The University of Alaska Fairbanks    

Official Site of Nanook Volleyball

Last Update: April 26, 1999

News Releases

April 23, 1999: Angela Rock Named As New Head Coach

UAF is happy to announce that Angela Rock has been named as the new head volleyball coach. Rock was an All-American while playing at San Diego State University and as a member of the U.S. National Team for four years played in the 1988 Olympics, the 1987 Pan American Games, the 1986 World Championships, the 1986 Goodwill Games and was the MVP of the National Team in 1985. Since playing on the National Team Rock has been one of the most successful players in the women's professional beach doubles leagues and has coached some of the most sucessful beach doubles teams.

December 10, 1998: Webb Picked as Team Most Valuable Player

Junior Kamilah Webb was selected as the Nanook Most Valuable Player for the 1998 season after dishing out 1,261 assists and moving into second on the career assist list. Webb was also presented with the Coaches Award. Sophomore Stephanie Grindel was announced as the Scholar Athlete of the Year and Co-Most Improved Player of the Year. Grindel was previously named to the Pac West Conference All-Academic Team. Freshman Tara Hemphill was named as the other Co-Most Improved Player. Junior Kristen Sullivan was named the Newcomer of the Year after leading the Nanooks in both kills and digs, and setting a season record for the most kills (477) in a season.

December 3, 1998: Nanook Head Coach Announces Resignation

Nanook head volleyball coach Tim Brown has announced that he not renew his contract to coach the UAF volleyball team after his current contract expires in April. During his eight year tenure Coach Brown compiled a 110-122 record, including the only three winning seasons in UAF volleyball history: 1991 (16-7), 1995 (21-13) and 1996 (18-14). During his time at UAF Coach Brown coached numerous All-Conference athletic and academic student/athletes. These include Heather Harrison (1991), Lannette Crosier (1991, 1992), Janet McCaleb (1992), Groovy Weaver (1992), Tasha Poduska (1992), Tanya Piatonova (1992, 1993), Kristin Olberg (1993), Kathy Hajdukovich (1993), Sheila Cranna (1993), Tracey Coleman (1994), Robyn Metzler (1994, 1995), Ruth Peterson (1995), Bobbi Benson (1996, 1997), Joy Snow (1997), Kamilah Webb (1997, 1998) and Stephanie Grindel (1998).

November 10, 1998: The Record Book

While this season's 8-21 record was a disappointment, the record book was significantly rewritten by many players on the team, all of whom are eligible to return next season, giving great hope for an outstanding season next year.

The new entries in the season record book are: Kamilah Webb with 1,261 assists (2nd); Kristen Sullivan with 477 digs (1st) and 386 kills (3rd); Jenny Kirst with 108 blocks (2nd) and a hitting percentage of .228 (10th); Stephanie Grindel with 320 kills (9th); and Tara Hemphill with 76 blocks (8th).

The new entries in the career record book are: Kamilah Webb with 3,095 assists (2nd) and 833 digs (3rd); Jenny Kirst with 232 blocks (2nd) and a hitting percentage of .225 (4th); Colleen Smith with 1,023 digs (2nd), 800 kills (3rd), 105 blocks (9th) and 94 assists (9th); Tara Hemphill with a hitting percentage of .193 (8th); and Stephanie Grindel with a hitting percentage of .183 (9th).

November 8, 1998: Nanooks Lose in Five Again

It was the same story, only a different night, for the UAF Nanooks as they lost to the UAA Seawolves 3-2 again. They Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (18 kills, 20 digs), Tara Hemphill (16 kills), Kamilah Webb (50 assists) and Kristen Sullivan (12 kills, 19 digs).

November 7, 1998: Nanooks Play Well, Lose Heartbreaker to Seawolves

The UAF Nanooks staged a great comeback to stay in the match but couldn't finish off the UAA Seawolves as the Seawolves were able to stage their own comeback in game five of the match to notch the win. The Nanooks won game one 15-10, then the Seawolves took the momentum and won game two 11-15 and took a 14-6 lead in game three before the Nanooks took back the momentum to notch a 17-15 win. The Nanooks led game four most of the way but the Seawolves came away with the 13-15 win and then in game five the Nanooks were unable to convert after gaining a two point lead resulting in a Seawolf 12-15 win. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (26 Kills, 33 digs), Stephanie Grindel (27 kills, 25 digs), Jenny Kirst (18 kills), Colleen Smith (14 kills) and Kamilah Webb (79 assists).

November 1, 1998: Nanooks Lose Momentum, Match

The UAF Nanooks lost their second match to the Western New Mexico Mustangs 3-2, by scores of 15-13, 14-16, 15-6, 11-15, 12-15. The Nanooks had several opportunities to win the match but, once again, where unable to maintain the momentum necessary to win. The Nanooks are now 8-15 on the season with two matches at UAA next weekend. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (21 kills, 17 digs), Kristen Sullivan (18 kills, 18 digs, 4 aces), Kamilah Webb (52 assists, 19 digs), Colleen Smith (8 kills, 15 digs, 4 blocks), Tara Hemphill (9 kills, 7 blocks), Jenny Kirst (8 kills, 2 blocks) and Carolina Robancho (8 digs). The Mustangs were led by Veronica Wahlstrom (27 kills), Joelle Simpson (17 kills, 31 digs), Heather Komernicky (64 assists, 4 aces), Kristen Sloboden (15 digs) and Erin Denton (12 digs). Attendance: 123.

On a positive note several Nanook players, all of whom return next season, have moved up in the record books. Kamilah Webb is now 3rd in season assists (1132), 18 behind Tasha Poduska. Webb is also #2 in career assists (2966) just 501 behind record holder Robyn Metzler and is also #4 in career digs (805) only 2 behind Kirsten Toy. Jenny Kirst is now tied (with Ruth Peterson's 1994 total) for 2nd in season blocks (97) but is 52 behind Peterson's 1995 record and is also 2nd on the career block list (221), 128 behind Peterson's record. Tara Hemphill has moved into 9th in the season blocking record book (69) just 2 behind Bobbi Benson's 1995 total. Kristen Sullivan has moved into 7th in the season kills total (348) just 11 behind Tracey Coleman and she has also moved into 5th for season digs (425) just 6 behind Ruth Peterson's 1995 total. Colleen Smith has moved into 2nd in career digs (994), 479 behind Tiffany Pulver's all-time record and 3rd in career kills total (777), just 100 behind Ruth Peterson.

October 31, 1998: UAF Loses Lead, Match to Western New Mexico

The UAF Nanooks once again had difficulty maintaining momentum as they started out the first game with an 8-2 lead only to see the Mustangs of Western New Mexico come back to win the game by a score of 10-15. Then the teams traded games with the Nanooks winning the second game 15-8 and the Mustangs winning the third by a 7-15 margin. In game four the Nanooks got out to a 9-4 lead before allowing the Mustangs to come back and win the game 13-15. The Nanooks were never able to regain the momentum in game five as the Mustangs won 15-11 to take the match. The Nanooks were led by Jenny Kirst (8 kills, 11 blocks, 6 digs, 2 aces), Kristen Sullivan (17 kills, 17 digs), Stephanie Grindel (14 kills, 8 digs, 6 blocks), Kamilah Webb (42 assists, 17 digs), Tara Hemphill (9 kills, 3 blocks) and Colleen Smith (18 digs). The Mustangs were led by Joelle Simpson (15 kills, 18 digs), Dana Dietrich (13 kills, 17 digs, 3 blocks, 2 aces), Heather Komernicky (50 assists, 2 aces), Veronica Wahlstrom (13 kills, 5 blocks), Erin Denton (11 digs, 3 aces) and Terra Strain (11 digs). Attendance: 156.

October 25, 1998: UAF Drops Pair of Matches at Montana St-Billings

The UAF Nanooks return home after a disappointing trip to Montana where they lost both matches by scores fo 1-3. In Friday's match the scores were 15-3, 3-15, 14-16, 6-15 and Saturday's scores were 10-15, 15-11, 5-15, 6-15.

October 14, 1998: UAF Drops Close Match To Hawaii-Hilo

The UAF Nanooks lost a tough decision to the Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans 2-3 by scores of 9-15, 15-11, 15-8, 5-15, 13-15. In a match that seemed like it should have been a Nanook victory the Nanooks seemed to collapse everytime they made an error and allow the Vulcans to run off several points before they got back into synce. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (21 kills, 14 digs), Stephanie Grindel (14 kills), Janae Carpenter (11 kills, 11 digs), Jenny Kirst (10 kills, 11 digs, 6 blocks), Colleen Smith (10 kills, 12 digs), Carolina Robancho (13 digs) and Kamilah Webb (65 assists, 13 digs, 4 blocks). The Vulcans were led by Ginelle Palau (26 kills, 19 digs),Heather Campbell (19 kills, 8 blocks), Kaleihoku Nathaniel (13 kills, 10 digs), Heather Wride (38 assists, 11 digs, 7 blocks) and Shawn Wisneski (26 assists, 14 digs). Attendance: 220.

October 13, 1998: UAF Nanooks Defeated By Chaminade Silverswords

The UAF Nanooks were defeated by the Chaminade Silverswords 1-3, by scores of 9-15, 15-7, 3-15, 11-15. The entire match was a contest of momentum with the Silverswords able to put together more and longer scoring runs than the Nanooks to clinch the win. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (16 kills, 25 digs), Colleen Smith (11 kills, 10 digs), Jenny Kirst (10 kills, 4 blocks) and Kamilah Webb (46 assists). The Silverswords were led by Joan Lilio (16 Kills), Gerrine Sam Fong (12 kills, 13 digs), Hinano Warfield (10 kills, 13 digs) and Karlen Porter (45 assists). Attendance: 108.

October 12, 1998: Nanooks Return From Pacific West Conference Crossover Tournament

The UAF Nanooks returned home from the Pac West Crossover Tournament with a disappointing record of 1-3. The Nanooks started out strong on Friday against the highly regarded Seattle Pacific University (12-4) but came up short in a five game match 15-10, 10-15, 15-9, 20-22, 11-15. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (20 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces, 3 blocks), Kristen Sullivan (19 kills, 14 digs, 5 aces, 3 blocks), Kamilah Webb (71 assists), Jenny Kirst (17 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks), Colleen Smith (11 kills, 14 digs, 4 aces) and Tara Hemphill (10 kills, 7 blocks).

In their second match of the day the Nanooks were never in the game emotionally resulting in a sweep by St Martins College (6-15, 8-15, 7-15). The Nanooks were led by Colleen Smith (10 kills) and Kamilah Webb (31 assists).

The Nanooks started out the second day of the tournament with a sweep of Western Washington by scores of 15-8, 15-13, 16-14. The Nanooks were led by Colleen Smith (16 kills, 2 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (15 kills, 16 digs, 2 blocks), Kamilah Webb (36 assists), Kristen Sullivan (13 kills, 26 digs) and Carolina Robancho (11 digs).

The Nanooks finished the tournament with a loss to host Simon Fraser by scores of 16-14, 10-15, 10-15, 7-15. The Nanooks were led by Colleen Smith (15 kills, 18 digs), Stephanie Grindel (14 kills 12 digs) Kristen Sullivan (13 kills, 12 digs) and Kamilah Webb (56 assists).

On a more positive note, there were advances made in the UAF record book over the weekend. Colleen Smith moved into 4th place in the career record book for most kills with 728. Kamilah Webb moved into 6th place in the season best record for most assists with 869. Jenny Kirst moved into 8th place in the swason best for most kills with 70. With eight matches to go in the regular season these players, and others, will move up in the record books.

October 8, 1998: Nanooks Have Played Against Some Of The Best

The UAF Nanooks head out this week to play four matches in two days in the Pacific West Conference Crossover Tournament at Simon Fraser College after starting the season with a 7-10 record against some of the toughest competition around. Some of the achievements of the players and teams that the Nanooks have played so far this season are listed here.

The University of Nevada Las Vegas (12-3 and ranked 29th in Div I) won the Nanook Classic Volleyball Tournament and are currently ranked #10 in Div I in kills per game with and average of 17.48. They are also ranked #18 in assists per game with 15.28 per game and their setter, Meri-de Boyer is ranked #8 in Div I in assists per game with and average of 14.00.

Three of the Div II teams that the Nanooks have played this season figure very prominently in the NCAA statistics. They are #1 ranked BYU-Hawaii, #7 ranked Hawaii Pacific and #26 ranked Rockhurst.

BYU-Hawaii (11-0): #5 Team hitting percentage (.318); #1 Team kills per game (16.89); #8 Team assists per game (14.14); #2 Team blocks per game (3.41). Becky Laubach - #1 Hitting percentage (.471), #2 Blocks (1.84); Ariete Silvia - #12 Hitting percentage (.398), #12 Kills (4.70), #6 Blocks (1.59).

Hawaii Pacific (11-1): #4 Team kills per game (16.34), #10 Team assists per game (13.83). Deborah Sant Anna - #7 Kills (5.12); Hai Yan Wang - #13 Kills (4.61)

Rockhurst (25-0): #1 Team hitting percentage (.334), #18 Team kills per game (15.14), #4 Team blocks per game (3.20), #16 Team digs per game (19.67). Andrea Uttech - #2 Hitting percentage (.453), #20 Blocks (1.35); Vicki Braden #19 Hitting percentage (.364).

October 1, 1998: Rockhurst Defeats UAF 3-0

The Rockhurst College Lady Hawks conducted a clinic in hustle and attitude as they defeated the UAF Nanooks 3-0 by scores of 15-1, 15-6, 15-10. Rockhurst improved their record to 23-0 as they outhit the Nanooks .468 to .091 and outblocked them by a 11-1 margin. The Nanooks were led by Colleen Smith (12 kills, 11 digs), Kristen Sullivan (9 kills, 12 digs), Tara Hemphill (8 kills) and Kamilah Webb (33 assists). Rockhurst was led by Erin Ellis (10 kills, 7 blocks), Vicki Braden (9 kills, 6 blocks), Kara Brown (33 assists), Jami Burchett (14 digs) and Amanda Allred (5 kills, 4 aces, 11 digs). Attendance: 125.

September 30, 1998: Nanooks Defeated By Number 26 Ranked Rockhurst

The Rockhurst College Lady Hawks improved their record to 22-0 at the expense of the UAF Nanooks by scores of 15-2, 12-15, 15-8, 15-7. With the exception of the first half of the second game the Lady Hawks out hustled the Nanooks the entire evening tallying 86 digs to the Nanooks 61 and outhit the Nanooks by a .353 to .168 percentage. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (17 kills, 20 digs), Stephanie Grindel (15 kills, 10 digs), Colleen Smith (13 kills, 13 digs) and Kamilah Webb (51 assists, 10 digs). The Lady Hawks were led by Amanda Allred (21 kills, 11 digs), Vicki Braden (16 kills, 22 digs), Kara Brown (59 assists, 14 digs), Andrea Uttech (13 kills, 4 blocks) and Erin Wllis (8 kills, 18 digs, 3 blocks). Attendance: 150.

September 27, 1998: Nanooks Lose to Number One Ranked BYU-Hawaii

The BYU-Hawaii Seasiders, the number one ranked team in NCAA Div II and the defending NAIA National Champions, defeated the UAF Nanooks 3-0 by scores of 15-6, 15-4, 15-7. The Seasiders dominated the match with a hitting percentage of .380 to the Nanooks .020. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (8 kills, 7 digs), Kristen Sullivan (7 kills, 9 digs) Kamilah Webb (22 assists) and Carolina Robancho (12 digs). The Seasiders were led by Arlele Silva (12 kills, 6 blocks), Becky Laubach (11 kills, 5 blocks) and Juliana Lima (34 assists).

September 26, 1998: Nanooks Lose to 17th Ranked Hawaii Pacific

Hawaii Pacific defeated the UAF Nanooks 3-0 by scores of 15-7, 15-2, 15-13 as the 17th ranked Sea Warriors were able to keep the Nanooks off balance the entire match with a tuff serving game combined with the hard hitting of Chinese player Hai Yan Wang and Brazilian Sant'Anna, both of whom had 19 kills. The Nanooks were led by Colleen Smith (10 kills, 7 digs), Stephanie Grindel (8 kills, 15 digs) Kamilah Webb (29 assists) and Kristen Sullivan (8 kills, 8 digs). The Sea Warriors were led by Debbie Sant'Anna (19 kills, 12 digs) Hai Yan Wang (19 kills, 8 digs) and Nia Tuitele (38 assists, 15 digs)

September 20, 1998: UAF Nanooks Defeat UAA Seawolves

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks defeated the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in a five game marathon match by scores of 14-16, 15-13, 16-18, 15-3, 15-11. The Nanooks started off slowly in the first game, falling behind 11-2, but then gained momentum and was able to battle the Seawolves throughout the rest of the evening and finally pulling out their first five game match win of the season. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (18 kills, 21 digs, 4 blocks, 5 assists), Stephanie Grindel (17 kills, 13 digs), Kamilah Webb (56 assists, 12 digs), Colleen Smith (16 kills, 27 digs), Jenny Kirst (12 kills, 8 digs, 7 blocks), Carolina Robancho (15 digs) and Tara Hemphill (7 kills, 3 blocks). The Seawolves were led by April Hydak (18 kills, 14 digs), Sonnett Farrell (16 kills, 5 blocks), Carrie Beldon (49 assists, 10 kills, 14 digs, 4 blocks), Tegan Bosard (11 kills, 18 digs) and Janelle Morrisette (21 assists, 13 digs). Attendance: 279.

September 19, 1998: Nanooks Drop Pac West Opener With UAA

The University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves defeated the University of Alaska Nanooks 3-1 in the Nanook's first conference match of the season by scores of 6-15, 15-9, 15-9, 15-7. The match was evenly played except that the Seawolf serving game was able to take the Nanooks out of their game plan on several occasions as the Seawolves scored 9 aces and caused several poor serve receptions by the Nanooks. The Nanooks were led by Jenny Kirst (12 kills, 5 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (13 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks), Kamilah Webb (43 assists, 10 digs, 4 blocks) Kristen Sullivan (9 kills, 17 digs) Carolina Robancho (10 digs) and Tara Hemphill (7 kills, 4 blocks). The Seawolves were led by April Hydak (14 kills, 13 digs), Sabrine Bingham (13 kills, 6 blocks) Carrie Beldon (45 assists, 14 digs) and Sonnet Farall (10 kills, 4 blocks). Attendance: 410.

September 15, 1998: Jenny Kirst Selected Conference Player of the Week

After a week in which the UAF Nanooks won four matches middle blocker Jenny Kirst was selected as the Pacific West Conference Player of the Week. Kirst had a total of 51 kills and 13 blocks and a hitting percentage of .372 for the four matches.

September 13, 1998: Nannoks Complete Sweep of Warner Pacific

For the second night in a row the UAF Nanooks swept the Warner Pacific Knights by score of 15-4, 15-0, 15-8. The Nanooks are now 6-5 on the season. During this match Jenny Kirst had 5 blocks to increase her career total to 163 which moves her into 4th place in the Nanook record book. The Nanooks were led by Jenny Kirst (9 kills, 5 blocks), Carolina Robancho (7 kills, 10 digs), Kamilah Webb (27 assists, 4 kills) and Kristan Sullivan (9 digs). The Knights were led by Amy Shafter (5 kills, 9 digs), Suzy Hartman (14 assists) and Ola Mechon (5 kills, 5 digs). Attendance: 135.

September 12, 1998: Nanooks Sweep Warner Pacific

The UAF Nanooks defeated the Warner Pacific Knights 3-0 by scores of 15-3, 15-5, 15-4. After getting a couple of days of much needed rest the refreshed Nanooks had little difficulty in defeating the Knights, who were playing their first match of the season. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (9 kills, 4 digs), Kamilah Webb (24 assists, 7 digs, 3 kills), Jenny Kirst (7 kills, 2 blocks), Kate Butler (6 kills, 3 digs, 3 assists) and Janae Carpenter (3 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces, 3 assists). The Knights were led by Ola Mechon (6 kills, 8 digs), Suzy Hartman (17 assists) and McKenzie Teague (7 digs). Attendance: 134.

September 9, 1998: Nanooks Play Tough To Notch Victory

The UAF Nanooks defeated the Michigan Tech Huskies by scores of 12-15, 15-13, 16-14, 15-5 to improve their record to 4-5. Once again the Nanooks had plenty of opportunity to fold as they fell behind the Huskies and then chipped away at the Huskies' lead to earn the victory. The Nanooks were led by Jenny Kirst (18 kills, 3 blocks), Kristan Sullivan (16 kills, 30 digs), Kamilah Webb (56 assists, 12 digs, 5 aces), Janae Carpenter (14 kills, 8 digs), Stephanie Grindel (11 kills, 11 digs), Tara Hemphill (10 kills) and Carolina Robancho (10 digs). The Huskies were led by Karen Milborn (23 kills, 12 digs), Amu Glas (16 kills, 13 digs), Jamie Hoggarth (13 kills, 13 digs), Erin Raci (70 assists, 12 digs), Emily Fossum (6 kills, 13 digs) and Jilaine Bolek (11 digs). Attendance was 112.

September 8, 1998: Nanooks Defeat Michigan Tech

The UAF Nanooks swept the Michigan Tech Huskies by scores of 15-9, 16-14, 15-13. Time and again tonight the Nanooks, who appeared sluggish after last weekend's tournament, came from behind to pull out the victory against the Huskies, who were ranked 24th in the pre-season polls. This year's team has a lot of heart and a never quit attitude that was a lot of fun to watch as they played a side out game to slowly chip away at the Huskies' leads in order to notch the victory. The Nanooks were led by Stephanie Grindel (17 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces), Jenny Kirst (17 kills, 3 blocks), Kamilah Webb (54 assists, 11 digs), Kristen Sullivan (13 kills, 23 digs, 3 blocks, 3 aces), Janae Carpenter (7 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces) and Carolina Robancho (12 digs). The Huskies were led by Jamie Hoggarth (21 kills, 21 digs, 3 blocks), Jane Seaver (12 kills, 8 digs), Jenny Conger (17 digs), Karen Milborn (14 digs) and Julie Boatright (47 assists). Attendance: 100.

September 5, 1998: Iowa State Comes From Behind To Defeat Nanooks

The Iowa State Cyclones rallied from a 0-2 deficit to defeat the UAF Nanooks 3-2 on scores of 12-15, 10-15, 18-16, 15-8, 15-8. After winning the first two games the Nanooks held a 12-6 lead in game three but a series of great Cyclone plays, combined with ill-timed Nanook errors, allowed the Cyclones to get back into the game and to finally win the game. The Cyclones were able to maintain their momentum into games four and five to notch their first win of the young season. For the Nanooks the loss of the game was compounded by the loss of Colleen Smith, who suffered a broken finger during the first game of the match. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (16 kills, 14 digs), Kamilah Webb (41 assists, 9 digs, 3 aces), Jenny Kirst (12 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks) and Janae Carpenter (10 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces). The Cyclones were led by Virginia Hoss (24 kills, 18 digs, 3 blocks), Sarah Pieper (63 assists, 7 digs), Stacy Nicks (17 kills, 3 blocks), Nanette Allen (11 kills, 9 digs), Melissa Duffield (10 digs) and Sara Walters (7 kills, 12 digs, 3 aces). Attendance: 535

University of Nevada Las Vegas Wins Nanook Classic

In the first match of the tournament the Rebels of UNLV defeated the Duke Blue Devils to clintch the tournament championship. The Rebels won the hard fought match on scores of 15-4, 16-14, 4-15, 12-15, 15-10 to start their season out with a 3-0 record. UNLV Rebel outside hitter Angie Sylvas was selected as the MVP of the tournament. Also selected to the all-tournament team were UNLV setter Meri-de Boyer, UNLV outside hitter Justine Kamelamela, Duke middle blocker Jami Ediger, Duke outside hitter Sarah Peifer, Iowa State middle blocker Virginia Hoss and UAF setter Kamilah Webb.

September 4, 1998: UNLV Rebels Outlast UAF Nanooks

The University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels outlasted the UAF Nanooks in a defensive marathon that saw both teams combine for 122 digs in a three game match. The Rebels finished the side out battle with the victory by scores of 15-4, 15-12, 15-6. The biggest difference between the teams in this match was the speed and precision with which UNLV setter Meri-de Boyer ran the Rebel offense, thereby allowing the UNLV hitters to have clear lanes into which to hit the ball. UNLV finished the night with a hitting percentage of .302 (59 kills) to UAF's .158 (40 kills) while all other stats were essentially even. Boyer has three older sisters who were All-American setters at other schools. UAF was led by Jenny Kirst (10 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (8 kills, 11 digs, 1 block), Kristen Sullivan (5 kills, 11 digs, 1 block), Kamilah Webb (31 assists, 12 digs), Tara Hemphill (8 kills, 2 blocks), Colleen Smith (7 kills, 9 digs, 1 block) and Carolina Robancho (9 digs). UNLV was led by Angie Sylvas (15 kills, 14 digs), Justine Kamelamela (10 kills, 9 digs, 1 block), Meri-de Boyer (46 assists, 5 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks) and Christel Eves (9 kills, 9 digs, 5 blocks). Attendance: 400.

In the first match of the evening the Duke Blue Devils defeated the Iowa State University Cyclones 15-9, 15-13, 15-12.

September 3, 1998: Duke Blue Devils Defeat UAF Nanooks

The UAF Nanooks took the lead early in all three games against the Duke Blue Devils but were not able to maintain the momentum as the more experienced and consistant Blue Devils came back to win the match on scores of 15-7, 15-8, 15-6. The Nanooks played the Blue Devils pretty evenly in all areas except for the error department as the Nanooks gave up the serve 12 times on service errors, while scoring only 3 aces and were aced themselves 8 times. The Blue Devils' blocking game also caused the Nanook hitters to commit several hitting errors. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (18 kills, 11 digs), Kamilah Webb (34 assists, 8 digs), Tara Hemphill (10 kills, 5 blocks), Stephanie Grindel (4 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks) and Jenny Kirst (4 kills, 4 blocks). The Blue Devils were led by Sarah Peifer (13 kills, 10 digs), Nina Rybak (25 assists), Ashley Harris (10 kills, 14 digs, 3 blocks), Megan Irvine (7 kills, 13 digs, 5 blocks) and Sarah Stephens (7 blocks). Attendance: 750.

In the first match of the evening the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels defeated the Iowa State University Cyclones 15-13, 15-5, 15-12.

August 30, 1998: UAF Finishes Humbolt State Kickoff Classic With 2-2 Record; Kirst Picked To All-Tornament Team

All-Tournament selectee Jenny Kirst helped the UAF Nanooks to finish play in the Humbolt State Kickoff Classic Tournament with a record of 2-2. The 6'1" middle player finished the tournament with 47 kills, 31 digs and 18 blocks in four matches.

The Nanooks started the tournament, and the season, off with a win 3-1 over Oregon Tech by scores of 16-14, 15-17, 15-6, 15-4. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (13 kills, 21 digs), Kamilah Webb (41 assists, 8 kills, 16 digs), Colleen Smith (9 kills), Jenny Kirst (8 kills) and Tara Hemphill (6 kills, 9 blocks).

In their second match of the tournament the Nanooks were defeated 1-3 by Southern Oregon, ranked 24th in the NAIA, by scores of 17-15, 7-15, 7-15, 12-15. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (25 kills, 14 digs), Kamilah Webb (49 assists), Stephanie Grindel (14 kills, 14 digs), Jenny Kirst (12 kills) and Tara Hemphill (10 kills).

In the Nanooks third match of the tournament the Nanooks fell to Sonoma State, ranked 42nd in the NCAA Div II, by scores of 7-15, 5-15, 15-11, 6-15. The Nanooks were led by Kristen Sullivan (14 kills, 8 digs), Kamilah Webb (46 assists), Stephanie Grindel (8 kills, 17 digs), Jenny Kirst (10 kills), Tara Hemphill (9 kills), Colleen Smith (8 kills, 3 aces) and Carolina Robancho (3 aces).

In their final match of the tournament the Nanooks defeated Chico State 3-0 by scores of 15-3, 15-13, 21-19. The Nanooks were led by Jenny Kirst (17 Kills, 7 digs, 5 blocks), Kristen Sullivan (13 kills, 12 digs), Stephanie Grindel (8 kills, 14 digs), Kamilah Webb (38 assists, 12 digs, 4 aces).

Spring Recruiting/1998 Season Outlook:

Coach Brown has announced the signing of three recruits who should provide a big boost to the UAF Nanook volleyball program. The Nanooks lost three star players last season. Tiffany Pulver (record holder in digs and kills) has used up her eligibilty. Bobbi Benson (1996 all-conference team) has decided to concentrate on basketball next year after being hobbled with a shoulder injury last season. Joy Snow (1997 all-conference team) has transferred to Idaho State.

The first of the new recruits to sign a letter of intent is Tara Hemphill. Hemphill is a 5'11" multi-sport standout at North Pole High School. She was selected to the Alaska All-Region VI team in volleyball last year and is also a standout in basketball and softball. Another new recruit is Kate Butler, a 5'11" standout from Kenny Lake High School who led her team to the 1A-2A-3A Alaska state championship last season and was selected to the all-tournament team. Perhaps the gem of the recruiting season is California Junior College standout Kristen Sullivan. Sullivan, a 5'10" outside hitter, will enter her junior year next season. While playing for Sacramento City Community College she played on one of the top junior college teams in California and was named the conference most valuable player both years as well as being all-NorCal and all-state the past two years.

These new recruits, combined with the return of Colleen Smith after recovering from an ACL injury last season should more than make up for the loss of three outstanding players. The 1998 team might just be the most talented team that the Nanooks have assembled to date. Setter Kamilah Webb returns for her third season and is already number three in career assists in the UAF record book. Middle blockers Jenny Kirst (6'1") and Melissa Smith (6'0") should provide a dominant blocking duo as Kirst is currently 7th in blocks in both the career and season record book and is also 10th in season hitting percentage, and Smith is 4th in the season record book after only one season. Returning at outside hitter are Colleen Smith who is currently 8th and 9th respectively in the record book for season and career kills as well as being 8th and 6th in digs; Stephanie Grindel who improved tremendously last season and is currently 10th in the record book for career hitting percentage and is also an adept defensive player; and Janae Carpenter who has also improved tremendously over the past two seasons and who had a great spring season both in hitting and on defense.

UAF will need all of this talent in order to be competitive in the newly aligned Pacific West Conference. The Nanooks will be facing an extremely tough challenge next season as their division of the Pac West will include Alaska Anchorage, Montana St-Billings, Western New Mexico, Hawaii-Hilo, Chaminade, BYU-Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific. Prior to entering the Pac West BYU-Hawaii has won six of the past eight NAIA championships.