HAIR CONTINUES TO LEAD NCAA IN BLOCKS: Falcon senior Hannah Hair leads all NCAA Division II players with 1.67 blocks per set, and is on the cusp of breaking into the top-10 in GNAC history in career blocks. Hair enters the week with 423 blocks, needing five more to crack the GNAC all-time top-10 list. Hair is also on the right side of the current GNAC single-season record of 1.66 blocks per set, achieved by Central Washington’s Sabrina Wheelhouse during the 2016 campaign.

Read More: 20 Blocks = One More Honor For Hair (SPU Release)

A big part of SPU’s 10-1 conference record has come at the hands of senior Allison Wilks, who leads the GNAC in hitting percentage at .416. Senior Sarah Brachvogel meanwhile is the conference’s leader in kills per set with 3.32. SPU made the most of its trip to Alaska at the end of September, defeating both the Nanooks and Seawolves by scores of 3-1 the last time the opponents met.

Read More: Falcons Home To Tangle With The Alaskas (SPU Preview)

‘NOOKS LAND HISTORIC SWEEP: Alaska will be ready to go for Saturday’s showdown at Brougham Pavilion as the Nanooks are coming off their first win over perennial power Western Washington since the 2008 season. Alaska (12-13, 5-6) claimed the victory in the form of a sweep, and enters Thursday’s match at Montana State Billings having defeated the three teams tied for second place in succession to climb to sixth in the standings.

Read More: Nanooks End 15-Year Drought Vs. WWU With Sweep (UAF Recap)

Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Karli Nielson is living up to her preseason all-conference status, ranking sixth in the GNAC with 2.96 kills per set. Junior Kristina Head has emerged into a defensive force for Alaska, ranking fourth in the GNAC with 1.05 blocks per set, and libero Grace Steurer ranks seventh in the league with 3.45 digs per set.

SAINTS SURGING: Winners of five of their last six matches, the surging Saints of Saint Martin’s are playing perhaps their best volleyball of the season. SMU earned its first win over WWU since 1998 with a five-set triumph on Oct. 12, and completed its season sweep of travel partner Western Oregon with a 3-1 win in its lone conference match last week. Marcus Pavilion will provide SMU with home-court advantage for a pair of tough matchups against No. 20 CWU on Thursday night and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

Read More: Soto Deals, Soha Takes Over As Saints Make Program History (SMU Recap)

Senior Karla Soto has stood out as one of the league’s top setters all season, and she ranks No. 30 in Division II volleyball with 10.24 assists per set while also ranking second nationally with 0.68 service aces per set. Soto is coming off a season-high five block assists in the match against Western Oregon, and she has had at least 22 assists in all 20 of SMU’s matches this season. Jennifer Soha ranks second in the GNAC with a hitting percentage of .376 and Maddy Gooding ranks fifth with a mark of 2.94. Emily Garten meanwhile ranks third in the conference with 3.23 kills per set, and freshman star Sirena Peredo is seventh in the GNAC with 3.32 points per set.

WILDCATS HIT THE ROAD: Central Washington continues its pursuit of SPU on the road this week, with a key match at Saint Martin’s on Thursday night before taking on Western Oregon on Saturday. GNAC preseason player of the year Tia Andaya ranks second in the conference with 9.04 assists per set, and fifth in the league in blocks per set with 1.03. Emma Daoud-Hebert ranks third nationally with 1.41 blocks per set, and broke into the top-30 in GNAC history as she enters the week No. 28 with 343 total blocks in her standout career. Libero Hannah Stires is second in the conference with 5.04 digs per set, and moved into a tie for No. 26 on the GNAC all-time list with 1,404 digs in her career.

NIGHTHAWKS KNOCKING ON DOOR OF UPPER HALF: Northwest Nazarene (9-10, 5-6) has visions of climbing into the upper-half of the GNAC standings this week, with key road matches at Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday. NNU is just one game behind the fifth-place Saints, and two games back of the trio of teams tied for second. The Nighthawks will look for vengeance from their five-set loss to Western Oregon on Sept. 30, and will look to repeat their sweep of Saint Martin’s on Sept. 28.

Senior Caroline McMahon is the team’s top defensive player, ranking third in the GNAC with 4.45 digs per set. McMahon remained at No. 10 in GNAC history with 1,831 career digs, and enters the week needing seven more to move up to the ninth spot on the list. Setter Gabi Moore ranks fourth in the GNAC with 7.91 assists per set, and Maren Dent is 10th in the GNAC in kills per set with 2.64.

VIKINGS, RED LEAFS CLASH ON SATURDAY NIGHT: Western Washington and Simon Fraser will break the tie for second place at Carver Gym in the final match of the weekend on Saturday night. The Vikings bounced back from their loss at Alaska with a sweep of Alaska Anchorage to keep themselves towards the top of the standings. Simon Fraser posted the same results on the road last week, taking down the Seawolves in four sets before a defeat at the hands of the surging Nanooks. The Vikings claimed Round 1 of the Border Battle on Sept. 30 with a sweep in Burnaby, B.C.

WWU’s Emily Vossenkuhl has continued her sturdy play at the net, ranking third in the GNAC and 27th in Division II with 1.15 blocks per set. Setter Adele Holland is fifth in the conference with 7.01 assists per set, and Devyn Oestreich leads the attack with an average of 2.51 kills per set.

Read More: Vikings Sweep Alaska Anchorage On The Road (WWU Recap)

Simon Fraser has been led by junior Brooke Dexter, who ranks ninth in the conference with 2.75 kills per set and owns a hitting percentage of .237. Sophomore setter Eva Person is third in the GNAC with 8.59 assists per set and junior Jocelyn Sherman is fifth in the conference with 3.63 points per set.

Read More: Brooke Dexter Stars In Her Hometown (SFU Recap)

YELLOWJACKETS HOST ALASKA SCHOOLS: Montana State Billings is at home this week, squaring off against the Nanooks on Thursday evening and the Seawolves on Saturday afternoon. Junior libero Christine Funk leads the GNAC and ranks sixth nationally with 5.53 digs per set. The Choteau, Mont., native moved into a tie for fifth in MSUB single-season history with 437 total digs in 2023, a figure that ranks her 13th in Division II volleyball.

Chloe Asciutto – Western Oregon

The up-and-coming Wolves middle blocker has emerged into one of her team’s go-to players in her sophomore season. Asciutto enters the week leading her team and ranking ninth in the GNAC in hitting percentage with a mark of .272, while also ranking eighth in the conference in service aces with 0.39 per set. The Camas, Wash., native has had four blocks in four of her last five matches and has twice reached her season-high of 10 kills including on Oct. 7 against Alaska Anchorage. Asciutto was one kill away from that in her most recent match, totaling nine on a .500 hitting percentage last time out against the Saints.

The AVCA/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II rankings are released every Monday throughout the 2023 season.

A head-to-head victory for the Falcons lifted them above the Wildcats in the Division II rankings for the first time this season, as SPU climbed to its highest spot of the year at No. 19. CWU meanwhile slipped two spots to No. 20, and has maintained a spot in the top-25 since the first regular-season rankings of the year on Sept. 4. Simon Fraser was among teams receiving votes for the second consecutive week.