FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Northwest Nazarene volleyball suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, falling to the Nanooks in five sets after taking the first two frames of the match.
 
NNU falls to 16-9 on the season and 9-8 in GNAC play.
 
How It Happened
 
NNU and UAF started even, getting out to a 14-14 tie midway through the opening set. NNU would come alive for a 7-0 run, though, going up 21-14 in a stretch that included back-to-back aces for Mckenzie Lee.
 
The Nighthawks' run started earlier in the second set, as with the frame tied at seven NNU put up six-straight points to take the lead. Moments later, a Helen Sullivan aces put NNU up 22-13 and the Nighthawks would cruise from there to the 25-17 win.
 
The Nanooks would take a close set three 25-23, however, after the set was even at 22 apiece. UAF used that momentum to also take set four 25-21 and scrape out set five 15-13.
 
Nighthawks Notes
 

• The Nighthawks hit .258 in the match, far outpacing the Nanooks at .134
• Olivia Wright had 21 kills to lead the Nighthawks, hitting .543 and registering six blocks
• Natalie Sullivan was also in double digits with 13 kills
• Mckenzie Lee dished out 50 assists and added four blocks
• Anna Gable had eight kills and six blocks
• Caroline McMahon had 23 digs and an ace, tying NNU's rally scoring program record with 108 kills in her career
• NNU was ranked eighth in Wednesday's NCAA DII West Region rankings, with the top eight in the final rankings earning selection to the NCAA tournament. Those selections will be announced on Sunday, November 13^th

 
Next Up
 
The Nighthawks have one more game left in the regular season, visiting Central Washington next Saturday the 12^th at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
  Read Full Article