The University of Alaska Fairbanks    

Bergstrom leads Nanooks over Saints

By BOB ELEY, Sports Editor

With Mallory Bergstrom dominating the net and the rest of her team turning in solid performances, the University of Alaska Fairbanks volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over the Saint Martin's Saints Friday night at the Patty Center.

Bergstrom, a 6-foot-1 junior outside hitter, set a Great Northwest Athletic Conference season high for kills in a three-game match as she blasted 27 at the Saints and had an attack percentage of .523 to lead UAF to a 30-19, 30-28, 30-26 victory. The previous high for a three-game match this season was 20.

"Saint Martin's is a hard team to play against," UAF coach Phil Shoemaker said of the Saints of Lacey, Wash. "Realistically, they're a team we should control and we came out on top. For the most part, I thought we played pretty well."

Bergstrom got some offensive help from 5-10 freshman outside hitter Danielle Hitzeman, who had 10 kills and a .250 percentage and 6-1 senior right-side hitter Candice Smith, who had seven kills and a .400 percentage.

Freshman setter Jessica Clemons had a solid performance with 46 assists.

Bergstrom also led the Nanooks with 19 digs, while 5-8 sophomore Crystal Wheelock had 17 and Hitzeman picked up 10. The Nanooks also got five blocks apiece from 6-0 sophomore middle blocker April Blandford and Smith and four from 6-1 freshman middle blocker Katie Tobiasz.

"There were some aspects of our game that I wasn't particularly pleased with, but one of the things we wanted to do tonight was play better defense and I thought we did that," Shoemaker said. "Katie and April are starting to get the blocking thing figured out."

Tobiasz and Blandford have been seeing a lot more time in the middle since junior middle blocker Carlin Smith suffered a knee injury two weeks ago.

"I thought Jessica set things up pretty well tonight and Mallory, Danielle and Candice all had very solid all-around games," Shoemaker said. "We won when we needed to and now we move on to tomorrow."

The Nanooks, who improved to 13-7 and 10-5 in the GNAC, will play their final home match of the season at 5 p.m. today at the Patty Center when they take on the Central Washington Wildcats. Central upped its record to 10-13 overall and 9-5 in GNAC play with a thrilling come-from-behind win over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves--25-30, 22-30, 30-25, 30-17, 17-15--Friday night in Anchorage.

The Wildcats defeated the Nanooks in three straight games earlier this season in Ellensburg, Wash.

"We certainly need to improve over the last time we played them and I'm sure we will," Shoemaker said. "We'll have to play a lot better."

The contest will be the final home game for UAF senior Candice Smith, who will be honored in a pregame ceremony.

The afternoon gets started when the UAF men's basketball team takes on the Southwestern College Eagles in a 2 p.m. game at the Patty Center. A special pregame ceremony where the Nanooks will unfurl their GNAC co-championship and Top of the World Classic championship banners will take place at 1:45 p.m.

Sports Editor Bob Eley can be reached at beley@newsminer.com , sports@newsminer.com or 459-7581.