Tuesday, October 4, 2022

REACHING THE HALFWAY POINT: As teams close in on the halfway point of the conference season, the jockeying truly begins in the quest to nail down one of eight Division II West Region playoff spots in November.

The leader in the clubhouse entering the final matches of the first half is Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves continued their nine-match win streak and undefeated conference run with a three-set sweep of rival Alaska on Saturday.

Western Washington is one match off the pace set by Alaska Anchorage, entering the week with a 6-1 record. The Vikings took care of business at home last week, collecting a four-set victory over Central Washington and a three-set sweep of Northwest Nazarene.

The national polls continue to recognize the Seawolves and Vikings as the top teams in the West Region. Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, the team’s highest ranking since 2017. Western Washington enters the week ranked No. 11.

Suddenly entering the scene in the upper half of the standings is Seattle Pacific, which has won its last four matches and five of its last six.

The Falcons scored a four-set win over Western Oregon on Thursday and a three-set sweep of Saint Martin’s on Saturday. It is quite the rebound for the Falcons, who went 2-8 over the first 10 matches of the season.

After a hot start that included wins in 10 of its first 11 matches, Northwest Nazarene has cooled to a 4-3 conference mark, tying them with Central Washington for fourth. The Wildcats, meanwhile, stopped a two-match losing streak on Saturday with a five-set win at Simon Fraser.

From top to bottom, the conference is still playing a strong brand of volleyball. Six conference teams own overall records over .500 and three teams rank among the Division II top 50 in hitting percentage.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Hannah Hair, Seattle Pacific
MB • 6-1 • Junior • Walla Walla, Wash.

Hair was nearly perfect in leading Seattle Pacific to a pair of victories. She opened with nine kills, six blocks and a .533 hitting percentage in Thursday’s four-set win over Western Oregon. Hair added totals of 11 kills, two blocks and a .688 hitting percentage in Saturday’s three-set sweep of Saint Martin’s. For the week, Hair averaged 2.86 kills and 1.14 blocks per set and had a .613 hitting percentage with just one attack error in 31 attempts.

Also Nominated: Karli Nielson (Alaska), Tia Andaya (Central Washington), Brooke Dexter (Simon Fraser), Gabby Kepley (Western Washington).

DEFENSIVE
Hannah Stires, Central Washington
DS/L • 5-5 • Sophomore • Nine Mile Falls, Wash.

Stires averaged 5.89 digs per set to help lead the Wildcats to a 1-1 week. Stires finished with 22 digs and a pair of assists in Thursday’s four-set loss at No. 12 Western Washington. She then added totals of 31 digs, eight assists and two aces in Saturday’s five-set victory at Simon Fraser.  

Also Nominated: Jessa Long (Alaska), Talia Leauanae (Alaska Anchorage), Kalyn Hartmann (Simon Fraser), Calley Heilborn (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska lost its lone match of the match, taking a three-set defeat to nationally-ranked in-state rival Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Karli Nielson led the Nanooks offensively with nine kills to go with a dig and a block. She enters the week averaging 2.79 kills per set and is ranked ninth in the GNAC with 3.40 points per set.

• Sophomore outside hitter Rilee White added seven kills while sophomore middle blocker Elizabeth Jackson contributed six blocks. White is ninth in the GNAC with 2.82 kills per set. Jackson is third in the GNAC and 13th in Division II with 1.26 blocks per set. She also leads Division II with 91 total blocks.

• Senior libero Jessa Long finished with 13 digs and five aces in the loss. Long is second in the GNAC with 4.61 digs per set and is 17th in Division II with 332 total digs.

• Alaska enters the week averaging 12.47 kills and 14.06 digs per set. The Nanooks lead the GNAC and rank ninth in Division II with 2.51 blocks per set. They also lead Division II with 181 total blocks.

• Alaska will close the first half of the conference on the road, playing at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and at Central Washington on Saturday.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage extended its win streak to nine matches with a three-set sweep of Alaska in Fairbanks on Saturday.

• Senior outside hitter Lisa Jaunet led the UAA offense with 12 kills and a .231 hitting percentage. She is ranked sixth in the GNAC with 3.05 kills per set.

• Senior right-side hitter Eve Stephens added 11 kills to go with six digs, three aces, three blocks and a .346 hitting percentage. Stephens leads the GNAC with 4.55 kills per set, 5.59 points per set, 0.63 aces per set and a .376 hitting percentage. She ranks second in Division II in points per set, eighth in kills per set and 15th in aces per set.

• Senior libero Talia Leauanae paced the Seawolves defensively with 12 digs to go with two aces. She ranks fifth in the GNAC with 3.85 digs per set and eighth with 0.40 aces per set.

• Alaska Anchorage leads the conference and is fourth in Division II with a .285 hitting percentage. The Seawolves lead the conference and rank 44th in Division II with 13.19 kills per set.

• Alaska Anchorage moved up two spots to No. 9 in this week’s AVCA Division II Coaches Poll.

• The Seawolves hit the road this week, playing at Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington split on its border road trip last week, taking a four-set loss at nationally-ranked Western Washington on Thursday before scoring a five-set win at Simon Fraser on Saturday.

• Sophomore libero Hannah Stires was named the GNAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after she averaged 5.89 digs per set to lead all conference players. She finished with 22 digs at Western Washington to go with two assists. Stires came up with 31 digs at Simon Fraser along with eight assists and two aces. Stires is fourth in the GNAC with 4.14 digs per set.

• Junior outside hitter Ashley Kaufman led the offense with averages of 3.44 kills and 2.44 digs per set. At Western Washington, Kaufman led the way with 16 kills, eight digs and three blocks. She posted a double-double at Simon Fraser with 15 kills and 14 digs to go with two aces and a block. Kaufman is fifth in the GNAC with 3.24 kills and 3.72 points per set.

• Junior setter/outside hitter Tia Andaya continued her all-around standout play, averaging 3.44 kills, 5.67 assists and 1.22 digs per set. She finished with 15 kills, 24 assists, eight digs and two blocks at Western Washington before adding a line of 16 kills, 27 assists, three aces and three digs at Simon Fraser. Andaya is eighth in the GNAC with 2.92 kills per set and ninth with 5.24 assists per set.

• Central Washington is averaging 12.69 kills and 12.86 digs per set. The Wildcats are third in the GNAC and 11th in Division II with 2.50 blocks per set and rank third in the conference and 43rd in Division II with a .234 hitting percentage.

• Central Washington once again received votes in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll with 25 points.

• The Wildcats wrap the first half of conference play at home, hosting Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings scored a three-set non-conference victory over Rocky Mountain on Tuesday before taking three-set conference losses to Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.

• Freshman outside hitter Caty Havekost averaged 4.56 kills and 1.44 digs per set over the three matches. She led the Yellowjackets with 20 kills and a .500 hitting percentage against Rocky Mountain. She then added totals of 12 kills and two blocks against Saint Martin’s and nine kills and nine digs against Western Oregon. Havekost ranks 10th in the GNAC with 2.82 kills per set.

• Junior outside hitter Jahsita Fa’ali’i averaged 4.43 kills and 3.43 digs per set. She posted a double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs against Rocky Mountain. Fa’ali’i added a 13-kill, eight-dig performance against Saint Martin’s before adding two digs and two kills against Western Oregon. Fa’ali’i is averaging 2.58 kills and 2.54 digs per set.

• Senior setter Hannah Hashbarger averaged 10 assists and 2.78 digs per set. She went off for 40 assists and six digs against Rocky Mountain and added 28 assists and seven digs against Saint Martin’s Hashbarger posted a double-double against Western Oregon with 22 assists and 12 digs. Hashbarger is fifth in the GNAC with 6.54 assists per set.

• Montana State Billings enters the week averaging 11.50 kills per set and is second in the conference with 14.72 digs per set.

• The Yellowjackets is on the road for its only match of the week at Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene took back-to-back losses for the first time this season, falling in four sets at Simon Fraser on Thursday and in three sets to nationally-ranked Western Washington on Saturday.

• Senior outside hitter Natalie Sullivan led the Nighthawks offensively, averaging 2.43 kills and 3.14 digs per set. She opened with a double-double of 11 kills and 13 digs at Simon Fraser. She then posted totals of six kills and nine digs at Western Washington. Sullivan is third in the GNAC with 3.49 kills per set and fourth with 3.97 points per set.

• Senior middle blocker Olivia Wright led NNU in her only match of the week, finishing with nine kills, two blocks and a .278 hitting percentage at Western Washington. Wright is fourth in the GNAC with 3.49 kills per set and fifth with 1.14 blocks per set.

• Senior setter Mckenzie Lee averaged 7.71 assists per set in the two matches. She finished with 30 assists and seven digs at Simon Fraser before adding totals of 24 assists and four digs at Western Washington. Lee leads the GNAC and is 21st in Division II with 10.57 assists per set.

• Northwest Nazarene is second in the GNAC with 12.92 kills per set. The Nighthawks lead the conference with 16.47 digs per set while ranking second in the GNAC and 31st in Division II with a .242 hitting percentage. The team also leads the GNAC and ranks 47th in Division II with a .143 opponent hitting percentage.

• The Nighthawks host the Alaska schools to close the first half of the GNAC season, welcoming the Nanooks on Thursday and the Seawolves on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s collected a three-set sweep at Montana State Billings on Thursday before seeing its three-match win streak end with a three-set loss at Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Tia Allen led the way for the Saints, averaging 3.33 kills and 2.17 digs per set. Allen finished with 15 kills, six digs, a block and a .312 hitting percentage at Montana State Billings. She added five kills, seven digs and an ace at Seattle Pacific. Allen is second in the GNAC with 3.80 kills per set and is 26th in Division II with 646 total attacks.

• Junior setter Karla Soto averaged 9.50 assists per set in the two matches. She came alive for 34 assists, eight digs, two kills and a block at Montana State Billings. Soto came back for 23 assists, four digs, two kills and a block at Seattle Pacific. Soto is fourth in the GNAC with 9.63 assists per set and ranks third with 0.50 aces per set.

• Freshman outside hitter Emmy Hansen averaged 2.83 kills per set. Hansen picked up 11 kills with a .364 hitting percentage at Montana State Billings before posting six kills at Seattle Pacific. She enters the week averaging two kills per set.

• Saint Martin’s is averaging 12.61 kills and 14.36 digs per set and ranks fourth in the conference with a .173 opponent hitting percentage.

• The Saints will have a pair of tough home tests to close out the first half of GNAC play, hosting Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific extended its win streak to four matches with a four-set win over Western Oregon on Thursday and a three-set sweep of Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

• Junior middle blocker Hannah Hair was named the GNAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after she averaged 2.86 kills and 1.14 blocks per set while amassing an impressive .613 hitting percentage in the two matches. Hair finished with nine kills, six blocks and a .533 hitting percentage against Western Oregon and came up with 11 kills, two blocks and a .688 hitting percentage against Saint Martin’s. She had just one error in 31 attack attempts for the week. Hair is averaging 1.82 kills per set and is 10th in the GNAC with 0.87 blocks per set.

• Senior opposite Ashley Antoniak averaged 2.57 kills and 2.71 digs per set in the two victories. Antoniak finished with 15 kills, nine digs and a .323 hitting percentage against Western Oregon. She turned around and added three kills, 10 digs and two aces against Saint Martin’s. Antoniak leads SPU with 2.46 kills per set.

• Junior outside hitter Sarah Brachvogel also averaged 2.57 kills per set and added one block, 0.57 aces and 0.57 digs per set. She posted totals of eight kills, two digs and four blocks against Western Oregon before adding 10 kills, three blocks and three aces against Saint Martin’s. Brachvogel is averaging 2.39 kills per set.

• Seattle Pacific enters the week averaging 11.27 kills and 12.68 digs per set.

• The Falcons play just once this week, hosting Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser procured a split in its return home to West Gym, taking a four-set victory from Northwest Nazarene on Thursday before falling in a five-set thriller to Central Washington on Saturday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Dexter once again paced the offense, averaging 3.25 kills, 2.62 digs and 0.50 aces per set. Dexter picked up nine kills, 11 digs, two aces and two blocks in the victory over Northwest Nazarene. She then posted a double-double of 17 kills, 10 digs, two aces and two blocks against Central Washington. Dexter is seventh in the GNAC with 2.97 kills per set.

• Sophomore outside hitter Jocelyn Sherman averaged 2.78 kills and 2.44 digs per set. She led the Red Leafs with 14 kills to go with eight digs and two blocks against Northwest Nazarene. She also had a double-double of 11 kills and 14 digs to go with two blocks against Central Washington. Sherman enters the week averaging 2.27 kills and 2.13 digs per set.

• Junior middle blocker Kalyn Hartmann averaged 1.11 blocks per set across the two matches. She posted a high of six blocks against Central Washington to go with nine kills and four digs. Against Northwest Nazarene, Hartmann finished with four blocks, six kills and seven digs. Hartmann is sixth in the GNAC with 1.09 blocks per set.

• Simon Fraser enters the week averaging 11.21 kills and 13.84 digs per set. The Red Leafs are 31st in Division II with 142 total blocks.

• Simon Fraser will take to the road this week, traveling to Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• After starting the week with a four-set road loss at Seattle Pacific on Thursday, Western Oregon snapped a five-match losing streak with a three-set sweep of Montana State Billings on Saturday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Madison Hornback led the Wolves with averages of 2.57 kills and 2.86 digs per set. Hornback finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs with three blocks at Seattle Pacific. She added eight kills, nine digs and a block at Montana State Billings. Hornback leads the Wolves with 2.58 kills per set.

• Senior outside hitter Sarah Crowell played in just four of the Wolves’ seven sets, averaging 4.25 kills per set. She led WOU in the win over Montana State Billings with 17 kills and a .405 hitting percentage and enters the week averaging 2.31 kills per set for the season.

• Senior middle blocker Delaney Smith and freshman middle blocker Chloe Asciutto each averaged 2.14 kills per set. Smith’s week was led by her nine-kill, four-block performance at Seattle Pacific. Asciutto’s high point was an eight-kill, five-block effort at Seattle Pacific.

• Western Oregon enters the week averaging 12.42 kills and 13.33 digs per set. The Wolves rank fifth in the GNAC with 11.65 assists per set.

• The Wolves wrap up the first half of the GNAC at home, hosting Simon Fraser on Thursday and Western Washington on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington improved to 6-1 in conference play with a four-set home victory over Central Washington on Thursday and a three-set sweep of Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

• Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Kepley led the Vikings with averages of 3.14 kills and 1.29 blocks per set. She opened the week with nine kills, six blocks and two digs against Central Washington. Kepley added 13 kills against Northwest Nazarene to go with three blocks. She is averaging 1.98 kills and 0.58 blocks per set for the season.

• Senior middle blocker Chloe Roetcisoender was equally as potent, averaging 2.86 kills and 1.57 blocks per set. She led the Vikings with 14 kills and a .585 hitting percentage against Central Washington to go with seven blocks. She came back to add six kills and four blocks against Northwest Nazarene. Roetcisoender is averaging 2.56 kills per set and ranks second in the GNAC and ninth in Division II with 1.31 blocks per set. She is 22nd among Division II players with 72 total blocks.

• Senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn averaged 2.71 kills and 2.71 digs per set in the two wins. Heilborn notched a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs with three blocks against Central Washington. She added seven kills, five digs and three blocks against Northwest Nazarene. Heilborn averages 2.58 kills per set and is 10th in the GNAC with 3.33 digs per set.

• Western Washington ranks third in the GNAC with 12.75 kills and 14.44 digs per set. The Vikings are second in the GNAC and 10th in Division II with 2.51 blocks per set and rank 40th in Division II with 138 total blocks.

• Western Washington climbed one spot to No. 11 in this week’s AVCA Division II Coaches Poll.

• Western Washington takes to the road this week, playing at Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.