Wednesday, October 28, 2015

A LOGJAM AT THE TOP: By the time the dust had cleared on the weekend, what had been a clear separation at the top of the GNAC volleyball standings became a four-horse race. With Western Washington’s two losses, there was a four-team tie for first place in the conference standings with the Vikings, Alaska Anchorage, Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene at 10-2. With their win on Tuesday, Western Washington gained a half-game lead at 11-2.

None of the top-four teams will meet this weekend, but there will be a number of matchups in the final three weeks of the regular season. Western Washington will host Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 14. The Seawolves will host Central Washington on Nov. 5 and Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 7. Northwest Nazarene will host Central Washington on Nov. 17 in the final week of the season.

I’LL TAKE THE GNAC FOR THE BLOCK: The GNAC continues to be one of the top, if not the top, blocking team in Division II. Five conference programs enter the week in the top-35 nationally in blocking. Central Washington leads the nation with 2.94 blocks per set. Northwest Nazarene is third with 2.80 blocks per set and Alaska Anchorage is ninth with 2.63 per set. A total of eight individual GNAC players are ranked among the top-50 in the Division II stats. Northwest Nazarene’s Madi Farrell tops the list, ranked fourth with an average with 1.43 per set. Western Washington’s Kayleigh Harper is sixth with 1.40 blocks per set and Central Washington’s Kaitlin Quirk is ninth with 1.39 blocks per set.

RECORD EFFORTS: Conference teams have broken three individual match records this season. Alaska Anchorage’s .410 hitting percentage against Alaska on Sept. 22 set a record for kill percentage in four sets. That bettered the mark of .407 which Alaska set against Western Oregon on Oct. 31, 2009.

Western Washington finished with 20 blocks at Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 26, bettering the mark of 19.5 in a five-set match by Central Washington againsy Cal State San Bernadino on Nov. 18, 2005. In the same match, Kayleigh Harper registered 13 blocks, tying the GNAC record for a five-set match.

PACKING THEM IN: Alaska Anchorage knows how to put people in the seats. The Seawolves enter the week leading Division II with an average home attendance of 1,209 per game. They have two of the top-five single match attendance marks in Division II this season and set a new record with 1,837 coming to the Alaska Airlines Center on Oct. 17 to watch the Seawolves beat Simon Fraser. Alaska Anchorage has had six matches this season that have drawn 1,000 or more fans. Four of the top-10 attendance figures this season have come at GNAC facilities. Central Washington set a school record by drawing 1,687 to their Sept. 24 match against Western Washington. The Wildcats enter the week ranked 13th in Division II in attendance, averaging 546 fans per match.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Kiah Jones, Central Washington
OH • 5-10 • Junior • Port Angeles, Wash.

Jones finished with 30 kills to lead the Wildcats to wins over Simon Fraser and No. 11 ranked Western Washington. She led Central Washington with 19 kills and a .545 hitting percentage in their three-set sweep of the Vikings. For the week, Jones hit .365 with just four attack errors on 76 attempts. Also Nominated: Alisha Bettinson (Western Oregon), Kendra Bodine (Northwest Nazarene), Liz Colon (Saint Martin’s), Sam Harthun (Alaska), Abby Phelps (Western Washington), Jenessa Taylor (Concordia), Katelynn Zanders (Alaska Anchorage).

DEFENSIVE
Sabrina Wheelhouse, Central Washington
MB • 6-3 • Sophomore • Eugene, Ore.

Wheelhouse finished with 18 blocks as the Wildcats beat Simon Fraser and Western Washington. She had 11 block assists and one solo block against Simon Fraser, setting a CWU record for blocks in a five-set match. She led CWU to a school record performance of 21 total team blocks. Also Nominated: Colby Barnette (Concordia), Christie Colasurdo (Western Oregon), Elayna Rice (Northwest Nazarene).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska will look to end their six-match losing streak on the road. The Nanooks opened the week with a four-set loss to in-state rival Alaska Anchorage before taking a hard fought five-set loss at Montana State Billings.

• Senior outside hitter Sam Harthun had an impressive week with 46 kills and 16 digs in the two matches. She smashed 30 kills and a .393 hitting percentage against Montana State Billings on Thursday. The effort lands Harthun at 1,393 career kills, No. 4 on the GNAC all-time list 22 short of the Alaska school record. Harthun enters the week ranked second in the GNAC with 3.73 kills per set and fourth with 0.36 aces per set.

• Sophomore middle blocker Riley Podowicz added 20 kills in the two matches, including 12 against Alaska Anchorage. She also added three aces to her league-leading total of 38. Podowicz enters the week ranked 20th in Division II with 0.54 aces per set.

• As a team, Alaska leads the GNAC and is 34th in Division II with 1.85 aces per set. In addition to Podowitz and Harthun, Miranda Grieser is fifth in the GNAC with 0.35 aces per set.

• After this weekend’s matches, Alaska will finish the season with four of six matches at home at Alaska Airlines Court in Fairbanks.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage is on a three-match win streak. The Seawolves knocked off cross-state rival Alaska in four sets on Tuesday and swept Montana State Billings on the road on Saturday.

• The Seawolves enter the week ranked ninth in Division II with their .900 winning percentage overall (18-2). Alaska Anchorage moved up two spots to No. 11 in this week’s AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll.

• Senior outside hitter Katelynn Zanders led Alaska Anchorage with 28 kills, 18 digs and a .375 hitting percentage in the two matches. She finished with 13 kills and a .462 hitting percentage in the win over Alaska and 15 kills and 11 digs at Montana State Billings. Zanders leads the GNAC and is 42nd in Division II at 3.81 kills per set.

• Setter Morgan Hooe finished with 70 assists in the two matches with 34 at Alaska and 36 at Montana State Billings. The junior enters the week leading the GNAC and 30th in Division II with 10.58 assists per set. Hooe now has 2,119 career assists, ranking No. 6 on the UAA all-time list.

• Alaska Anchorage is one of five GNAC teams ranked in the Division II top-50 in blocks, coming in ninth at 2.63 blocks per set. Erin Braun enters the week ranked sixth in the GNAC and 24th nationally with 1.19 blocks per set while Caitlin Hanson is ninth in the GNAC and 41st in Division II at 1.11 blocks per set.

• As a team, Alaska Anchorage leads the GNAC in hitting percentage (.263) and opponent hitting percentage (.121) and is second in kills (13.38 per set), assists (12.47 per set) and aces (1.56).

• Alaska Anchorage enters the week leading Division II in average attendance with 1,228 per game. The Seawolves set another attendance record with 1,748 fans at the Western Washington match on Thursday and promptly broke it with 1,837 fans in Saturday’s match against Simon Fraser. To date, UAA has hosted five record crowds and has three of the top five crowds in Division II this season The previous record was 1,200 in the first night match played at the Alaska Airlines Center against LIU Post on Sept. 5, 2014.

• The Seawolves finished with a .410 hitting percentage (44 kills, 10 errors, 83 attempts) in their victory over Alaska on Sept. 22. The performance is the Seawolves’ best hitting percentage in the rally scoring era (2001 to present) and is the highest in GNAC history for a four-set match. (Previous Record: .407 (66-16-123), Alaska vs. Western Oregon, Oct. 31, 2009).

• Alaska Anchorage will have the advantage of playing four of the six remaining regular season matches at their Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, including matches against Central Washington (Nov. 5) and Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 7).

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• With their four straight victories, Central Washington finds themselves in a three-way tie for second place with Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene in the GNAC standings at 10-2. The Wildcats won two on the road last week, beating Simon Fraser in five sets and Western Washington in four sets.

• For the first time this season, Central Washington cracked the AVCA Division II Top-25 Coaches Poll at No. 25. The Wildcats had been among teams receiving votes each of the last six weeks.

• Junior outside hitter Kiah Jones was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after she registered 30 kills, a .342 hitting percentage, 11 digs and six blocks in the two matches. Coming off the bench in both matches, Jones finished with 11 kills in the win over Simon Fraser and came alive for 19 kills and a .545 hitting percentage to lead the Wildcats over Western Washington.

• Sophomore middle blocker Sabrina Wheelhouse was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after coming up with 18 blocks in the two matches, topped by a seven-block performance against Simon Fraser. Wheelhouse also had eight kills. She enters the week leading the GNAC and is 19th in Division II with a .368 hitting percentage. Wheelhouse is also fourth in the GNAC and 12th in Division II with 1.36 blocks per set and 30th with 95 total blocks.

• Senior outside hitter Linden Firethorne led Central Washington offensively with 32 kills and 21 digs in the two matches, topped by 18 kills against Western Washington. Firethorne enters the week ranked third in the GNAC with 3.69 kills per set and 4.18 points per set.

• Central Washington leads Division II in blocking, averaging 2.94 blocks per set. The Wildcats lead five GNAC teams in the Division II top-50 in blocks. Kaitlin Quirk is the team’s leading blocker, ranking third in the GNAC and ninth in Division II at 1.39 blocks per set.

• Central Washington also enters the week ranked 12th in Division II in total blocks (214.5), 33rd in hitting percentage (.234) and 49th in win/loss percentage (.737). Among GNAC teams, the Wildcats are third in hitting percentage, kills (12.70 per set) and assists (11.84 per set).

• Central Washington enters the week ranked 14th in Division II in attendance, averaging 546 fans per match. The Sept. 24 match against Western Washington drew 1,687 fans, setting a school single-match attendance record.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia has amassed their second longest win streak of the season with five. The Cavaliers swept their weekend opponents, Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon, both in three sets.

• Junior outside hitter Brenna Huwe led the Cavaliers offensively with 18 kills and 20 digs in the two matches, led by 10 kills and 10 digs against Saint Martin’s. Huwe enters the week ranked 10th in the GNAC with 2.99 kills per set.

• Sophomore middle blocker Colby Barnette added 12 blocks in the two matches, paced by seven blocks against Western Oregon. Barnette enters the week fifth in the GNAC with 1.25 blocks per set. If the Cavaliers were eligible for the NCAA Division II statistics, Barnette would rank 19th.

• Junior setter Jenessa Taylor added 54 assists in the two matches, including 31 in the victory over Western Oregon. Taylor enters the week ranked third in the GNAC with 10.41 assists per set. If Concordia qualified for the NCAA statistics, she would rank 40th.

• Concordia enters the week ranked second in the GNAC in opponent hitting percentage (.135) and digs (16.56 per set) and is ranked fifth in blocks (2.32 per set). The blocking total would rank Concordia 23rd in Division II.

• Concordia is in the second year of their three-year transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. As such, the Cavaliers are not eligible for postseason competition or listing in the Division II statistics.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings finished off a five-match home stand by splitting their matches and snapping a four-match losing streak. The Yellowjackets dropped a four-set non-conference match to crosstown rival Rocky Mountain on Tuesday before ending the skid with a five-set victory over Alaska on Thursday. The home stand ended with a three-set loss to Alaska Anchorage.

• Senior middle blocker Audri Marrs led the Yellowjackets with 34 kills and 13 blocks in the three matches. She had 13 kills and six blocks in the loss to Rocky Mountain and added 16 kills and six blocks in the victory over Alaska.

• Ashlynn Ward continues to rank fifth in the GNAC with 3.25 kills per set and 3.58 points per set. She added 30 kills in the three matches, led by a 14-kill performance in the win over Alaska.

• Junior outside hitter Stormy Siemion finished with 24 kills and 33 digs in the three matches. She had a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs in the victory over Alaska.

• Montana State Billings will play just two of their remaining eight matches at home. Their final home events of the season will be Nov. 5 against Seattle Pacific and Nov. 7 against Saint Martin’s.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene is the hottest team in the GNAC, currently riding an eight-match win streak. The Crusaders finished off a four-match road trip with with a three-set upset of Western Washington on Thursday and a four-set win at Simon Fraser on Saturday.

• The Crusaders enter the week as one of three teams tied for second in the GNAC standings at 10-2. The Crusaders also picked up five votes in the AVCA Division II CoachesTop-25 Poll, their first votes since the Sept. 7 poll.

• In the sweep of Western Washington, the Crusaders hit .345 for the match and hit .500 (18-2-32) in the third set. Kendra Bodine led the way with 17 kills as she finished the week with 28 kills, a .315 hitting percentage and four aces. Bodine enters the week ranked seventh in the GNAC with 3.09 kills per ser and ninth with 3.48 points per set.

• Setter Hailey Cook enters the week second in the GNAC and 32nd in Division II with 10.58 assists per set. She finished with 96 assists in the two matches, 48 in each match.

• Madi Farrell finished with 24 kills, 15 blocks and a .395 hitting percentage in the two matches. She registered 13 kills and 10 blocks in the Crusaders’ win over Simon Fraser. Farrell enters the week ranked second in the GNAC and 25th in Division II with a .360 hitting percentage.

• Northwest Nazarene is one of the five GNAC teams ranked in the Division II top-50 in blocks. The Crusaders come in third in Division II with 2.80 blocks per set. Farrell leads the GNAC and is fourth nationally with 1.43 blocks per set.

• The Crusaders enter the week ranked third in the GNAC in opponent hitting percentage (.135) and fourth in hitting percentage (.220) and kills (12.51 per set).

• Northwest Nazarene finishes the season with six of their final eight regular season matches at home, including their final four home matches.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s aims to end a nine-match losing streak with matches at home against the Alaska schools this weekend. The Saints dropped a three-set match at Concordia on Thursday and a four-set match at Western Oregon on Saturday. The Saints returned home to beat Northwest (Wash.) in an exhibition match on Tuesday.

• Kyra Davidson led Saint Martin’s with 17 kills, a .214 hitting percentage and six blocks in the two matches. She finished with 10 kills in the loss to Western Oregon and had five blocks against Concordia. Davidson enters the week ranked ninth in the GNAC and 45th in Division II with 1.10 blocks per set.

• Junior setter Cassanda Fenton enters the week ranked 10th in the GNAC with 6.72 assists per set. She finished with 39 assists in last week’s matches, topped by 29 assists against Western Oregon.

• Saint Martin’s showed a glimpse of their offensive potential in their exhbition match against Northwest (Wash.) on Tuesday. The Saints finished with a .311 hitting percentage in the five-set affair. Davidson led the way with 19 kills, a .438 hitting percentage and seven blocks while Julia Wabinga added 13 kills, 11 digs and three blocks.

• Saint Martin’s home win over Douglas on Sept. 12 snapped a 19-match losing streak that dated back to September 2014. The Saints then snapped a 15-match GNAC losing streak with their five-set win over Western Oregon on Sept. 24.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific is in the midst of a four-match losing streak after taking a pair of three-set losses to Concordia and Western Oregon on their recent road trip to Oregon. The Falcons will look to snap the skid against Alaska on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Lexi Biondi finished with 23 kills in the two matches to lead the Falcons. She finished with 15 kills in their loss to Concordia. Biondi enters the week ranked fourth in the GNAC with 3.27 kills per set and sixth with 3.55 points per set.

• Sophomore outside hitter Hannah Lautenbach reached the career 300-kill mark with her nine kills at Western Oregon. She then picked up her 300th career digs on Saturday at Concordia.

• Seattle Pacific had two players finish without an attack error with significant playing time in the two matches. Senior middle blocker Luisa McInnis had seven kills with no errors in 15 attempts (.467 hitting percentage) against Western Oregon, while freshman middle blocker Shaun Crespi had six kills and no errors on 16 attempts (.375) against Concordia.

• Sophomore libero Breanne Wiekamp continues to rank 10th in the GNAC in service aces with 0.28 per set. Wiekamp added three aces in the two matches, two of which came at Western Oregon.

• Seattle Pacific will play five of their remaining eight matches at home. Of the Falcons’ six victories this season, four have come at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan hope to end a four-match home stand with a victory. Simon Fraser dropped the first thee matches in the run as they fell to Central Washington in five sets on Thursday, to Northwest Nazarene in four sets on Saturday and Western Washington in four sets on Tuesday.

• Simon Fraser had three players finish with double-digit kills in the loss to Central Washington. Devon May finished with a double-double of 15 kills and 20 digs while Emma Cummings finished with 15 kills and 16 digs.

• May led Simon Fraser in the three matches with 37 kills and 45 digs. In addition to her effort against Central Washington, May finished with a double-double of 13 kills and 17 digs against Western Washington on Tuesday. Cummings finished with 32 kills and 33 digs in the two matches.

• Tessa May finished with 30 kills and 14 blocks in the three matches. She finished with no less than four blocks in any of the matches and topped her week with 12 kills and five blocks against Northwest Nazarene. Tessa enters the week ranked ninth in the GNAC with a .288 hitting percentage.

• Simon Fraser is one of five GNAC teams ranked in the Division II top-25 in blocks, entering the week ranked 35th with 2.23 per set. Tessa May ranks 26th individually with an average of 1.19 per set.

• As a team, Simon Fraser leads the GNAC and is 49th in Division II with 17.68 digs per set. The Clan is also ranked 11th in Division II in team attacks per set with 39.24. Individually, Allison McKay is ranked second in the GNAC and 19th in Division II with 5.73 digs per set.

WESTERN OREGON
• After losing seven straight, Western Oregon has come back to win three straight matches. The Wolves took two at home over the weekend, sweeping Seattle Pacific on Thursday and winning in four sets over Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

• Sophomore Alisha Bettinson led WOU offensively with 24 kills, 28 digs and eight blocks in the two matches. She finished with 10 kills and 18 digs against Seattle Pacific and 14 kills and 10 digs against Saint Martin’s.

• Sophomore middle blocker Sydney Blankinship finished with 14 kills and just one error on 41 attempts for a .419 hitting percentage in the two matches, topped by eight kills against Saint Martin’s. Blankinship enters the week ranked fourth in the GNAC with a .312 hitting percentage.

• Junior libero Christie Colasurdo jumped in the Division II statistics to fourth and leads the GNAC with an average of 6.23 digs per set. Colasurdo finished with 62 digs in the two matches, topped by 35 against Seattle Pacific. Western Oregon enters the week ranked fourth in the GNAC with 16.11 digs per set.

• Western Oregon will play five of their remaining eight matches on the road. They conlcude the season on the Alaska road trip at Alaska on Nov. 19 and at Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 21.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington’s 16-match win streak came to a stunning end over the weekend with two losses at home. The Vikings took a close three-set loss to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, with all three sets ending with 25-23 scores. Central Washington made it a two-match losing streak, taking a four-set win from their cross-state rivals on Saturday.

• The Vikings righted their ship on Tuesday, heading north to beat Simon Fraser in four sets. The win allowed the Vikings to take a slim half-game lead in the GNAC standings at 11-2 (17-4 overall).

• Freshman outside hitter Abby Phelps led five Vikings’ players in double-figure kills with 46 kills and a .343 hitting percentage to go along with 42 digs and seven blocks. She turned in a monster double-double with 16 kills and 25 digs in Tuesday’s win over Simon Fraser.

• Senior opposite Jennica McPherson finished with 31 kills, a .446 hitting percentage, 36 digs and eight blocks in the three matches. She finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs with a .545 hitting percentage in the loss to Central Washington and a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs in the win over Simon Fraser.

• The losses dropped Western Washington to No. 16 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll.

• Freshman middle blocker Kayleigh Harper finished with 23 kills and 17 blocks in the three matches and has seven blocks in the loss to Northwest Nazarene. She enters the week ranked eighth in the GNAC with a .294 hitting percentage and is second in the GNAC and sixth in Division II with 1.39 blocks per set.

• One of five GNAC teams ranked in the Division II top-50 in blocks, Western Washington is ranked 18th in Division II and fourth in the GNAC with 2.41 blocks per set. The Vikings lead the GNAC in kills (13.63 per set) and assists (12.75 per set) are also second in hitting percentage (.244).

• Western Washington set a GNAC record for blocks in a five-set match with 20 at Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 26. Harper tied the GNAC single match record for blocks in a five-set match with 13 in that match.

• 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.