The University of Alaska Fairbanks    

Official Site of Nanook Volleyball

Last Update: November 20, 2002

News Releases

November 20, 2002: Three Named To All-Conference Team

Three Nanooks were named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team. Mallory Bergstrom was named to the All-Conference Second Team after finishing ninth in the conference in kills per game (3.71 in GNAC games), 10th in digs per game (3.75) and 30th in blocks per game (0.49). Receiving Honorable Mention were Carlin Smith who led the conference in blocks with 1.26 per game and was eigth in hitting percentage at .211 and Candice Smith who was eigth in blocks per game (1.00) and 30th in kills per game (2.43).

November 16, 2002: UAF Defeats Seattle University To Finish Second

The UAF Nanooks (16-7, 13-5) defeated the Seattle University Redhawks (22-7, 12-6) by scores of 31-29, 24-30, 30-20, 30-18 to gain sole possession of second place, behind Western Washington, in the Great Northwest Athletics Conference. The first two games of the evening were close with each team having one win going into the intermission. After the intermission the match belonged to the Nanooks as the Nanooks jumped out to a 7-3 lead in game three and never let the Redhawks back into the match. In game four the Nanooks took a 10-0 lead and were able to play side-out ball the rest of the game. The Nanooks were led by departing seniors Jamie Schanback (19 kills, .325 hitting, 2 aces, 17 digs) and Jenny Medl (4 kills, 44 assists, 1 ace, 9 digs, 1 block), Mallory Bergstrom (13 kills, 15 digs), Carlin Smith (8 kills, 3 blocks), Candice Smith (6 kills, 3 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (5 kills, 3 blocks) and Erin Carr (11 digs). The Redhawks were led by Megan Kaysinger (24 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks), Sarah Sommerman (17 kills), Erika Brunson (43 assists, 18 digs, 3 blocks), Amelie Krahn (7 kills, 5 blocks), Lizzy Safranski (6 kills, 2 aces, 10 digs, 3 blocks) and Cassey Hussey (11 digs). Attendance: 786.

November 15, 2002: UAF Nanooks Defeat Northwest Nazarene Crusaders

The UAF Nanooks (15-7, 12-5) defeated the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders (12-13, 8-9) by scores of 30-14, 30-22, 18-30, 30-20 to move into a tie with Seattle University for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with one match remaining, and, appropriately enough the final match of the conference season is against Seattle. The Nanooks were on fire when the match began and held the normally fine hitting Crusaders to a negative .067 hitting percentage while hitting at a .333 clip themselves. Game two started out much like game one and it looked like the Crusaders were done for the evening but a couple of Nanook errors gave the Crusaders a glimmer of hope and kept the game fairly close. After the intermission the Crusdaders came out firing and put the Nanooks away by hitting at a fine .405 percentage while holding the Nanooks to .143. Towards the end of game three the Nanooks began to rally and they were able to carry the momentum on into game four to win the game and the match. The Nanooks were led by Jamie Schanback (14 kills, 3 aces, 15 digs), Jenny Medl (38 assists, 13 digs), Mallory Bergstrom (13 kills, 2 aces, 12 digs), Carlin Smith (10 kills, 6 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (8 kills, 2 blocks) and Jennifer Pace (5 aces, 10 digs). The Crusaders were led by Mindy Swanson (10 kills, 32 assists, 7 digs), Louise Free (10 kills, 4 blocks), Sarah Ahlers (9 kills, 9 digs)Jaime Butler-Dawson (15 digs) and Ka'ala Hanson (12 digs). Attendance: 667.

November 14, 2002: Great Day For Nanooks And Fans

1. In the most recent NCAA Division II Pacific Regional volleyball rankings the Nanooks (14-7) were voted as the ninth best team in the region. Leading the region is Western Washington (22-2). Western Washington is also ranked seventh in the nation. Second in the region is Cal State San Bernardino (26-2), who is also ranked fourth in the nation. Third in the region is BYU-Hawaii (21-2), who is also ranked sixth in the nation. Fourth in the region is UC-San Diego (23-4), who is also ranked eigth in the nation. Also ahead of the Nanooks in the rankings are #5 Cal State Los Angeles (19-8), #6 Chaminade (15-7), #7 Cal State Chico (17-7) and #8 Hawaii Pacific (12-8). Cal St Bakersfield (15-11) and Cal Poly Pomona (18-11) are tied for 10th place..The top six teams in the region make it into the NCAA playoffs.

2. Three members of the UAF Nanook volleyball team were also named to the 2002 Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Academic Team. Honorees must have at least a 3.2 grade point average and be in at least their second season with the Nanooks. The three were Jamie Schanback, a senior Hispanic Studies major with a 3.80 gpa; Candice Smith, a junior Social Anthropology/Art History major with a 3.68 gpa; and Mallory Bergstrom, a sophomore Health and Nutrition major with a 3.22 gpa.

3. Completing the great news of the day is the announcement of the signing of two Student-Athletes to next year's volleyball team. Danielle Hitzeman, a 5'10" Outside/Middle Hitter from Vacaville, California and Katie Tobiasz, a 6'1" Middle Hitter from Rocky River, Ohio each signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, the first day of the "early signing period" as determined by the NCAA.

As a junior, Hitzeman helped Vacaville High School win the league championship and was named to the All-League Team. When she continued her season by playing club volleyball she was named to the All-Tournament Team at the High Sierra Tournament. She also was a Gold Medal winner at the USAV Jr. Olympic Volleyball Championships where she also earned All-Tournament Team status. 2002 awards have not yet been announced in California. Coach Shoemaker says, "I am really excited about Danielle coming to our team, and I expect her to do great things for us. This is also a terrific place for her to continue her education." Shoemaker goes on to say that Hitzeman is a blend between Mallory Bergstrom and Jamie Schanback. "She has superior athleticism and possess terrific ball handling skills." Danielle was being courted by Division I schools such as St. Mary's, Oregon, Washington, Santa Barbara and Portland. She visited Portland before her trip up north. Once she saw what UAF had to offer, the decision was simple.

Katie Tobiasz led Rocky River High School, earning All-District, All-Region, All-Area, All-State and team MVP awards in each of the last two years. This year she was also named "Best of the Best" for Cleveland, which is awarded to the top six players in the area. After her Junior year Tobiasz was named as one of Ohio's top 12 volleyball players; this award has yet to be announced for 2002. She has been named to the first team All-League each year since her freshman year at Rocky River High School. However Katie is not finished for the season. She has been selected to compete in two statewide All-Star matches. Katie took all five of her allotted "Official Visits" where the institution pays for her visit. Four of the five visits were to Division I schools (Cleveland State, Southern Illinois, Central Florida and Drexel). She elected to join the only D II program she visited. "Katie is an exciting athlete, she will bring a lot of energy to our team. Certainly she is talented too. She is someone who I think is really going to be exciting and fun to watch. She WILL make her mark on our team over the course of her career. I am looking forward to working with her." Shoemaker says, "The people in Fairbanks are really going to enjoy her, while the people in the GNAC probably won't."

"I do think, probably, that Katie and Danielle are the most recognized players (on a national level) at their position to enter UAF as freshmen," Shoemaker says. "You always try to recruit the best players possible. We surely did it this year. Each of these two were at the top of our list. We knew we would be pleased if either girl signed, but both, well, that was, statisticly speaking, a very slim chance." When asked about his desire to get the best volleyball players from Alaska first and then go outside, he said "Alaskans were slow to respond this year, so we looked outside. We have had unprecedented success from outside, more interest from players than ever before in my time here."

November 9, 2002: UAF Nanooks Defeat UAA Seawolves In Five

The UAF Nanooks (14-7, 11-5) solidified their hold on 3rd place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an exciting, come-from-behind victory over the UAA Seawolves (13-11, 9-7) by scores of 28-30, 28-30, 30-22, 30-21, 15-10 at the Patty Center. The Nanooks started out slow in game one as the Seawolves led the entire game. In game two the Nanooks got off to a good start with a 5-1 lead but committed several errors that put the Seawolves into a lead that resulted in the Nanooks going into intermission down 0-2. The Nanooks came out of the locker room and began dominating the match as they held the Seawolves to a .089 hitting percentage while hitting .216 themselves. In game four the Nanooks increased their momentum as they started with a 6-1 lead and completely dominated the Seawolves as they held the Seawolves to a .094 hitting percentage while hitting at a very nice .419 clip. In game five the Seawolves regrouped and took a 4-1 lead before the Nanooks took charge and came away with a convincing win after hitting at a prestigious .526 percentage. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (18 kills, 21 digs, 5 blocks), Jamie Schanback (16 kills, 12 digs, 4 blocks), Candice Smith (13 kills, 8 blocks), Jenny Medl (51 assists, 3 aces, 7 digs), Carlin Smith (8 kills, 3 aces, 7 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (8 kills, 9 blocks), and Jennifer Pace (15 digs). The Seawolves were led by Michelle Garvin (17 kills, 17 digs), O'Lita McWilliams (13 kills, 9 digs), Kasey Kuelper (52 assists, 4 aces, 18 digs), Starr Burgan (12 kills, 11 digs), Brianne McCabe (10 kills, 6 digs, 4 blocks) and Kristen Hunley (17 digs). Attendance: 1,222.

November 2, 2002: Nanooks Stage Comeback, Win In Five Again

The UAF Nanooks (13-7, 10-5) staged a valiant comeback and defeated the Central Washington Wildcats (10-12, 7-7) by scores of 19-30, 28-30, 30-28, 30-24, 15-8 to remain in sole possession of third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Nanooks got off to a slow start and were crushed in game one but got into the swing of things in game two but started playing well too late and went into intermission down 0-2. After intermission the Nanooks were able to maintain the momentum they built up in game two and came out to play as they came from behind to win the final three games and the match. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (17 kills, 4 assists, 15 digs, 2 blocks), Candice Smith (15 kills, 10 blocks), Carlin Smith (12 kills, 5 blocks), Jenny Medl (5 kills, 51 assists, 9 digs), Tiffany Verbick (9 kills, 9 blocks), Jamie Schanback (9 kills, 8 digs), Erin Carr (14 digs) and Jennifer Pace (10 digs). The Wildcats were led by Tracey Anderson (18 kills, 5 assists, 21 digs), Carolyn Mires (15 kills, 9 digs, 5 blocks), Gita Burke (13 kills, 5 blocks), Kate Reome (52 assists, 10 digs), Tara Hesselgesser (14 digs) and Jessica Scott (14 digs). Attendance: 115.

November 1, 2002: Nanooks Win A Squeaker

The UAF Nanooks (12-7, 9-5) defeated the St Martin's Saints (1-16, 1-11) by scores of 35-33, 27-30, 30-26, 28-30, 15-12 in a match that saw the two teams combine for a huge 43 service aces. The Nanooks set a school match record for aces with 21 and the Saints now lead the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in aces in a single match with 22. The Nanooks had their best hitting success rate of the season with a .291 hitting percentage and they needed every bit of that as the Nanook's normally stingy defense allowed the Saints to hit a respectable .209 percentage. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (18 kills, 3 assists, 3 aces, 17 digs), Candice Smith (16 kills, .500 hitting, 4 assists, 7 blocks), Jamie Schanback (16 kills, .467 hitting, 4 assists, 21 digs), Jenny Medl (55 assists, 5 aces, 10 digs), Carlin Smith (11 kills, 4 aces, 11 blocks), Jennifer Pace (3 aces, 10 digs), and Erin Carr (15 digs). The Saints were led by Alicia Denny (21 kills, 6 aces, 10 digs, 6 blocks), Missy Evans (14 kills, .333 hitting, 6 digs), Marlo Urdahl (10 kills) Amy Frederick (29 assists, 6 aces, 5 digs), Katie Zukowski (23 assists) and Charlotte Scofield (12 digs). Attendance: 79.

October 26, 2002: UAF Defeated By Nationally Ranked Western Washington

The UAF Nanooks (11-7, 8-5) were defeated by the Western Washington Vikings (17-2, 13-0) by scores of 22-30, 24-30, 30-25, 16-30 Saturday night at the Patty Center. The Vikings showed why they are ranked 7th in the nation (their only losses are to other top ten ranked teams) with their strong defense and smart, disciplined shot selection. From a statistical standpoint the match was very even except for digs where the Vikings led the Nanooks 94-80 and in hitting, where the Vikings outdid the Nanooks 64 to 49 in kills and hit at a .169 percentage to the Nanooks .086. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (12 kills, 3 assists,17 digs, 3 blocks), Jamie Schanback (12 kills, 18 digs), Jenny Medl (39 assists, 18 digs) and Candice Smith (10 kills). The Vikings were led by Kristy Carstensen (17 kills, .424 hitting, 4 blocks), Liz Bishop (54 assists, 13 digs), Shannon Rowland (14 kills, 9 digs), Brianna Murray (9 kills, 26 digs), and Nicola Parker (24 digs). Attendance: 382.

October 25, 2002: Nanooks Earn Win Over Seattle Pacific

The UAF Nanooks (11-6, 8-4) defeated the Seattle Pacific Falcons (6-13, 5-7) by scores of 30-17, 23-30, 30-27, 30-19 to remain in third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference behind number 7 ranked Western Washington and Seattle University. The Nanooks looked great as they easily won game one of the match. Unfortunately game two did not go as well as the Nanooks made several errors and hit only a minus .100. In game three the Nanooks took a commanding lead at 24-19 but the Falcons rallied and took a 24-25 lead before the Nanooks got their momentum back and scored the final four points of the game to get the win. Game four was much like game one as the Nanooks controlled the game from start to finish to win the match. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (17 kills, 17 digs), Candice Smith (11 kills, 3 blocks), Jenny Medl (37 assists, 11 digs), Carlin Smith (6 kills, 9 blocks), Jamie Schanback (6 kills, 4 aces, 17 digs) and Jennifer Pace (12 digs). The Falcons were led by Monica Herrera (15 kills, 7 digs, 11 blocks), Carri Colvin (10 kills, 19 digs), Katy Higgins (38 assists, 6 digs, 7 blocks), Andrea Pennington (6 kills, 3 aces, 13 digs) and chelsey Myers (8 kills, 10 digs). Attendance: 422.

October 19, 2002: Nanooks Get Road Win

The UAF Nanooks (10-6, 7-4) travelled to Arcata, Calif and swept the Humboldt State Lumberjacks (4-15, 2-9) by scores of 30-25, 34-32, 36-34. The Nanooks dominated the first game from start to finish but in game two they had the lead but weren't able to hold it as the Jacks came back to extend the game into extra points before the Nanooks put the game away. After the intermission, the Jacks led most of the game but this time it was the Nanooks who staged the come-back and forced the game into extra points, earning the victory. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (17 kills, 13 digs), Jamie Schanback (9 kills, 12 digs), Carlin Smith (8 kills, .412 hitting), Jenny Medl (37 assists, 6 digs), Candice Smith (8 kills, 2 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (8 kills, 2 blocks) and Jennifer Pace (11 digs). The Lumberjacks were led by Rachael Halverson (15 kills, 8 digs), Jessica Murray (11 kills, 13 digs, 3 blocks), Keri Eichenberger (5 kills, 39 assists, 10 digs) and Kandis Benton (19 digs). Attendance: 73.

October 17,2002: Nanooks Lose Marathon Match To Western Oregon

The UAF Nanooks (9-6, 6-4) lost a heartbreaker to the Western Oregon Wolves (3-15, 3-7) at Monmouth, Oregon by scores of 30-23, 31-33, 30-20, 23-30, 16-18. In game one it looked like the Nanooks were in total control and headed for a sweep as the Nanooks took an 8-0 lead and cruised to the win. In game two the Nanooks again had a commanding lead at 27-23 but the Wolves came from behind to defeat the Nanooks 33-31. After the intermission the Nanooks were pumped up and hit at a .250 pace while slaughtering the Wolves, who were held to a minus .037 hitting percentage, 30-20. In the final two games of the match the Wolves began hitting better and also put up a stiff block to force several Nanook errors resulting in the win by Western Oregon. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (24 kills, 20 digs, 3 blocks), Candice Smith (10 kills, 7 digs, 3 blocks), Jenny Medl (40 assists, 19 digs), Tiffany Verbick (8 kills, 4 aces, 8 blocks), Jamie Schanback (8 kills, 21 digs), Carlin smith (6 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks), Jennifer Pace (11 assists, 14 digs) and Erin Carr (26 digs). The Wolves were led by Gwen Kreitzberg (20 kills, 9 blocks), Janelle Barton (15 kills, 5 blocks), Tiffany Thorkildson (11 kills, 19 digs, 3 blocks), Amy Shank (34 assists, 21 digs), Sarah Enteman (23 assists, 14 digs) and Tiffany Mapston (40 digs - which is a GNAC record). Attendance: 475.

October 13, 2002: UAA Seawolves Ace UAF Nanooks

The UAF Nanooks (9-5, 6-3) travelled to Anchorage to play the UAA Seawolves (8-9, 4-5) and ran into a hot serving, tough blocking Seawolf team that sent the Nanooks home with a 0-3 loss by scores of 25-30, 25-30, 18-30. The normally tough serving and blocking of the Nanooks came out on the short end in both categories as the Seawolves scored 12 aces to the Nanooks' 5 and the Seawolves also had 9 blocks to the Nanooks' 4 to account for the main difference in the match. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (15 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks), Jenny Medl (30 assists, 2 aces, 7 digs) and Candice Smith (6 kills, 6 digs). The Seawolves were led by Brianne McCabe (9 kills, 2 blocks), Starr Burgan (8 kills, 3 aces, 7 digs, 2 blocks), O'Lita McWilliams (8 kills, 3 aces, 9 digs, 2 blocks) and Kasey Kuelper (4 kills, 28 assists, 3 aces, 9 digs, 3 blocks). Attendance: 643.

October 8, 2002: Bergstrom Picked As Co-Player of the Week

Mallory Bergstrom, 5-11, Sophomore, Outside Hitter from Bend, Oregon, was selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Week along with Monica Herrara of Seattle Pacific. Bergstrom had a total of 35 kills, 2 assists, 1 ace, 39 digs and 3 blocks in victories over Saint Martins and Central Washington. Last weekend's victories moved the Nanooks into second place in the conference standings.

October 5, 2002: Never Say Die Attitude Equals Victory

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks (9-4, 6-2) and the Central Washington University Wildcats (6-8, 4-3) played the most exciting match that I can remember seeing in the past 30 years, on a wonderful Saturday afternoon at UAF's Patty Center. The match was filled with outstanding defensive play by both teams as neither team would fold under the pressure of numerous extended rallies. The Nanooks got off to a poor start as they dropped behind the Wildcats early and never could get going as the Wildcats hit a strong .313 percentage, to the Nanooks poor -.118, to win the first game 14-30. The Nanooks got fired up in the second game and hit at a nice .316 percentage, while holding the Wildcats to .150, to win the game 30-23 and even the match at 1-1. After the intermission the lead bounced back and forth throughout the game until the Nanooks pervailed by a 30-27 score. In game four the Wildcats regrouped to even the match at 2-2 by scoring a 22-30 win. The fifth game was another wild affair as both teams played exceptional defensive games to keep the game nearly tied throughout. Neither team would let the ball hit the wood as the Nanooks only hit at a .111 clip while holding the Wildcats (who lead the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) in hitting percentage) to a .038 percent hitting performance to win the match with a 17-15 victory. The Nanooks moved into a tie, with Seattle University, for second place in the GNAC after Seattle Pacific upset Seattle 3-1 Saturday evening. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (16 kills, 19 digs, 3 blocks), Jenny Medl (52 assists, 10 digs, 5 blocks), Jamie Schanback (16 kills, 19 digs), Candice Smith (10 kills, .304 hitting, 8 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (9 kills, .412 hitting, 2 aces, 7 blocks), Carlin Smith (7 kills, 8 blocks) and Erin Carr (13 digs). The Wildcats were led by Julie Roberts (21 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks), Gita Burke (16 kills, 6 blocks), Kate Reome (54 assists, 3 aces, 20 digs, 2 blocks), Tracey Anderson (14 kills, 7 assists, 13 digs, 7 blocks), Carolyn Mires (14 kills, 2 aces, 10 digs) and Jessica Scott (14 digs). Attendance: 303.

October 3, 2002: Nanook Offense Comes Alive For Victory

The UAF Nanooks (8-4, 5-2) got their offense going in a 3-0 victory over the Saint Martins Saints (1-10, 1-5). The Nanooks swept the match with scores of 30-17, 33-31, 30-23. In game 1 the Nanooks hit at a nice .351 pace, while holding the normally hot hitting Saints to a .091 hitting percentage to begin the match with a quick victory. In game 2 the Nanooks once again had to play catch-up as they let the Saints take a 5-0 lead. The Nanooks played a steady game and eventually took a 27-23 lead but the Saints were able to tie the score at 28-28. The teams then kept the game in suspense as the Nanooks needed four game point attempts to earn the victory. After the intermission the Nanooks came out and got their offense going again, hitting at a .311 percentage to finish the sweep. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (19 kills, .350 hitting, 20 digs), Carlin Smith (10 kills, .368 hitting, 5 blocks), Jamie Schanback (10 kills, 12 digs), Jenny Medl (43 assists, 2 aces, 8 digs, 2 blocks) and Candice Smith (7 kills, 2 blocks). The Saints were led by Keana Morrissey (10 kills, .353 hitting), Marlo Urdahl (9 kills, .308 hititng, 8 digs, 2 blocks), Katie Zukowski (6 kills, .556 hitting, 14 assists, 5 digs), Charlotte Scofield (10 digs), Alicia Denny (5 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks) and Emily Wofford (9 blocks). Attendance: 265.

September 28, 2002: UAF Nanooks Finish Road Trip With Win

The UAF Nanooks (7-4, 4-2) moved into sole possesion of third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a victory over the Seattle Pacific Falcons. The Nanooks won the match by scores of 21-30, 30-28, 30-27, 30-25. Neither team was able to get their hitting game going as the Nanooks only hit at a .063 percentage while holding the Falcons to a .080 percentage. The Nanooks held a slight advantage in all other statistical categories to earn the hard fought victory though. The Nanooks had 56 kills to 48; 6 aces to 5; 79 digs to 72; and 16 blocks to 12. Carlin Smith set a GNAC record for most blocks in a game with 13. The Nanooks were led by Jamie Schanback (18 kills, 19 digs, 2 aces, 3 blocks), Mallory Bergstrom (16 kills, 14 digs, 2 blocks), Jenny Medl (50 assists, 15 digs, 4 blocks), Candice Smith (8 kills, 5 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (7 kills, 2 blocks), Carlin Smith (6 kills, 13 blocks), Erin Carr (13 digs) and Jennifer Pace (12 digs). Attendance: 123.

September 27, 2002: UAF Nanooks Swept By Tenth Ranked Western Washington Vikings

The UAF Nanooks (6-4, 3-2) traveled to Bellingham, Washington to play the 10th ranked, and defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion, Western Washington Vikings (9-2, 4-0) with the goal of pulling off the upset that eluded them twice last season. Last season the Vikings defeated the Nanooks 3-2 in both meetings. This season the Vikings defeated the Nanooks 3-0, by scores of 30-28, 30-22, 30-23 as the Nanooks played the Vikings even in every category except for hitting. The Nanooks held the Vikings to a .185 hitting percentage but were, themselves, held to a very low .007 percentage as they had only 30 kills to go along with their 29 hitting errors. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (10 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks), Carlin Smith (8 kills), Tiffany Verbick (5 kills, 6 blocks), Jenny Medl (24 assists, 15 digs), Jamie Schanback (18 digs) and Jennifer Pace (18 digs). The Vikings were led by Kristy Carstensen (13 kills, 2 blocks), Meghan Evoy (11 kills, 3 blocks), Liz Bishop (39 assists. 9 digs, 3 blocks), Brianna Murray (8 kills, 21 digs) and Nicola Parker (19 digs). Attendance: 300.

September 21, 2002: Nanooks Complete Weekend Sweep With Win Over Western Oregon

The UAF Nanooks (6-3, 3-1) swept their second opponent in two nights with a 30-27, 30-23, 30-17 victory over the Western Oregon University Wolves. The Nanooks played the gracious host as the Wolves achieved leads in the early going of all three games only to see the composed Nanooks tie each game and then win going away. The Nanooks played a good all-around game as they out-dug the Wolves 41 to 32, out-blocked them 12 to 2 and out-hit them with a .263 percentage to .059. The Nanooks were led by Candice Smith (10 kills, 6 blocks), Jenny Medl (34 assists, 2 aces), Carlin Smith (8 kills, .368 hitting percentage, 4 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (6 kills, .667 hitting percentage, 6 blocks), Mallory Bergstrom (6 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks), Erin Carr (12 digs), Jamie Schanback (5 kills, 3 aces, 7 digs) and Jennifer Pace (7 digs). The Wolves were led by Gwen Kreitzberg (8 kills, 2 blocks), Tiffany Thorkildson (7 kills, 7 digs), Janelle Barton (6 kills) and Sarah Entenman 17 assists, 4 digs). Attendance: 224.

The weekend saw some changes in the UAF career records book as Jenny Medl moved into 4th in assists with 1217, 8th in service aces with 112 and 9th in digs with 751. Jamie Schanback moved up to 5th in service aces with 120 and Candice Smith moved up to 9th in blocks with 147.

September 20, 2002: Nanook Defense Garners Win Over Lumberjacks

The UAF Nanooks (5-3, 2-1) held the Humboldt State Lumberjacks to a negative .039 hitting percentage while sweeping the Jacks by scores of 30-18, 30-27, 30-15. In game one the Nanooks held the Lumberjacks to a negative .125 hitting percentage as they fell behind by two at the outset of the game but then stormed on by the Jacks to notch the comfortable win. The Lumberjacks defense got tough in the second game and they forced the Nanooks into several long rallies taking a 17-16 lead but then the Nanooks were able to get into their own game and pulled away for the victory. After the intermission the Nanooks came out to play and jumped out to a big lead and never looked back as they finished of the match with a convincing win, hitting at a .310 percentage while holding the Lumberjacks to negative .118. The Nanooks were led by Candice Smith (11 kills, 4 blocks), Jenny Medl (26 assists, 16 digs), Mallory Bergstrom (6 kills, 13 digs, 3 blocks), Crystal Wheelock (6 kills, 2 blocks), Carlin Smith (5 kills, 7 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (5 kills, 4 blocks) and Erin Carr (8 digs). The Lumberjacks were led by Jessica Murray (8 kills), Keri Eichenberger (23 assists, 5 digs), Rachael Halverson (6 kills, 13 digs), Julia Shaw (6 kills, 10 digs, 3 blocks) and Kristina Barnum (3 aces, 11 digs). Attendance: 367.

September 14, 2002: Nanooks Post Victory Over Northwest Nazarene

The UAF Nanooks (4-3, 1-1) traveled to Nampa, ID and defeated the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders (4-4, 1-1) by scores of 32-30, 30-20, 18-30, 30-27. Game one was close throughout and the score was tied 30-30 when the Nanooks scored the final two points. In the second game Jamie Schanback scored four consecutive service aces en-route to a relatively easy victory. The Nanooks started the third game poorly and fell behind 3-14 before they finally got going but they were too far behind to catch the Crusaders. In game four the Crusaders took an early lead at 8-3 before the Nanooks got going and tied the score at 11-11 and were able to edge out the Crusaders to win the match. During the match Jenny Medl had 43 assists to give her a career total of 1,157 to move her into 4th place in the Nanook record book. Medl also had 13 digs to give her a total of 732 career digs to move her into 10th place in the record book. Jamie Schanback's five service aces gave her a career total of 116 aces which moves her into 7th place in the record book. For the Crusaders Louise Free had a triple-double with 12 kills, 11 digs and 10 blocks. The Nanooks were led by Candice Smith (13 kills, 3 blocks), Carlin Smith (12 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks), Mallory Bergstrom (11 kills, 13 digs), Jenny Medl (43 assists, 2 aces, 13 digs), Jamie Schanback (7 kills, 5 aces, 12 digs) and Tiffany Verbick (6 kills, 4 blocks). The Crusaders were led by Sarah Ahlers (14 kills, 4 blocks), Louise Free (12 kills, 4 assists, 2 aces, 11 digs, 10 blocks), Mindy Swanson (10 kills, 48 assists, 7 digs, 2 blocks), Lindsay Miller (10 kills) and Katie Oelrich (8 kills, 3 aces, 17 digs). Attendance: 273.

September 12, 2002: Nanooks Succumb To Seattle Redhawks In Five

The Seattle Redhawks (7-0, 1-0) continued to have the best start in their volleyball history as they defeated the UAF Nanooks (3-3, 0-1) by scores of 30-28, 30-32, 24-30, 30-21, 15-12 in Seattle Thursday night. The Nanooks held the Redhawks to their lowest hitting percentage of the season (.141) but were only able to hit at a .130 percentage themselves to account for the slim margin of victory by Seattle. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (19 kills, 24 digs), Jenny Medl (52 assists, 13 digs, 6 kills, 2 blocks), Candice Smith (13 kills), Carlin Smith (10 kills, 3 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (10 kills), Jamie Schanback (24 digs, 7 kills, 4 aces), Erin Carr (14 digs) and Jennifer Pace (11 digs). The Redhawks were led by Sarah Sommerman (15 kills, 5 digs), Erika Brunson (61 assists, 18 digs), Lizzy Safranski (12 kills, 14 digs, 3 blocks), Megan Kaysinger (12 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks), Dori Christensen (11 kills) and Janeen Fitzgerald (11 kills). Attendance: 90.

September 7, 2002: 2002 Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic All-Star Team

LaToya Harris (5-7, Senior, Outside Hitter, from Washington State University and Portland, Oregon) was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the 2002 Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic. Harris hit at a .304 rate on 31 kils, 7 errors and 79 attempts. She also had 3 assists, 5 aces, 25 digs and 8 blocks for the tournament, and possibly the biggest smile.

Also selected to the All-Tournament Team were: Brenn Larson (5-11, Freshman, Setter, from Washington State University and Westlake, California); Adrian Hankoff (5-11, Senior, Outside Hitter, from Washington State University and South Lake Tahoe, California); Holly Montano (5-9, Senior, Outside Hitter, from Weber State University and San Diego, California); Lindsay Beckstrand (6-4, Sophomore, Middle Blocker, from Weber State Univeristy and Fillmore, Utah); Mallory Bergstrom (5-11, Sophomore, Outside Hitter, from The University of Alaska Fairbanks and Bend, Oregon); and Krystall Kolkhorst (5-11, Sophomore, Setter, from Southwest Texas State University and Houston, Texas).

September 7, 2002:Washington State and Weber State Win in Evening Session

In the first game of the evening session of the 2002 Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic the Washington State Cougars defeated the SW Texas State Bobcats by scores of 30-26, 30-27, 30-23 to earn the tournament championship in undefeated fashion. The Bobcats made a close match of it but, like Weber St and UAF before them, they couldn't get a handle on the Cougars' serving and hitting game. The Cougars finished the tournament with a nice .274 hitting percentage on 160 kills, 55 errors and 383 swings while holding their opponents to a .126 hitting percentage on 103 kills, 62 errors and 326 swings. The Cougars were led by All-America candidate LaToya Harris (13 kills, 3 aces, 11 digs, 3 blocks), Holly Harris (11 kills), Brenn Larson (6 kills, 40 assists, 4 digs), Adrian Hankoff (8 kills, 8 digs) and Kortney Jamtass (7 digs). The Bobcats were led by Tiffany Weidner (8 kills, 10 digs), Rheanna Arnold (8 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks), Elizabeth Nwoke (7 kills) and Krystal Kolkhorst (28 assists, 8 digs).

September 7, 2002: Washington State and Weber State Win in Early Session

The second day of the 2002 Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic started out with a victory by the Weber State Wildcats over the SW Texas State Bobcats by scores of 30-23, 34-32, 22-30, 30-22. The Wildcats combined a strong hitting performance (.252) with 14 blocks and 8 aces to gain the victory. The Wildcats were led by Holly Montano (25 kills, 9 digs, 4 blocks), Stephanie Kropushek (11 kills, 12 digs), Laura Robinson (47 assists, 10 digs), Lindsay Beckstrand (8 kills, 7 blocks) and Stephanie Metcalf (6 kills, 7 blocks). The Bobcats were led by Tiffany Weidner (18 kills, 11 digs), Krystal Kolkhorst (7 kills, 46 assists, 10 digs), Amy Amundson (15 kills), Elizabeth Nwoke (10 kills) and Tracy Burke (11 digs). Attendance: 180.

In the second match of the session the Washington State Cougars once again combined a strong serving game with a fine hitting game to defeat the UAF Nanooks by scores of 30-15, 30-20, 30-10. The Cougars only scored 7 service aces (6 by Adrian Hankoff) but their serving game kept the Nanooks off-balance throughout the match and made it difficult for the Nanooks to get their offense going. As a result the Cougars received many free balls and their hitting attack managed a respectable .312 hitting percentage. The Nanooks were led by Mallory Bergstrom (11 kills, 6 digs), Jenny Medl (16 assists, 8 digs), Jamie Schanback (14 digs), Jennifer Pace 9 digs and Erin Carr (8 digs). The Cougars were led Chelsie Schafer (12 kills, 6 digs), Adrian Hankoff (11 kills, 6 aces, 12 digs), Brenn Larson (39 assists, 6 digs) and Kortney Jamtass (20 assists). Attendance: 391.

September 6, 2002: UAF Nanooks Earn Classic Win

The UAF Nanooks (3-0) defeated the SW Texas Bobcats by scores of 30-25, 30-26, 31-29 in their first match of the 2002 Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic. It was a closely contested match but the Nanooks' defense made the difference as they recorded 63 digs to the Bobcats' 43. Jenny Medl, Mallory Bergstrom and Jamie Schanback had double-doubles for the Nanooks. The Nanooks were led by Jenny Medl (36 assists, 16 digs, 2 blocks), Mallory Bergstrom (14 kills, 11 digs), Jamie Schanback (10 kills, 16 digs), Carlin Smith (8 kills, 4 aces, 5 blocks), Tiffany Verbick (6 kills, 3 blocks) and Candice Smith (5 kills, 2 blocks). The Bobcats were led by Tiffany Weidner (10 kills, 6 digs), Krystal Kolkhorst (35 assists, 9 digs, 2 blocks) and Rheanna Arnold (13 digs). Attendance: 531.

September 6, 2002: Washington State Wins First Match of the Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic

The Washington State Cougars swept the Weber State Wildcats by scores of 30-16, 30-27, 30-25 in the opening match of the 2002 Auto Service Co. Nanook Classic. The Cougars combined a strong serving game, with a powerful hitting attack to control the match. The Cougars scored 10 service aces, from six players, and kept the Wildcats' offence off-balance most of the match as Weber State was only able to attack the ball 81 times, scoring on 32. In comparison Washington State was able to attack the ball 128 times, scoring 52 points. The Cougars were led by LaToya Harris (11 kills, 2 aces, 5 digs, 3 blocks), Chelsie Schafer (11 kills, 2 aces), Holly Harris (11 kills)and Brenn Larson (38 assists, 6 digs, 2 blocks). The Wildcats were led by Lindsay Beckstrand (9 kills, 5 blocks), Holly Montano (8 kills, 8 digs) and Laura Robinson (27 assists, 8 digs, 3 blocks).

September 2, 2002: Nanooks Notch Second Win

The UAF Nanooks defeated the Mars Hill Lady Lions, for second night in a row, by scores of 30-15, 30-21, 29-31, 30-22. The Lady Lions had improved significantly since the previous evening but so had the Nanooks and the Nanooks were in control of the match the entire evening, except for a major lapse in game three. It looked like a short match as the Nanooks took a 23-8 lead in game three but then Mars Hill caught fire at the same time that the Nanooks committed several errors and eventually lost the game 29-31. The Lady Lions carried their momentum into game four until, with the score tied at 14-14, the Nanooks took control of the game and outscored the Lady Lions 16-8 down the stretch to earn the win. The Nanooks were led by Tiffany Verbick (9 kills, 2 blocks), Candice Smith (9 kills, 10 digs, 3 blocks), Jenny Medl (4 kills, 23 assists, 6 digs, 2 blocks), Mallory Bergstrom (7 kills, 3 aces, 10 digs) and Jamie Schanback (6 kills, 5 aces, 13 digs). The Lady Lions were led by Kristin Shipley (12 kills, 2 aces, 6 digs), Sarah Nash (7 kills, 12 digs), Vicki Vaughan (5 kills, 29 assists, 6 digs) and Rebecca King (5 kills, 3 aces, 8 digs). Attendance: 310.

September 1, 2002: Nanooks Begin Regular Season With Victory

The UAF Nanooks began their regular season with a comfortable victory over the Mars Hill Lady Lions by scores of 30-14, 30-22, 30-15. The Nanooks played a consistant offensive game and just kept coming at the Lady Lions with a multitude of fine passes which led into many quickly executed plays. The Nanooks also put up a stiff defense that recorded 47 digs and 12 blocks that held the Lady Lions to a -0.103 hitting percentage. The Nanooks were led by Carlin Smith (8 kills, .533 hitting percentage, 2 aces, 6 blocks), Mallory Bergstrom (8 kills, .353 hitting percentage,4 aces,7 digs, 3 blocks), Jenny Medl (18 assists, 6 digs), Jamie Schanback (5 kills, 5 aces, 13 digs) and Erin Carr (12 digs). The Lady Lions were led by Kristin Shipley (7 kills, 6 digs) and Vicki Vaughn (6 assists, 10 digs). Attendance: 328.

August 31, 2002: Nanooks End Exhibition Season With Win

The UAF Nanooks bested the UAF Alumni team by scores of 30-23, 30-26, 30-21 in the Nanooks' final tuneup before the regular season begins against Mars Hill College on Sunday night at 7:00pm. The Nanooks utilized different lineups and a strong combination of serving, digging, setting, hitting and blocking to constantly keep the pressure on the Alumni and earn the sweep.

August 30, 2002: Nanooks Win Exhibition Match

The UAF Nanooks beat the Fairbanks Flyers by scores of 30-20, 28-30, 30-23, 31-29 at the Patty Center Friday night. The Flyers team was a coed team comprised of several talented, local players, including men who stood 6' 7", 6'5" and 6'4" . The Nanooks wanted to get some experience dealing with taller, more powerful players and they got that as the Flyers did not let up on the Nanooks. Greg Krenda, George Cromer, Brad Krupa, Kevin Raap, Andy Lynch and Bev Krupa pounded down strong hit after hit. But the Nanooks responded with several blocks by Candice Smith, Tiffany Verbick, Carlin Smith, April Blandford and Mallory Bergstrom and a number of great digs by Jamie Schanback to keep the match under control.

August 25, 2002: Conference Coaches Pick UAF To Finish Fifth

The coaches of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's women's volleyball teams have picked the UAF Nanooks to finish in fifth place in the ten team conference. Defending champion Western Washington (106 points) was picked to repeat as the conference champion followed by Central Washington (81 pts), Alaska Anchorage (68) and Seattle Pacific (67) and UAF (66). Western Oregon (56) was picked sixth followed by Saint Martin's (37), Northwest Nazarene ((32), Seattle (27) and Humboldt St (20).

August 16, 2002: 'World's Coolest Team' Readies For Volleyball

Getting on a flight heading from California to Alaska and her first season at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Tiffany Verbick struggled to fit her bulging carry-on into the overhead compartment on the plane. A fellow passenger, noticing the size of her bag, asked, "What, are you moving somewhere?"

"I answered, 'Yeah, I'm going to Fairbanks, I'm on the volleyball team,' and they asked, 'Are you Tiffany Verbick?," said the 6-foot 1-inch middle hitter. "By the end of the flight I had talked to half the plane. There were a couple professors, a couple hockey players. I don't know how they knew who I was. It really surprised me."

Verbick, who played last year at Victor Valley Community College in California, hopes to continue to make an impression on the Nanooks volleyball team as one of the newcomers who will be counted on to help replace last year's senior class of Angel Fairbanks, Tara Hollenbeck, Kimber Jones and Caitlin Kennedy. The Nanooks tried to recruit her right out of high school, but she waited a year and went to Victor Valley last year before deciding to come to UAF. "Not a lot of people get a chance to come to Alaska, especially from California," Verbick said.

The Nanooks began practice for the 2002 season on Monday. "It's been great so far. I absolutely love it," Verbick said. "The toughest thing is just learning the plays, knowing what they are called. Right now we are just trying to work together as a team, figuring out how everybody plays."

Wearing powder blue T-shirts with the words World's Coolest Team on the back, the Nanooks struggled through practice Thursday afternoon, looking a bit out of sync with mediocre passing and a lack of communication. UAF coach Phil Shoemaker shrugged off the less than stellar performance during the team's fourth practice of the season. "We're at the ugly duckling stage right now," Shoemaker told his squad. "It's predictable, every team at some point goes through it. We have to keep supporting each other, keep playing as a team to reach the beautiful swan stage."

One thing Shoemaker, who is also now the Associate Athletic Director for Operations at UAF, and the team will have to get used to this year is a new position that has been added to college volleyball in the U.S.: The Libero player. The Libero is a defensive specialist that cannot attack the ball above the net and cannot serve or block. The Libero is a back row player that is noted by having a different color jersey from the rest of the team. A Libero player is allowed unlimited substitutions. The purpose of a Libero player is to encourage longer rallies by allowing a team to have a better passer and defensive player in the game in more situations. The position has been used in international volleyball. "Now it is being used at every level of play in the world except for high school volleyball in the U.S.," Shoemaker said. "I think it is an awesome rule. It keeps you at your strength for longer periods of times." Shoemaker said he does not know who will fill the Libero position for UAF this season.

The Nanooks have an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 24th at 2pm, then they play exhibition games against the Fairbanks Flyers and the UAF Alumni team on Aug. 30-31 before opening the season with games against Mars Hill College on Sept. 1-2.

July 20, 2002: Scrimmage and Third Annual Pre-Season Picnic

Kicking off the afternoon of Saturday, Aug 24th at 2pm, will be an intra-squad scrimmage, followed by the picnic. We'll cook out and eat at the Patty Center. Chow time will be around 4:30 or 5pm. This will be a good chance to see how our practices have been progressing and to meet all the team members. Bring a food item. Any chefs? We need cooks!

July 20, 2002 : New Faces

Well, Phil's face isn't new, but his role within the UAF Athletic Department has changed. In addition to his duties as Head Volleyball Coach, he is also now the acting Associate Athletic Director for Operations. As he puts it ... he signs a lot of papers and performs a variety of duties to help the department function smoothly on a daily basis. As you might suspect, as Phil's role within the department has grown so has Bev's within the team. Bev's valuable assistance and expertise has been a real key to everyone's successes over the past several months. Coach Shoemaker says, "While this is a great opportunity for me to help the entire department it is now even more important that we rely on our outstanding supporters. As they always have, I know they'll step up now."

OK, now for the new faces. Compared to last year's 10 new team members this year's group though smaller in numbers will have a big impact. Tiffany Verbick and April Blanford - this year's new signees are both athletic and possess good skills and attitudes. Their development is going to be fun to watch! Tiffany is a 6-foot-1 middle hitter from Victorville, California. April is a 6-foot middle hitter from Valdez. Though not new to the team, last year's red shirts will also have a big impact. Erin Carr, Jen Pace, Jessica Peters and Crystal Wheelock will play a larger role this year.

April 13, 2002: Nanook Volleyball Team Lands Recruit

Tiffany Verbick, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter who played one year at Victor Valley Community College in Victorville, Calif., will be joining the University of Alaska Fairbanks volleyball team this fall. UAF coach Phil Shoemaker announced that Verbick, who earned first-team all-conference honors this past season, will have three years of eligibility when she arrives in Fairbanks.

"Tiffany is a player I was trying to sign out of high school, but she didn't feel ready to make the move at the time," Shoemaker said in a press release issued by the school. "I'm very pleased she decided to come now."

While playing at Sultana High School two years ago, Verbick was the team captain and Most Valuable Player and earned first-team all-league, all-area and all-region honors. Her team won its league and the CIF Championship.

"She's an aggressive and spirited player who will add a lot to our team's net strengths," Shoemaker said. "She's a very determined individual with high goals and aspirations athletically and academically and this always is a great addition to the team."

Shoemaker is looking to replace seniors - Angel Fairbanks, Tara Hollenbeck, Caitlin Kennedy and Kimber Jones. Verbick is the first recruit to sign with the Nanooks during the spring signing period, which began on Wednesday. Several more recruits are expeced to be announced in the near future.