The University of Alaska Fairbanks    

Official Site of Nanook Volleyball

Last Update: August 25, 2001

News Releases

April 18, 2001: Californian Joins Nanook Volleyball Squad

The UAF volleyball team has announced that Carlin Smith, Brea, California and Brea Olinda High School has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Nanooks next fall. The 6-0 Smith played setter in high school but coach Shoemaker expects her to play middle and outside hitter for the Nanooks. Smith was her team's captain last season and was named first team all-conference twice during her high school career.

December 7, 2000: Schanback Named To All-Region Team

The University of Alaska Fairbanks department of athletics learned today that Jamie Schanback has been named to the Daktronics Second Team All-West Region Volleyball Team. Schanback, a 5-7 sophomore, was named to the team as a defensive specialist. In her first season at UAF, Schanback was among the Pacific West Conference leaders in both digs and service aces. The Poway, CA native ranked third in the conference in aces per game (0.58) and 10th in digs per game (3.07).

November 10, 2000: Four Nanooks Receive Pacific West All-Conference Mention

Four Nanooks were named to the Pacific West All-Conference team. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Grindel and junior middle hitter Angel Fairbanks were named to the second team and junior setter Kimber Jones and junior middle hitter Tara Hemphill received honorable mention.

November 3, 2000: Nanooks End Season With Win

The UAF Nanooks (15-8, 8-6) finished the season with a hard fought win over the St. Edward's Hilltoppers (19-17) by scores of 15-12, 8-15, 15-12, 15-5. The Nanooks could not match last night's hot hitting but their serving was again great with 13 aces, and they played great defense as time and again they were able to keep the ball in play until the Hilltopper's would commit an error. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (18 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces), Tara Hemphill (13 kills, 9 digs, 6 blocks, 2 aces), Jamie Schanback (12 kills, 20 digs, 3 blocks, 3 aces), Kimber Jones (41 assists, 19 digs, 2 blocks), Jenny Medl (15 digs, 4 aces) and Caitlin Kennedy (16 digs). The Hilltoppers were led by Leticia Campos (14 kills, 19 digs, 3 blocks), Katy Berdoll (6 kills, 14 digs, 5 blocks), Charissa Grummon (12 digs) and Julie Hoang (31 assists, 7 digs, 2 aces). Attendance: 234.

November 2, 2000: Nanooks Play Great In Win Over St. Edward's

The UAF Nanooks (14-8, 8-6) played a wonderful match while defeating the St. Edward's Hilltoppers (19-16) by scores of 15-6, 15-5, 15-5. Even though the Nanooks were playing without the services of career kills leader Stephanie Grindel, who was sidelined with an ankle injury, the Nanooks played possibly their best overall match of the season. The Nanooks dominated play throughout the match while hitting a respectable .276 percent, serving 14 aces and playing a strong defensive game that only allowed the Hilltoppers a total of 25 kills for the match. The Nanooks were led by Jamie Schanback (12 kills, 6 digs, 5 aces), Angel Fairbanks (9 kills, 2 digs), Jenny Medl (6 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces), Kimber Jones (33 assists, 6 digs), Tara Hemphill (5 kills, 6 digs) and Caitlin Kennedy (5 digs, 3 aces). The Hilltoppers were led by Christy Jones (8 kills, 5 digs), Brittney Creek (11 assists), Laticia Campos (4 kills, 3 digs), Julie Hoang (7 assists, 2 digs) and Melanie Payne (4 kills). Attendance: 168.

October 31, 2000: Three Nanooks Named To Conference Academic Team

Three UAF Nanook players were among the 48 athletes who were named to the Pac West Conference All-Academic team. To be eligible for the team an athlete must have a GPA of 3.20 and be in at least their second year of competition. Those student-athletes named to the team were senior Stephanie Grindel with a 3.90 GPA, sophomore Jenny Medl with a 3.44 GPA and junior Tara Hemphill with a 3.33 GPA. Grindel had the second highest GPA of those picked, behind only junior Janelle Morrisette of UAA who had a 3.95 GPA.

October 28, 2000: UAF Nanooks Defeated By Number One Ranked Hawaii Pacific

The UAF Nanooks (13-8, 8-6) were swept by the 1st ranked Hawaii Pacific Sea Warriors (19-0, 11-0) by scores of 5-15, 5-15, 5-15. The much older, taller and experienced Sea Warriors made quick work of the Nanooks as their nation leading hitters connected for a .324 hitting percentage while holding the Nanooks to a season low of -.059. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (7 kills, 4 digs), Angel Fairbanks (6 kills), Kimber Jones (19 assists), Tara Hemphill (3 blocks), Jamie Schanback (6 digs) and Jenny Medl (4 digs). Attendance: 310.

October 26, 2000: Nanooks Defeated By BYU-Hawaii

The UAF Nanooks (13-7, 8-5) were swept by the 7th ranked BYU-Hawaii Seasiders (13-5, 9-2) by scores of 8-15, 7-15, 8-15. The Seasiders combined patient play with an outstanding defense to force the Nanooks into errors as the Nanooks could only hit at a .029 percentage to the Seasiders' .212. The Seasiders also put up a formidable block as they had a total of 28 blocks to the Nanooks' 9 in the three games. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (15 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks), Kimber Jones (25 assists, 9 digs), Jamie Schanback (7 kills, 5 digs), Tara Hemphill (6 kills, 2 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (6 kills, 4 digs) and Jenny Medl (9 digs).

October 23, 2000: UAF Nanooks Notch Another Win

The UAF Nanooks (13-6, 8-4) overcame adversity to defeat the Western New Mexico Mustangs (12-12, 2-8) by scores of 15-11, 14-16, 15-11, 15-8. The Nanooks took game one but early in game two, with the Mustangs ahead by 0-1, Stephanie Grindel had to leave the game with a dislocated thumb. The injury to Grindel broke the Nanooks composure and they gave up numerous unearned points. Then, with the Mustangs up by 3-10, a gutsy Grindel re-entered the game, the Nanooks regrouped and tied the score at 14-14 before the Mustangs were able to score the final two points to get the win. After the intermission the two teams played pretty even in game three until Angel Fairbanks and Grindel took charge and put the game away. The Nanooks then took the momentum into game four and dominated throughout to win the match. During the match Grindel had 19 kills and became the first Nanook player to even surpass the 1,000 kills mark. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (19 kills, 6 digs, 3 blocks, 4 aces), Angel Fairbanks (16 kills, 14 digs, 3 blocks), Kimber Jones (63 assists, 7digs), Tara Hemphill (14 kills, 8 blocks), Jamie Schanback (12 kills, 18 digs, 2 aces), Jenny Medl (14 digs, 3 aces) and Candice Smith (7 kills, 3 blocks). The Mustangs were led by Tonia Rogers (15 kills, 11 digs), Dana Dietrich (12 kills, 16 digs, 4 aces), Crin Stookey (10 kills), Jeni Sabo (52 assists) and Shan Franzoy (12 digs). Attendance: 99.

October 21, 2000: UAF Defeats Western New Mexico

The UAF Nanooks (12-6, 7-4) defeated the Western New Mexico Mustangs (12-11, 2-7) by scores of 13-15, 15-10, 15-6, 15-2. The UAF Nanooks started game one in an almost flawless fashion as they took a huge lead but then at 12-5 they seemed to lose concentration and allowed the Mustangs back into the game and the 13-15 win. In game two the play started out even until, with the Mustangs ahead 10-7, the Nanooks caught fire and dominated the rest of the match. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (15 kills), Tara Hemphill (14 kills, 8 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (12 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces, 2 blocks), Kimber Jones (53 assists), Jamie Schanback (7 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks, 5 aces), Jenny Medl (7 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces) and Caitlin Kennedy (10 digs). The Mustangs were led by Tonia Rogers (9 kills, 6 digs, 2 aces), Dana Dietrich (9 kills), Hilary Scott (8 kills, 4 blocks), Jeni Sabo (38 assists, 11 digs) and Erin Denton (11 digs). Attendance: 202.

October 15, 2000: UAF Scores Upset; Grindel Sets Record

The UAF Nanooks (11-6, 6-4) defeated the Western Washington Vikings (17-6, 9-1) in an exciting and well played match by scores of 10-15, 15-13, 15-12, 15-7. The evening started out looking bleak for the Nanooks as they committed numerous errors en-route to losing the first game. Then, in the next two games the Nanooks were not to be denied the victory as they played extremely well and would not fold no matter how much pressure the Vikings put on them. In game four the Nanooks were flawless and the Vikings were not able to slow the Nanook offense. During the match Stephanie Grindel had 26 kills and broke Tiffany Pulver's career kills record with a total of 979 with six more matches to go. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (26 kills, 9 digs, 4 blocks), Angel Fairbanks (25 kills, 20 digs, 3 blocks), Kimber Jones (62 assists, 10 digs, 3 blocks), Tara Hemphill (11 kills, 5 blocks), Jenny Medl (16 digs) and Caitlin Kennedy (15 digs, 4 aces). The Vikings were led by Shannon Rowland (21 kills, 16 digs, 3 aces), Niki Smith (13 kills, 15 digs, 2 aces), Michelle Parker (11 kills, 4 blocks) and Jill Dean (44 assists). Attendance: 188.

October 12, 2000: UAF Suffers Loss To Seattle Pacific

The UAF Nanooks (10-6, 5-4) suffered a tough loss to the Seattle Pacific Falcons (14-3, 9-0) at the Patty Center. The Nanooks were swept by scores of 14-16, 10-15, 11-15. The Nanooks led or were tied late in each game but the very disciplined Falcons wouldn't fold and played a steady game and committed fewer errors to notch the victory. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (14 kills, 17 digs), Angel Fairbanks (11 kills, 12 digs), Kimber Jones (34 assists, 6 digs), Jamie Schanback (16 digs), Caitlin Kennedy (12 digs) and Candice Smith (4 blocks). The Falcons were led by Leilani Kamahoahoa (17 kills, 9 digs), Leah West (12 kills, 7 digs), Stephanie Huffman (12 digs, 4 blocks) and Monica Abrahamson (11 digs, 4 blocks). Attendance: 149.

October 7, 2000: UAF Loses to Northwest Nazarene

The UAF Nanooks (10-5, 5-3) traveled to Nampa, ID for their sixth match in nine evenings, and were defeated by Northwest Nazarene (16-5, 8-0) by scores of 15-10, 12-15, 13-15, 2-15. A tired UAF team played Northwest Nazarene tough throughout the first three games but hit the wall in game four. The Nanooks were led by Tara Hemphill (19 kills, 6 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (16 kills), Angel Fairbanks (16 kills). Attendance: 350.

October 6, 2000: UAF Sweeps Seattle

The UAF Nanooks (10-4, 5-2) got back into the win column with a sweep of the Seattle University Redhawks (3-14, 0-9) by scores of 15-9, 15-6, 15-13 in Seattle. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (12 kills, 15 digs), Tara Hemphill (10 kills), Angel Fairbanks (10 kills, 4 blocks), Kimber Jones (28 assists), Jenny Medl (16 digs, 3 aces), Alexsis Maas (4 kills) and Candice Smith (4 kills, 4 blocks). Attendance: 100.

October 4, 2000: UAF Loses To Chaminade

The UAF Nanooks (9-4, 4-2) suffered a tough loss to the Chaminade Silverswords (3-10, 2-3) by scores of 10-15, 15-8, 15-13, 11-15, 10-15. In their fourth match in six nights the Nanooks were not able to maintain the consistency necessary to pull out the win against the Silverswords. In game one the Nanooks fell behind 14-6 before staging a rally that fell short. UAF was then able to maintain the momentum into game two and never trailed in route to the win. After intermission the Silverswords took an 11-4 lead before the Nanooks got going and worked their way back into the lead and the win. The Nanooks were not able to maintain their momentum into game four though, as the Silverswords took a 5-0 lead and never fell behind to even the match at two games apiece. In game five the Nanooks took a 3-0 lead but couldn't hold the lead as Chaminade was able to work their way back into the lead and to win the match. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (16 kills, 16 digs, 4 blocks, 2 aces), Angel Fairbanks (16 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks), Kimber Jones (46 assists, 12 digs), Tara Hemphill (7 kills, 8 blocks), Jenny Medl (14 digs, 3 aces), Jamie Schanback (6 kills, 10 digs) and Candice Smith (4 kills, 5 blocks). The Silverswords were led by Audry Brady (18 kills, 14 digs, 4 blocks, 3 aces), Julianne Hastert (10 kills, 11 digs), Jessica Robins (27 digs, 4 blocks), Kuumomi Kaaihue (7 kills, 20 assists), Pualani Ssur (7 kills, 11 digs) and Norraine Riel (23 assists). Attendance: 193.

October 3, 2000: UAF Nanooks Sweep Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans

The UAF Nanooks (9-3, 4-1) swept the Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans (4-8, 0-4) by scores of 15-13, 15-11, 15-6. The Nanooks appeared sluggish coming off of two very emotional matches against UAA last weekend. UAF was able to start out well and had a 14-6 lead in game one but then let the Vulcans stage a seven point rally before they were able to notch the win on an ace serve by Stephanie Grindel. In game two the Vulcans were able to maintain their momentum and took a 9-4 lead early and led 10-7 when Jamie Schanback served for seven straight points, with three aces, to give the momentum back to the Nanooks. The Nanooks were then able to come out after intermission and dominate game three to notch the win. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (12 kills, 6 digs, 3 blocks), Tara Hemphill (10 kills, 5 blocks), Kimber Jones (30 assists), Angel Fairbanks (8 kills, 6 digs), Jamie Schanback (7 aces, 5 digs) and Caitlin Kennedy (8digs). The Vulcans were led by Marnie Grant (9 kills), Emily Hutchinson (8 kills), Megan Denman (30 assists, 8 digs) and Tiffanie Ollison (7 digs). Attendance: 102.

September 30, 2000: UAF Sweeps UAA

The UAF Nanooks (8-3, 4-1) swept the intra-state rival UAA Seawolves (7-13, 3-2) by scores of 15-13, 15-13, 15-9 at the Patty Center. In a tough fought match the Nanooks played a consistent match throughout as the Seawolves were able to take a 5-1 lead in the first game but were never able to put together a strong rally after that. The Nanooks combined a strong serving game, solid defense and almost unstoppable hitting by Stephanie Grindel and Tara Hemphill, who combined for 25 kills and just 4 errors. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (15 kills, 10 digs), Tara Hemphill (10 kills), Kimber Jones (39 assists, 10 digs), Jamie Schanback (6 kills, 15 digs, 5 aces), Jenny Medl (8 digs, 3 aces), and Angel Fairbanks (6 kills, 10 digs). The Seawolves were led by Janelle Morrisette (24 assists, 15 digs), Heather Riter (9 kills, 3 aces) and Latica Chandler (7 kills, 8 digs). Attendance: 344.

September 29, 2000: UAF Defeats UAA In Conference Matchup

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks (7-3, 3-1) defeated the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (7-12, 3-1) in an erraticly played match. The final scores were close at 15-12, 15-10, 13-15, 12-15, 15-12 but the match was marked by scoring surges on the part of each team. In games one and two the Nanooks took huge leads (12-2 and 10-0) but then let the Seawolves gain the momentum and make the games close. In the third and fourth games the Seawolves took commanding leads of 12-4 and 11-7 before the Nanooks got back into the game to make those scores close. The fifth game was close throughout with the score tied at 8-8 when the Nanooks finally took the lead for good and won the match. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (28 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks), Angel Fairbanks (16 kills, 14 digs, 2 blocks), Kimber Jones (58 assists, 9 digs), Tara Hemphill (14 kills, 2 blocks), Jamie Schanback (16 digs, 6 aces) and Jenny Medl (12 digs). The Seawolves were led by Vanessa Tsukano (17 kills, 18 digs), Heather Riter (10 kills), Janelle Morrisette (51 assists, 10 digs) and Latika Chandler (10 digs). Attendance: 354.

September 23, 2000: Nanooks Defeat Seawolves In Rematch

The UAF Nanooks (6-3, 2-1) evened things up by defeating the UAA Seawolves (7-11, 3-0) by scores of 15-5, 17-15, 9-15, 15-6 at the UAA Sports Center in a non-conference match. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (18 kills, 13 digs, 3 blocks, 4 aces), Stephanie Grindel (16 kills, 5 blocks 3 aces), Tara Hemphill (12 kills, 6 blocks) Kimber Jones (45 assists, 6 digs, 4 blocks) and Jenny Medl (7 kills, 11 digs). Attendance: 513.

September 22, 2000: Nanooks Drop Match To UAA Seawolves

The UAF Nanooks (5-3, 2-1) dropped a close match to the UAA Seawolves (7-10, 3-0) by scores of 11-15, 10-15, 16-14, 9-15 at the UAA Sports Center. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (16 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks), Angel Fairbanks (15 kills, 11 digs, 5 blocks), Tara Hemphill (9 kills, 5 blocks), Kimber Jones (46 assists, 9 digs, 3 aces, 2 blocks) Jamie Schanback (14 digs) and Jenny Medl (12 digs). The Seawolves were led by Heather Rite (12 kills), Vanessa Tsukano (11 kills), Michelle Garvin (10 kills), Brianne Halling (9 kills). Attendance: 803.

September 16, 2000: Nanooks Continue Winning Ways

The UAF Nanooks (5-2, 2-0) defeated the Montana State-Billings Yellowjackets (3-10, 0-2) in a hard fought match by scores of 18-16, 15-11, 15-9. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (17 kills), Angel Fairbanks (13 kills), Tara Hemphill (13 kills), Kimber Jones (39 assists) and Jenny Medl (5 aces).

September 15, 2000: Nanooks Begin Conference Season With Win

The UAF Nanooks (4-2, 1-0) defeated the Montana State-Billings Yellowjackets (3-9, 0-1) by scores of 7-15,15-10,15-6, 15-7 to begin the Pacific West Conference season with a win on the road. The Yellowjackets dominated the first game before the Nanooks got untracked to win the second game. The Nanooks were then able to maintain momentum through the third and fourth games to notch the victory. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (12 kills), Stephanie Grindel (10 kills), Tara Hemphill (9 kills) and Kimber Jones (31 assists). The Yellowjackets were led by Tegan Harris (11 kills) and Mandi Taylor (27 assists).

September 11, 2000: Grindel Named Pac West Conference Player of the Week

Stephanie Grindel (Sr, 5-8, OH) culminated a great week by being selected Pacific West Conference Player of the Week just one day after being named the MVP of the Nanook Classic Volleyball Tournament. During this tournament Grindel recorded 47 kills, a hitting percentage of .336, 30 digs and 9 blocks.

September 10, 2000: UAF Nanooks Win Nanook Classic

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks (3-2) won their own tournament with a huge win over the Gonzaga University Zags (3-4). The Nanooks had to go a full five games to pull out the victory as they cruised to a 15-2 victory in game one. Then Gonzaga came to life and took the next two games by scores of 11-15 and 9-15. In game four things weren't looking good for the Nanooks as they fell behind by a 3-8 margin. Then they came roaring back with a renewed sense of purpose and scored the next 10 points and eventually evened the match with a 15-9 win. The Nanooks carried the momentum into the fifth game were they amassed a 10-5 lead and then played sideout ball with the Zags to claim the 15-13 victory and the tournament championship. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (23 kills, 16 digs), Stephanie Grindel (21 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks), Jamie Schanback (17 digs), Kimber Jones (51 assists, 9 digs). The Zags were led by Heather Osberg (22 kills, 19 digs, 5 blocks, 3 aces), Britt Whiting (16 kills, 12 digs), Emile Heggli (9 kills, 47 assists, 11 digs), Abby Cullen (10 kills), Heather Signor (20 digs) and Ellen Shaw (10 digs). Attendance: 475.

In the early match of the evening the Yale Eli (1-2) notched thier first victory of the season with a win over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (1-5) by scores of 15-6, 13-15, 15-5, 15-9.

September 9, 2000: Nanook Classic Day 2

Game 3: The Gonzaga University Zags (3-3) swept the Yale University Eli (0-2) by scores of 15-9, 15-10, 15-12 by coming from behind in each game. Yale took 8-5 leads in the first two games only to have Gonzaga's defense virtually shut them down as the Zags outscored the Eli 10-1 and 10-2 down the stretch to notch the wins. then in game three the Eli jumped out to a 7-0 lead only to have the Zag play tough once again and chip away at the lead to tie the game at 12-12. Ganzaga then scored the final three points to notch the win.

Game 4: The Eastern Kentucky Colonels (1-4) got of to a rough start but then rallied to defeat the University of Alaska Nanooks (2-2) by scores of 2-15, 15-10, 15-12, 15-12. After an easy victory in the first game the Nanooks fell apart in the second game and struggled to keep the game close. Then the Nanooks regrouped at the break and came out and took a 6-2 lead in the third game but the Colonels were able to step their play up a notch to win the game 15-12. Game four was close throughout with the Nanooks holding a 10-9 lead before the Colonels were able to close out the match with another 15-12 win. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (18 kills, 9 digs, 5 blocks, 2 aces), Kimber Jones (49 assists, 7 digs, 3 blocks), Angel Fairbanks (13 kills, 16 digs, 2 blocks), Tara Hemphill (11 kills, 7 blocks), Jamie Schanback (9 kills, 20 digs, 2 aces) and Jenny Medl (13 digs, 2 aces). The Colonels were led by Katie Lyon (11 kills, 3 blocks), Courtney Huyser (10 kills, 3 blocks), Mary Lee Keranko (31 assists, 9 digs, 2 blocks), Courtney Bowen (8 kills, 15 digs), Julie Brandmeyer (7 kills, 11 digs), Marita Jones (12 digs) and Becky Galati (11 digs). Attendance: 604.

September 8, 2000: Nanook Classic Volleyball Tournament Results

Game 1: The Gonzaga University Zags (2-3) swept the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels (0-4) by scores of 15-12, 15-8, 15-11 in the first match of the 2000 Nanook Classic Volleyball Tournament. The Zags were led by the fine setting and heads up play of 5-10 sophomore setter Emile Heggli and the dominating net play of 6-2 senior middle blocker Heather Osberg. Gonzaga meets Yale Saturday at 6:00pm followed by the Eastern Kentucky vs UAF match at 8:00pm.

Game 2: The University of Alaska Nanooks (2-1) swept the Yale University Eli (0-1) by scores of 15-12, 15-5, 15-12 to earn their first Nanook Classic win. The Nanooks stayed focused on their game for the entire match and never allowed Yale gain any extended periods of momentum. In a tough defensive battle the Nanooks were able to maintain the edge throughout the match as they held Yale to a -0.009 hitting percentage while hitting at a 0.140 percentage themselves. UAF was led by Kimber Jones (29 assists, 8 digs), Stephanie Grindel (8 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks), Caitlin Kennedy (11 digs), Angel Fairbanks (9 kills, 7 digs), Jamie Schanback (8 kills, 6 digs, 4 aces), Tara Hemphill (5 kills, 2 blocks) and Jenny Medl (7 digs, 5 aces). Yale was led by Stephanie McMahon (4 kills, 6 digs, 4 blocks), Aileen Daly (24 assists, 8 digs), Vanessa Herald (14 digs) and Carisssa Abbott (4 kills, 7 blocks).

September 2, 2000: Nanooks Notch First Win

The UAF Nanooks (0-0, 1-1) demonstrated what a difference a day can make by defeating the Sonoma State Cossacks (1-3) by scores of 15-13, 15-7, 13-15, 15-8. The Nanooks, as happened last night, got behind in the first game by 2-8 but then dug down and began chipping away at the Cossack lead to outscore the Cossacks down the stretch by a 13-5 margin to notch the win. They then maintained the momentum into the second game and crushed the Cossacks while hitting at a .333 percentage to .061 for the Cossacks. The Nanooks came out cold after the intermission and quickly dropped behind by a score of 4-13 but then outscored the Cossacks by a 9-2 margin before losing the third game but were able to maintain their momentum into the fourth game and cruised to the 15-8 victory. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (18 kills, 12 digs, 3 blocks), Tara Hemphill (15 kills, 10 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (12 kills, 7 blocks), Kimber Jones (41 assists, 10 digs) and Jenny Medl (9 digs, 3 blocks, 3 aces). The Cossacks were led by Katie Dolge (12 kills, 5 blocks), Kiyomi Shimada (10 kills, 9 digs), Kristi Rich (33 assists) and Nichole Vesanovic (11 digs). Attendance: 294.

September 1, 2000: Nanooks Drop Opener

The UAF Nanooks (0-0, 0-1) dropped their first collegiate match of the season to the Sonoma State Cossacks (1-2) by scores of 3-15, 12-15, 15-5, 8-15. The Nanooks were plagued with inconsistency throughout the evening as they could get no momentum going in game one and lost badly. They then ran off to a fine 12-5 lead in game two but then their offense stalled as the Cossacks ran off 10 points for the win. The Nanooks then came out and dominated game three while hitting as a fine .320 pace while holding the Cossacks to .080. Then, in game four, the Nanooks fell behind 0-5 at the outset and were never able to put together the long run necessary to catch up. From a statistical standpoint the match was very even with the biggest difference being in hitting percentage. While the Nanooks were able to hold the Cossacks to a .190 percentage, they themselves were only able to hit at a .112 percentage. The Nannoks were led by Stephanie Grindel (16 kills, 9 digs), Angel Fairbanks (11 kills, 9 digs, 3 blocks), Kimber Jones (38 assists, 10 digs), Jamie Schanback (12 digs). The Cossacks were led by Kiyomi Shimada (15 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks), Katie Dolge (12 kills, 2 blocks), Kristi Rich (30 assists, 10 digs) and Kristi Nelson (16 digs). Attendance: 269.

August 26, 2000: Nanooks Finish Exhibition Season With Win

The UAF Nanooks defeated the UAF Nanook Alumni by scores of 15-8, 15-6, 16-14. This was the final warmup match before the regular season begins next weekend with matches against Sonoma State on both Friday and Saturday evening at 7:00pm. The Nanooks were led by Angel Fairbanks (17 kills, 12 digs, 8 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (13 kills, 11 digs), Tara Hemphill (13 kills, 9 blocks), Kimber Jones (42 assists, 6 digs), and Jenny Medl (10 digs, 4 blocks, 2 assists). The Alumni were led by Colleen Smith (16 kills, 14 digs), Kamilah Webb (35 assists, 6 kills, 10 digs) and Jenny Kirst (8 kills, 5 digs). Attendance: 106.

August 25, 2000: UAF Begins Season With Exhibition Win

The UAF Nanooks began the 2000 season with a win over the Fairbanks Flyers in an exhibition match by scores of 15-10, 15-6, 12-15, 15-9. This victory gave new head coach Phil Shoemaker his first victory at UAF and was also the first match for the radically rebuilt Nanook roster which lists only three returnees from last season and has eight new additions. The Nanooks hit a respectable .298 while holding the more experienced Flyers to .117. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (15 kills, 9 digs, 2 blocks, 3 aces), Tara Hemphill (15 kills, 3 blocks), Angel Fairbanks (10 kills, 6 blocks, 4 aces), Kimber Jones (40 assists, 5 digs, 2 aces) and Jamie Schanback (6 kills, 11 digs). The Flyers were led by Bev Krupa (22 kills, 13 digs, 2 aces), Tanya Piatanova (9 kills, 3 aces, 4 blocks), Tiffany Pulver (11 digs), Tracie Hajdukovich (22 assists, 6 digs) and Kamilah Webb (16 assists). Attendance: 253.