to No. 8 Colorado Mines and No. 19 Cal State San Bernadino. The losing string ended on Saturday with a four-set victory over Colorado Christian.

• The Crusaders will face two more nationally ranked opponents in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover, facing No. 21 BYU-Hawaii on Thursday and No. 20 Point Loma on Saturday.

• Senior outside hitter Elayna Rice led NNU with 2.76 kills per set and a total of 47 kills. She had a tournament-high of 21 kills against Colorado Mines on Saturday.

• Sophomore setter Hailey Cook is ranked fourth in GNAC with an average of 9.65 assists per set. She finished with 46 assists in the win over Colorado Christian and 45 assists in the loss to Colorado MInes.

• Northwest Nazarene ranks third in the GNAC in blocks at 2.53 blocks per set and is tied for third in total blocks with 66. Senior middle blocker Jenna Caywood is ranked fourth in the GNAC at 1.24 blocks per set. She registered 10 blocks in Friday’s loss to Cal State San Bernadino. The Crusaders posted a pair of 16-block performances against Colorado Mines and Cal State San Bernadino.

• Northwest Nazarene will open the GNAC season on Monday, traveling to Central Washington.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• The Saints will have the lightest schedule of any GNAC team this weekend after going 0-5 at the Honolulu Invitational. Saint Martin’s dropped two matches to Chaminade, both in four sets, and lost to nationally ranked teams to then-No. 11 ranked BYU-Hawaii and then-No. 12 Sonoma State.

• Saint Martin’s will play their only match of the week on Saturday, hosting Douglas (B.C.).

• Saint Martin’s will also be looking to snap a 19-match losing streak that dates back to the beginning of the 2014 season. The Saints last won on Sept. 27, 2014, beating Western Oregon in five sets.

• Senior middle blocker Kyra Davidson and senior outside hitter Julia Wabinga paced the Saints offensively. Davidson finished the five matches with 33 kills, a .222 hitting percentage and 15 blocks. She had eight kills against both BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade. Wabinga finished with 33 kills and 14 digs, topped by a 12-kill performance against Sonoma State.

• Freshman middle blocker Vegas Casey ranks 10th in the GNAC in blocks, amassing 12 in four matches. Casey finished with six blocks in the second match against Chaminade.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific will host one of the two pods for the GNAC/PacWest Crossover after going 1-3 at the Cal State L.A. Invitational. The Falcons won the tournament opener, 3-0, over Molloy before dropping three-set matches to Dixie State and Lewis and a four-set match to Cal State L.A.

• In their four matches, the Falcons will be looking to win their 200th match at Royal Brougham Pavilion. Named for the longtime late Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports writer and editor, SPU enters the crossover with a 198-86 record in 29 seasons at the arena.

• Sophomore outside hitter Lexi Biondi enters the week ranked eighth in the GNAC with a .294 hitting percentage in eight sets. She hit highs on 13 kills and a .435 hitting percentage against Cal State L.A. on Saturday.

• Freshman setter Symone Tran needed just four matches to amass the first 100 assists of her career. Tran finished the weekend with 102 assists, led by 31 in the season-opening sweep of Molloy. She enters the week ranked sixth in the GNAC with an average of 7.85 assists per set.

• As a team, the Falcons enter the week ranked fourth in the GNAC in service aces with an average of 1.69 per set. Senior libero Breanne Wiekamp is ranked third individually, averaging 0.54 per set, while freshman libero Amanda Ganete is ranked ninth at 0.46 per set.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser fared well at the Hawaii Invitational, bouncing back from two Friday losses for two wins on Saturday. The Clan dropped five-set matches to BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade before scoring a five-set win over Humboldt State and a four-set victory over Hawaii Pacific.

• The Clan shined defensively, entering the week ranked third in the GNAC with a .168 opponent’s hitting percentage. The low-water mark came against Humboldt State where SFU held the Jacks to a .124 percentage.

• Junior defensive specialist Alison McKay enters the week ranked fourth in the GNAC with 5.05 digs per set. She had 20 or more digs in three of the four matches, topped by 33 in the loss to BYU-Hawaii. As a team, SFU is ranked third in the GNAC with 15.05 digs per set.

• Sophomore middle blocker Tessa May is ranked fifth in the GNAC with an average of 1.24 blocks per set. May registered eight blocks against Humboldy State and seven against BYU-Hawaii.

• Junior outside hitter Devon May led Simon Fraser offensively with 52 kills and an average of 2.74 kills per set. Her big match came against BYU-Hawaii, finishing with 21 kills and a .212 hitting percentage in the loss. May’s 66 attempts in the match was the most by a GNAC player last week.

WESTERN OREGON
• The Wolves have the most on-court experience early in the season with five matches under their belt entering the weekend. After taking four losses at the Marriott Oredigger Volleyball Classic at Colorado Mines, WOU notched one in the win column with a three-set winat home on Monday over Division III Lewis & Clark.

• Of the four losses at the Oredigger Classic, two came against nationally-ranked opponents. Western Oregon lost in four sets to No. 19 Cal State San Bernadino and in three sets to No. 8 Colorado Mines.

• Sophomore middle blocker Sydney Blankinship enters the week ranked second in the GNAC with a .375 hitting percentage with 24 kills on 48 attempts. She came alive for 11 kills in the three-set win over Lewis & Clark, hitting .625 for the match (11-1-16).

• Freshman setter Leila Holt is ranked seventh in the GNAC in assists, averaging 6.91 per set. Holt started four of the five opening-weekend matches, topped by a 22-assist performance in their first win of the year over Findlay.

• Western Oregon is one of three GNAC teams not participating in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover. The Wolves will host their own WOU Invitational and will play Adelphi and Chico State on Thursday, Wisconsin-Parkside on Friday and Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings came away with a hard-fought 2-2 record at the Tampa (Fla.) Classic, which included matches against three other top-25 ranked teams. On Friday, WWU lost in three sets to both No. 9 Wheeling Jesuit and No. 1 ranked Tampa, then rebounded to down No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth in five sets and Wayne State (Mich.) in a three-set sweep.

• Pollsters rewarded Western Washington’s effort by moving the Vikings up five spots to No. 19 in this week’s AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll.

• With matches against No. 20 Point Loma and No. 21 BYU-Hawaii in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover, the Vikings will have faced five nationally-ranked teams in their first eight matches.

• Freshman outside hitter Abby Phelps was named to the Tampa Classic’s All-Tournament Team. She opened her career with 43 kills, 23 digs, nine blocks and four service aces. Phelps enters the week eanked seventh in the GNAC with an average of 3.07 kills per set.

• Redshirt freshman middle blocker Kayleigh Harper enters the week ranked third in the GNAC with an average of 1.50 blocks per set. Harper finished with a total of 10 blocks against Minnesota-Duluth (tied for most by a GNAC opponent in the first weekend).

• Western Washington enters the GNAC/PacWest Crossover ranked third in the GNAC in kills (12.71 per set) and assists (11.64 per set).

• Western Washington will play all of their 2015 home matches at Bellingham’s Whatcom Community College while their on-campus arena, Carver Gymnasium, undergoes a two-year renovation.