Despite home court advantage at the Midnight Sun Invitational early last week, the UAF women's volleyball team is off to a poor start with an overall record of 1-3 as of September 1st.  These first few games of the season are non-conference however, so the team need not worry too much as they address the problems with their play.

We can see what exactly these problems may be by looking closely at the individual games within each match.  The first team to win three games wins the match.  The Nanook's one match victory came in three games, while one loss came in four games and two losses in five.  One of the five game losses came after the Nanooks led 2-0 and then dropped the next three games. 

In the 17 individual games played, the 'Nooks have more kills per game, more aces per game and even more points per game.  But they also have almost twice as many ball-handling errors per game. These numbers suggest that conditioning may be a problem and that their unfortunate record results more from lack of experience than from lack of talent.

With 70 kills and 61 digs, senior standout and 2003 All-American honorable mention Mallory Bergstrom leads the team in the most important offensive and defensive categories, and needs to lead the team out of their early season slump. 

Bergstrom finds assistance from All-GNAC honorable mention Carlin Smith who leads the team with 16 blocks, and last year's GNAC freshman-of-the-year Danielle Hitzeman who ties Bergstrom with a team leading 4.71 points per game.  How the women respond to adversity will determine their destiny and its not to late to have a great season, but it has to start now.

At press time, the next home games begin conference play for the Nanooks as they host Western Oregon on Friday and Humbolt state on Saturday. These two teams have a combined 1-7 record, so both the players and the fans will go into these match-ups expecting victories. Both games begin at 7:00 pm in the Patty Center and provide a welcome respite from academic demands.  The Nanooks have a legitimate shot at post-season play, and I'm sure I speak for the players when I say I hope to see you there .

Photo by Stephanie Taylor/ Sun Star
Senior Mallory Bergstrom spikes the ball against Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday August 28th at Patty Gym. The Nooks lost 3-2 to the Broncos. 

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