Nanooks volleyball swept at Northwest Nazarene
Published Friday, October 16, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — The troubles for the Alaska Nanooks are mostly mental but are manifesting in tentative play on the volleyball court, coach Phil Shoemaker said Thursday.
“It’s pretty obvious there’s some self-doubt,” Shoemaker said by phone after Alaska was swept 25-16, 25-16, 25-24 by Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. “We cannot allow ourselves to live in that world.”
The Nanooks dropped their fifth match in six outings to fall to 8-10 overall and eighth place in the nine-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 2-5.
NNU, 13-8 overall, is tied for third at 6-3.
The Crusaders sailed through the first two sets before the Nanooks overcame a six-point deficit in the third set and grabbed a 24-23 lead. But consecutive errors by Melissa Refuerzo, Megan Thigpen and Allison Oddy handed the match to the Crusaders.
“They are a good team,” Shoemaker said of NNU, which is ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II West Region. “My opinion is they’re entirely beatable, but we just have not found our rhythm, have not found our groove.”
Thigpen, in her new role of middle blocker, led Alaska with 12 kills and 12 digs, and fellow senior Heather Lyons had nine kills.
But the depleted team hit just .089 (to .213 for NNU) and made 39 total errors. Of the miscues, 24 came on the attack and 11 more occurred while serving or receiving serve.
“We’re still kind of piecing together a lineup that honestly I think has potential, but we’ve got to get our kids to mentally and emotionally buy into it a little more,” Shoemaker said.
That the Nanooks out-dug the top digging team in the nation 50-48 did not matter.
NNU junior libero Haley Hevern led all players with 20 digs. Senior middle blocker Cammy Dranginis was flawless with 13 kills and no errors in 20 attempts.
The Nanooks next travel to Seattle Pacific, ranked sixth in the West Region, for a Saturday afternoon tilt. The Falcons were swept by Alaska Anchorage on Thursday to fall into a first-place conference tie with the Seawolves.
“You prepare for (Seattle Pacific) by getting us more ready to compete,” Shoemaker said.
Contact staff writer Matias Saari at
459-7591.
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It's sad, I too had dreams of seeing that senior class experience some "post season glory". The roles have changed, no longer playing the role of contender, but that of spoiler! Even that can be fun though. Best of luck against SPU ladies!
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