The Nanook volleyball suffered a loss to Western Washington on Friday, but bounced back to defeat Seattle the next day.

Alaska lost to the Vikings 20-30, 21-30, 36-38. But thanks to strong leadership from captains Jenna Jones and Jessica King, the 'Nooks were able to put down the Redhawks on Saturday, 26-30, 19-30, 30-28, 25-30.

"We were definitely the more aggressive team," said senior middle hitter Katrina Jensen.

Alaska had already faced both teams this season. The 'Nooks lost against Western Washington on Sept. 30, 3-1. Against Seattle, the 'Nooks lost 3-0.

Winning this time against Seattle just showed how much growth the young team has made this season, Shoemaker said.

"We're more experienced," he said. "We're maturing."

The Vikings and Nanooks were playing point-for-point early in game one of Friday's match. Alaska built itself to 17-14 lead thanks to a service ace by King and a kill by Jones. But the Vikings fought back, taking the lead at 17-18 due to an attack error by Jensen. From there, the Vikings went on to tromp the Nanooks 21-31.

Game two found the 'Nooks trailing nearly from the start, until its eventual 21-30 loss.

Alaska showed hopes of winning game three after kills by Hill and freshman middle Megan Thigpen gave the team a 15-14 lead. The Nanooks stayed ahead until an attack error by King put the score 19-20. The Vikings stayed one or two points ahead the rest of the game, winning 36-38.

Shoemaker said Western Washington was a strong team.

"Western Washington's an excellent team, and they're better than Seattle," he said.

Thigpen led Alaska offensively, with 16 kills and one service ace. On defense, sophomore libero Miranda Trudeau made 19 digs and Jones pulled off 18.

For Western Washington, sophomore outside hitter Marissa Hill had 13 kills and one ace. Junior libero Courtney Schneider had defense covered with 34 digs.

The team kept to a shorter practice than normal Friday, Shoemaker said, because the team was tired from the Viking match. Come Saturday, the Nanooks showed they were ready to win.

Alaska got off to an early lead against Seattle, with kills by Jensen and sophomore middle hitter Korlyn Bolster. A kill by Redhawk sophomore outside hitter Libby Graff tied the game 14-14.

From there the teams stayed within a point margin of each other until a kill by Thigpen restored the 'Nooks lead, 23-22. The Nanooks won 30-26.

Game two saw the Nanooks wallop Seattle with aggressive offence. Alaska had a .342 attack percentage, and Hill and Jensen contributed four kills each to help the team with 30-19.

The Redhawks got up from that loss to keep the Nanooks on their toes throughout game three until Seattle pulled ahead for the 28-30 win. But in game four, Alaska showed Seattle it wasn't about to give up. Jensen got the team out of tied score territory with a kill, for a 9-8 score. An attack error by junior outside hitter Nikole Thompson gave the Nanooks the 30-25 win.

Shoemaker said the glory goes to his two captains, Jones and King, who "really gave us something special through the night." King led the team defensively with 20 digs, and Jones had 10 kills and 41 attempts.

Also having an incredible night was Jensen, who had a .429 attack percentage.

"I don't think I've ever hit that good," she said.

The Nanooks are now 6-13 in the season and 5-7 in conference play. The team is off on a weeklong road trip starting Wednesday to face Seattle Pacific on Thursday, Central Washington on Saturday, and Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 31.