Monday, September 30, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Alaska volleyball team picked up two come-from-behind wins on its home court last week to improve to a 4-0 record in GNAC play. With the two wins, the Nanooks were selected as the GNAC Team of the Week.

Alaska opened its week with a four-set win over rival Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday in front of a crowd of 461. After losing the first set, 25-21, the Nanooks won three straight to take the match. The second win for the Nanooks came in a five-set thriller against Montana State Billings on Thursday.

“It was a great team win. The effort was amazing,” said head coach Brian Scott about the victory over the Seawolves. “UAA is a tough team, so I tip my cap to our girls for the way they fought.”

Junior setter Cate Whiting earned GNAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week honors after she finished with 77 assists, 11 kills, eight aces, 21 digs and five blocks in the pair of wins. She finished with eight kills, 32 assists, four aces, nine digs and a block against Alaska Anchorage and recorded 45 assists, four aces, 12 digs and four blocks against Montana State Billings.

Junior outside hitter AveRee Reynolds helped to lead the offensive charge against the Seawolves with 13 kills and a .357 hitting percentage. She followed that performance with 12 goals, two digs and a block against the Yellowjackets.

Senior middle blocker Kim Wong had a stellar performance against Montana State Billings, finishing with 17 kills, seven blocks, an ace and a season-high .567 hitting percentage. Wong also had six kills, three digs and a block in the win over Alaska Anchorage.

Makena Overbey led the Nanooks with 29 digs on the week. The sophomore libero notched 17 digs on Tuesday then added another 12 digs on Thursday.

“We had a lot of players come in and do their jobs when they were called upon,” Scott said.

Alaska sits atop the GNAC standings with Western Washington as the Nanooks and Vikings are the only remaining teams to be unbeaten in conference play.

Up next, Alaska will look to extend its winning streak with two more home matches. The Nanooks are scheduled to host Northwest Nazarene at 7 p.m. on Thursday before hosting Central Washington at 2 p.m. on Saturday.