The University of Alaska Fairbanks
This is an Unofficial Site of Nanook Volleyball
The University of Alaska Fairbanks
By BOB ELEY, Sports Editor
The Nanooks' bid for postseason play took another jolt on Saturday night in Anchorage when the University of Alaska Fairbanks volleyball team suffered a heart-breaking five-game loss to intrastate rival Alaska Anchorage.
"It was every bit as close as the scores would indicate," UAF coach Phil Shoemaker said in a telephone interview from Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport after the Seawolves downed the Nanooks 36-34, 32-34, 32-30, 22-30, 15-11.
When asked what may have swung the match toward the Seawolves, Shoemaker responded, "Probably nothing.
"Both teams were doing the same stuff, it was just a break one way or the other type of thing,'' he said. "We just didn't quite get over the hump."
The loss leaves the Nanooks, who were ranked fifth in the most recent NCAA Division II West Region rankings, in third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 6-4 record and they are now 9-6 overall. The Nanooks have gone 1-2 since those rankings were released and new rankings are due out this week.
With eight matches remaining in the conference season, it figures the Nanooks will have to win at least seven of those matches, if not all eight, in order to finish among the top six teams in the region. The three conference champions in the West Region and the next three highest-ranked teams compete in the NCAA West Regional.
Alaska Anchorage improved to 5-5 in the conference and 11-7 on the season.
With the exception of the fourth game when the Nanooks won by eight points, the rest of Saturday night's showdown between the two intrastate rivals was nip and tuck all the way.
"I thought Anchorage did a good job," Shoemaker said. "It wasn't that anybody lost this match, it was just a hard-fought win."
The result was just the opposite of the five-game match the Nanooks won in Fairbanks earlier this season.
"We had much better serving and passing in this match and Anchorage played much better on defense," Shoemaker noted.
The Nanooks had great offensive performances from junior Mallory Bergstrom, freshman Danielle Hitzeman and junior Carlin Smith.
Bergstrom had 25 kills and a .227 percentage, while Hitzeman contributed 23 kills with a .293 percentage and Smith had 13 kills and .212 percentage. Five different players recorded aces for the Nanooks.
Dasa Capova ran the Nanooks offense with 51 assists.
Four Nanooks were in double digits in the digs column on defense: Bergstrom with 18, Candice Smith with 14, Crystal Wheelock with 13 and Hitzeman with 12. Carlin Smith recorded three solo blocks and had six block assists, Candice Smith had two solo blocks and two assists and Katie Tobiasz had seven block assists.
"We had good performances out of everybody," Shoemaker said. "There wasn't anybody who didn't do the best they could."
O'Lita McWilliams led the Seawolves with 26 kills and 28 digs. Jenny Mitchell added 19 kills for UAA.
The Nanooks return home this weekend to host Humboldt State at 7 p.m. Friday and Western Oregon at 5 p.m. Saturday. Both matches are at the Patty Center.
