The University of Alaska Fairbanks    

Sole senior helps Nanooks win over Falcons

By RICHARD LARSON, Staff Writer

Sparked by its lone senior, the precocious University of Alaska Fairbanks volleyball team rallied to defeat Seattle Pacific in four games on Saturday.

With the Nanooks trailing 22-15 in the opening game and Seattle Pacific building momentum, UAF's 6-foot-1 senior Candice Smith made a pair of spectacular diving saves to help UAF earn the point.

UAF wasn't able to come back to win the first game, but Smith's aggressive all-around play led the Nanooks to victory in the match as the team earned a crucial 24-30, 30-26, 30-28, 30-21 win over SPU at the Patty Center.

"Candice gave us a tremendous effort," UAF coach Phil Shoemaker said. "She was big on the block and I just think the effort she gave as a player in all phases of the game was outstanding. She set the tone for what is a young team."

Smith had six kills, six assists, an ace serve, seven total blocks and, most impressively, she was second on the team in digs with 18.

"I'm really trying to pick up my game," Smith said. "It's been part of my dream to play all the way around (the rotation)."

Those two digs in the first game seemed to spark Smith, who played strong and confident the rest of the match.

"That was inspiring for me. I didn't know I could do that," said Smith of the full-extension dives to get to balls that looked out of reach. "Maybe I'll have to put on the white shirt and be a 6-foot libero."

A libero is a defensive specialist who can sub into the game freely and wears a different color shirt from the rest of the team.

Juniors Carlin Smith and Mallory Bergstrom also had strong games to go along with what has been a steady effort from the freshmen on the squad, as UAF improved to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Carlin Smith had eight kills and seven total blocks and Bergstrom had a match-high 22 kills, a team-high 19 digs and six blocks. The Nanooks as a team finished with 16 blocks, compared to seven for Seattle Pacific.

After falling to conference favorite Western Washington in four games on Friday, the Nanooks needed Saturday's win.

"It was a huge win," Shoemaker said. "If we are going to play for a (conference) championship or hope to challenge for the postseason, we needed this win."

The Nanooks' passing was awful in its opening-game loss, but slowly got better through the contest, allowing the team to began clicking on offense.

UAF trailed 24-23 late in the second game, but a double block by Bergstrom and Carlin Smith and a pair of kills by Bergstrom put the Nanooks ahead 28-25. A kill by freshman Katie Tobiasz brought the team to game point, which they won when SPU was called for a lift.

In the third game, Seattle Pacific raced to a 7-1 lead, but the Nanooks stormed right back to tie the score 11-11. The game remained tight after that with SPU sneaking a 27-26 advantage late in the contest. A big double block by Bergstrom and Tobiasz and a couple of mistakes by the Falcons gave the Nanooks game point at 29-28 and UAF finished off the win with a huge block by Candice Smith.

"I've been waiting for my blocking to come around," Smith said. "It's hasn't been there, but tonight I just owned her."

The fourth game was close early then the Nanooks steadily pulled away with every player on the team contributing in the 30-21 win. After SPU's Whitney Dibble served for three points to give SPU a 6-5 lead, the Falcons didn't earn another service point in the match.

Freshman Danielle Hitzeman added 11 kills and 14 blocks for UAF. Freshman Jessica Clemons had 43 assists, two ace serves and 15 digs. Tobiasz had seven kills, two ace serves and four blocks.

Sophomore Chelsey Myers led SPU with 20 kills and 17 digs. Junior Jessica Bauder added 11 kills and a match-high 23 digs. Freshman Whitney Dibble had 12 kills.

Seattle Pacific was 7-0 on the season before coming to Alaska. The Falcons dropped a five-game match in Anchorage on Friday before falling to the Nanooks on Saturday, exiting the state at 7-2 overall and 0-2 in the GNAC.

In Anchorage on Saturday, Western Washington (8-1, 2-0) defeated the Seawolves 28-30, 30-19, 30-20, 30-22.

Anchorage (7-3, 1-1) visits the Patty Center next Saturday in another crucial GNAC contest.