GNAC releases preseason volleyball poll
August 22, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference released its 2012 preseason volleyball poll Tuesday afternoon and with much of the spotlight being how tight the race for No. 1 is, the Alaska Nanooks won't let that stop them from sneaking up into upper echelon this season.
The Nanooks, who finished 2-24 last season and 2-16 in GNAC play, were selected ninth in a voting by the conference's 10 head coaches. Four starters return from last year's team, but with the addition of a talented freshmen class, 13th-year head coach Phil Shoemaker believes this team has what it takes to take on the best in the GNAC.
“I really put no weight on this and we're a really different team than we were a year ago,” Shoemaker said. “Part of our problem last year was injuries, inexperience and not handling situations as well as we could have. Health-wise and talent-wise, we're in better position. We're aiming high and we don't care what anyone says at this point, we're certainly aiming higher than that.”
Senior libero Allison Oddy (Chilliwack, British Columbia/Highroad Academy) and junior outside hitter Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) will lead the 'Nooks this season as both of them were named captains the day before preseason camp began.
Oddy, who was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 2011, led the Nanooks with 378 digs and ranked sixth in the GNAC with 4.45 digs per set. She matched her career-best total of 34 digs last October and had five matches with 25 or more digs. The social work major was named to the GNAC All-Academic Team following the year. She has 867 digs through three seasons with the Nanooks, a number that already ranks ninth all-time in program history.
Knight tied for a team-best 214 kills and led the squad with 2.33 kills per set a year ago. The team's recipient of the Unsung Hero Award, she also ranked second with a .124 hitting percentage. Knight tallied nine double-digit kill matches, including a career-high 15 last October. She joined Oddy on the GNAC All-Academic Team following the season.
“Ally and Keri are good leaders and something that is even better is that they're not the only leaders,” Shoemaker said. “The personalities within our group are that they're athletic, aggressive and competitive and the young women coming in have been very successful to this point in time. They expect to be successful, they've worked hard to put themselves where they are and that infusion of talent and attitude has been healthy for this team.”
Other key returnees include senior outside hitter Reilly Stevens (Riverside, Calif./Fullerton JC) and sophomore middle blocker Morgan Tebbs (Queen Creek, Ariz./Queen Creek).
In her first season with the Nanooks, Stevens was third on the team with 166 kills and fifth with 1.75 kills per set while ranking second with 235 digs. She tallied career-highs of 17 kills and 20 digs in the opening weekend of GNAC play last season.
Tebbs, who is the top returning blocker, ranked second a year ago 35 swats, ranking just outside the top-20 on the GNAC list. She also contributed 49 kills for the year, including a season-best 10 in September.
The Nanooks also return three others in redshirt sophomore Britt Glaeser (Fairbanks, Alaska/Lathrop) and redshirt freshmen Kylie Dickerson (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) andSamantha Hesterman (Ormiston, Saskatchewan/Assiniboia Composite).
The six freshman newcomers to the program are setter Jordan Ferland (Beavercreek, Ore./Oregon City), outside hitter Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City), setterKatlyn Mataya (Mount Vernon, Wash./Burlington-Edison) outside hitter Megan Morrison (Spring Hill, Fla./Springstead), outside hitter Ixchelle Oleson (Mead, Wash./Mt. Spokane) and setter/defensive specialist Meagan Olsen (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley).
Western Washington was selected as the narrow favorite to win the league, followed by Western Oregon and Alaska Anchorage. Last year's champion, Seattle Pacific, was picked fourth, followed by Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. Rounding out the poll were Montana State-Billings, Saint Martin's, Alaska and Simon Fraser.
“The teams that are ranked high and ranked low is what they did last year,” Shoemaker said. “That's what coaches do. The schools at the top are returning a lot of players and there's a lot or reason for optimism about those teams.”
Alaska opens its season Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 when it hosts the 2012 Flint Hills Resources Nanook Classic. Prior to the season-opening tournament, the Nanooks will have a pair of tune-up matches with the Blue-Gold intrasquad scrimmage this Friday at 7 p.m. and the Alumni game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
| Team | 2011 Record (Conf. Record, Rank) | Points |
| 1. Western Washington (3) | 16-6 (14-4, t-2nd) | 72 |
| 2. Western Oregon (4) | 14-8 (13-5, 4th) | 71 |
| 3. Alaska Anchorage (2) | 18-9 (14-4, t-2nd) | 70 |
| 4. Seattle Pacific | 21-7 (15-3, 1st) | 61 |
| 5. Northwest Nazarene | 17-8 (12-6, 5th) | 47 |
| 6. Central Washington | 15-11 (9-9, 6th) | 42 |
| 7. Montana State-Billings | 11-16 (5-13, t-7th) | 34 |
| 8. Saint Martin's | 7-18 (5-13, t-7th) | 24 |
| 9. Alaska | 2-24 (2-16, 9th) | 20 |
| 10. Simon Fraser | 1-21 (1-17, 10th) | 9 |
() - first-place votes