The University of Alaska Fairbanks    

Nanooks fall to Vikings

By RICHARD LARSON, Staff Writer

The Nanooks opened the conference season on Friday with a solid, well-played match. Unfortunately they needed a near perfect effort against Western Washington.

The visiting Vikings played a controlled, smooth game in earning a 30-23, 30-22, 27-30 and 30-12 victory over the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the Patty Center in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

"They look so relaxed, everything seems easy for them. They are a fun team to watch, a fun team to play," said junior Mallory Bergstrom, who led the Nanooks with 12 kills and 28 digs. "They legitimately test you and make you play honest. They hit the ball where you are supposed to be."

Working like a well-oiled machine the Vikings (7-1 overall, 1-0 in the GNAC) rolled to their 42nd consecutive conference victory.

"We don't talk about it," senior setter and 2002 first-team All-American Liz Bishop said of the win streak. "Coach never brings it up. Every now and then we will see it in the paper or on the (school) Web site. We don't worry about it too much. Each year we have new goals. We want to win the conference, we want to win nationals. Right now this year we have a one-match win streak in the conference."

The Vikings, ranked No. 5 in the latest AVCA Division II national poll, played a great defensive game, digging up a couple of hits early that the Nanooks had already started to celebrate over. Western Washington had 121 digs in the game, led by libero Nicola Parker who had 38 digs and always seemed to be right where the Nanooks hit the ball.

"We're not necessarily the biggest team so we have to do other things to make our game work," Western Washington coach Diane Flick said. "Defense and ball control are our strengths. Fairbanks is a tough team to play. They come at you with a big ball club that you can't really prepare for. They played a good scrappy match and put on a lot of pressure. I think my team did a good job of responding to it."

The Nanooks put on their best pressure late in Game 3, overcoming a small deficit midway through the game to earn a 30-26 win. Jessica Clemons finished off the win with a quick tip kill after kills by Carlin Smith and Candice Smith had helped the Nanooks take a 29-25 lead.

Western took the loss in stride, however, and turned its efficient attack up a notch in the fourth game, cruising to a 30-12 victory.

"It looked a little like a feeding frenzy down the stretch, as an opposing coach that is not the thing you want to see," UAF coach Phil Shoemaker said.

"For the most part we were consistent. We got a little rocky in Game 3," Bishop said. "One of our goals is to play real steady. We wanted to get right back out there. Fairbanks is always a tough place to play. They have a big crowd and a tough team. We're glad to be done playing them here. It's a good win for us."

A crowd of 523 was on hand to see the match.

Kristy Carstensen had 23 kills to lead the Vikings offense. Meghan Evoy added 18 kills; Jamie Petersen had 10 and Rachelle Cooper nine. Bishop had 53 assists and 18 digs. Brianna Murray had 21 digs and Petersen had 18.

The Nanooks also had a strong defensive game with 98 total digs and five players having 15 or more digs. Freshman Katie Tobiasz had six total blocks and senior Candice Smith added five total blocks. Freshman Danielle Hitzeman had nine kills.

"We thought we played pretty well, extremely well at times. It was certainly as well as we've played all year," UAF coach Phil Shoemaker said. "They are truly an excellent team and I mean that at any level. They are flat good. They are almost casual."

The Nanooks (3-3, 0-1) return to the Patty Center at 7 p.m. today to face Seattle Pacific.

SPU (7-1, 0-1) suffered its first loss of the season on Friday in Anchorage. The Seawolves (7-2, 1-0) beat SPU 28-30, 30-25, 30-20, 28-30 and 15-10.