PORTLAND, Ore. – The 2025 volleyball season got off to an early start in Anchorage over the weekend, with the Nanooks of Alaska and the Seawolves of Alaska Anchorage combining to go 7-1 to begin the campaign.
 
VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Elena Guc – University of Alaska
Second-career player of the week, first this season.
 
Guc helped spark the Nanooks to a 3-1 start to their 2025 campaign, averaging 2.94 kills per set while swinging with an attack percentage of .248 on opening weekend. Guc kicked off the season with 14 kills on a .323 hitting percentage in the Nanooks’ five-set win over No. 9 Chaminade, before adding 10 kills in a win over Hawaii Pacific and 15 in a five-set loss to Hawaii Hilo. Overall in the four matches Guc racked up 47 kills against 14 attack errors. Additionally, she delivered five service aces against four service errors. The senior contributed on the defensive side of the ball as well, totaling 24 digs (1.5 per set) and 10 total blocks (0.63 per set) and completing a double-double in the win over Hawaii Pacific. Now in her fourth season on the court for Alaska, Guc has racked up 524 career kills and 179 total blocks while playing in 76 matches since the fall of 2022.
 
UAF Head Coach Brian Scott: “Elena’s growth and development continues to impress me. She consistently makes plays on the court that allow our team to succeed. In many cases those plays come in the highest-pressure situations to give us critical points, momentum changes or defensive stops.”
 
Also Nominated: Lee Ivakina, Alaska Anchorage.
 

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VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Madison Galloway – University of Alaska Anchorage
First-career player of the week.
 
Galloway covered the court defensively throughout the opening weekend of the 2025 campaign, helping lead the Seawolves to a perfect 4-0 record at their opening tournament. The fourth-year senior averaged 4.24 digs per set, totaling 72 in her first four matches of the year. Galloway notched 22 digs in back-to-back games, helping UAA to five-set wins over Hawaii Hilo and No. 9 Chaminade with her defensive effort. She capped an all-tournament performance with 19 digs in the finale against Hawaii Hilo, while also distributing three assists and matching her career high with four service aces. The big effort propelled Galloway across the 1,000-career dig plateau, as she upped her count to 1,025 over the weekend. Since debuting in the fall of 2022, she has played in 95 matches and has a career average of 2.96 digs per set.
 
UAA Head Coach Stacie Meisner: “Maddy was excellent in serve-receive and relentless on defense. The quality of her digs allowed us to run our offense in transition and put our players in positions to score.”
 
Also Nominated: Tessa Onaga, Alaska.