2 weeks Ago By Gavin Struve
In their penultimate home match of the 2024 season on Thursday, the Nanooks went up against a Simon Fraser team that swept them two months ago and sat directly above them in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) standings. In the rematch, the Nanooks took the last three sets of a 3-1 victory to reach 20 wins on the season. “I think we’ve kind of grown into who we are a little bit,” UAF head coach Brian Scott said after the match.
“We’ve gotten more confident. Every match I think we keep growing and getting a little more confident.” Simon Fraser entered Thursday leading the GNAC in hitting percentage, assists, kills, points and opponent hitting percentage.
Yet, UAF outhit the Red Leafs .261 to .175 and recorded 22 more assists (63-to-41) and kills (64-to-42).
The first set suggested that the match may play out like the two teams’ first meeting did. Simon Fraser took a 4-1 lead after an attack error and a reception error back-to-back on UAF. A service error against the ‘Nooks was sandwiched between two more aces for the Red Leafs.
UAF’s offense, with setters Ainsley Smith and Cynphany Henderson funneling the ball to hitters for powerful kills, kept the Nanooks in the set despite recording three fewer service aces and three more service errors in the first frame. A block from senior middle blocker Josie Jansen cut Simon Fraser’s lead to 14-12, but the Red Leafs soon went on a 5-0 run featuring a few UAF errors to reassert control. A tip from senior pin hitter Rilee White prevented Simon Fraser from reaching set point, but only for a moment, as the visitors went on to take the first set 25-19.
White opened the second set with consecutive aces, helping UAF leap to a 6-1 lead. During Thursday’s match, she broke the GNAC record for career service aces (214), as she tallied four throughout the night. “It was a great game tonight,” White said after the match.
“Simon Fraser played amazing, and our team did equally as well. And we just put our heart and soul into every game that we get to play together, and we’re very blessed to have this team. We have a lot of stars.
” After the Red Leafs briefly battled back, UAF got its lead to double digits at 16-6 with back-to-back-to-back kills from graduate senior outside hitter Rachel Pierce and White and then Pierce again. UAF doubled Simon Fraser’s point total 22-11 as junior right-side hitter Elena Guc sent a ball off of the opposing outside hitter’s hands and did so again for the next point. That came amidst a late 5-0 run that helped the ‘Nooks win the set 25-12 with a kill from White to end it.
The Nanooks again took an early lead in the third set, going ahead 9-5 following back-to-back kills from Pierce. An ace from senior outside hitter Karli Nielson put UAF up 16-10, and she delivered a kill less than a minute later. Simon Fraser responded with six unanswered points beginning with a service error on the ‘Nooks with three attack errors mixed in.
Simon Fraser took a 20-18 lead after another few attack errors on UAF. The Nanooks tied the set at 22 points apiece with a kill placed just inside the corner of the court from Pierce and retook the lead after a block by senior middle blocker Kristina Head. A kill from Pierce brought UAF to set point, and Head closed it 25-23 with a kill.
Pierce picked up where she left off, delivering a rolling kill to help UAF to an early 3-1 lead in the fourth set. Jansen delivered a kill for an 11-7 edge. After the Nanooks briefly fell behind, they scored three unanswered points capped by an ace from Nielson to go ahead 18-16.
Simon Fraser responded with a 5-0 run. UAF remained steadfast, tying the set with a kill from White and taking a 23-22 lead off of an attack error. A kill from Jansen brought the ‘Nooks to set point, and Nielson dropped a kill that the Red Leafs were unable to corral, clinching the set 25-22 and completing the Nanooks’ own late 5-0 run to end the match.
The Nanooks lost the first set and nearly lost leads in the third and fourth frames but still managed to clinch one of their most important wins of the season, beating the second-place squad in the GNAC standings while sitting right on the bubble of postseason qualification. “We train for these kind of adversity situations every day in practice,” White said. “We start down or we have games that we go first to five [points], and we’re trained to handle pressure situations and we trust each other.
” Nielson led UAF with 18 kills, while White added 14 and Pierce posted 12 (hitting a team-best .522). Guc and Jansen chipped in eight and seven kills, respectively.
Smith added a match-high 31 assists. Both Jansen and Head posted three total blocks, and sophomore libero Tessa Onaga tallied a match-high 22 digs. Thursday’s outcome dropped the Red Leafs to 17-7 overall on the season and 13-4 in the GNAC and improved UAF to 20-7 and 12-5.
UAF split the season series after losing at Simon Fraser in an aforementioned road sweep on Sept. 21. The Nanooks close the regular season with a senior day match this Saturday at 2 p.
m. when they host Western Washington..
