Box Score Burnaby, BC - The Simon Fraser University volleyball team won their first ever Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener, beating University of Alaska - Fairbanks 3-0 at home.

Senior Kelsey Robinson (Surrey, BC), coming off a GNAC/PacWest tournament all-star nod, led her team with 17 kills and only one error.

"I thought the girls did a good job of staying focused and taking care of the ball," said head coach Gina Schmidt. "We passed well which allowed us to run our offence effectively." 

SFU started strong, taking an 18-3 lead in the first set, their largest of the match.

The Nanooks would regroup their efforts late in the set, pushing for a comeback, but ultimately falling short as SFU would win 25-12.

In the second set, it was UAF that took an early lead, making it 14-10 early on thanks to some big kills from outside hitter Sam Harthun.

SFU would mount their comeback, but at 14-14 the referees decided to remove three Clan points due to a rotation error.

Undaunted, the Clan came back from a a 14-11 deficit to win the second set by a score of 25-22, and secure the momentum needed for the third.

"I was happy with how they were able to regroup after the lull in the second set," Schmidt continued. "Over all I liked the consistency in their effort".

The final set saw the Clan and the Nanooks battle in the early moments, but SFU was able to pull away at the 14-14 mark, allowing the visitors only four more points, and winning 25-18.

Jessica Young (Vancouver, BC) added five kills for the Clan while Brooklynn Gould-Bradbury (Lake Tapps, WA) had 26 assists and Alison McKay (Port Moody, BC) registered 16 digs.

With the win, the Clan move to 7-2 on the season and 1-0 in the GNAC.

SFU is back in action Wednesday, September 17 as they host University of Alaska - Anchorage at 7:00 p.m.

The game is hosted in SFU's West Gymnasium and is free for SFU students.