Aaron Walling / Sports Reporter
Absolute pandemonium erupted in the Patty Center after Volleyball got their first win of the season. The Nanooks were led by senior Sam Harthun as they took down the Saints of Saint
Martin in a thrilling five-set match.
It wasn’t only about the team getting their first win on the season. This was also Coach Brian Scott’s first victory as a head coach. Scott was pretty amazed about how the game went.
“It feels good to finally get a win, and I’m excited for these girls, they really deserve it,” Scott said. “This team has been working so hard for weeks now; they’ve been battling and battling to get that first win and it feels good that they were able to put together a complete match and win three sets.”
The Nanooks scored 20 service aces throughout the match. This was a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) best, and one point short of tying a record from 2002.
The opposing team didn’t have an answer for the onslaught by both Riley Podowicz and Sam Harthun who combined for 14 service aces. Brian Scott knew the serving game was very important.
“Our focus lately has been the serve, serve receive battle,” Scott said. “We challenged our girls, telling them they need to keep the serves in and place them where we are asking. They did that tonight and put a lot of pace on the ball and ended up with 20 aces.”
Riley Podowicz currently leads the team with 32 service aces throughout the season, including seven from the match. The impressive performance by Harthun and Podowicz paved the way for the Nanooks to collect that first win.
The Nanooks led 2-0 in the series up 24-19 with one point to go for the win. The Saints battled back, forcing a five set match. Harthun took over the fifth set getting six kills in the process. Harthun had over 20 kills on the day, which was set up by senior Miranda Grieser, who extended her 38-match streak with double-digit assists getting 26 on the night.
The Nanooks will be on the road for the next game against Central Washington University on Oct. 8. Box Score: 3-2 (25-17, 25-15, 24-26, 20-25, 15-7)