TURLOCK, Calif.---  After starting their season 3-1, Stan State will travel to Fairbanks, Alaska, to participate in the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic on the campus of the University of Alaska. The Warriors will face three NCAA Division II West Region opponents in the Classic in Biola, No. 21 Alaska Anchorage and Alaska.  They will also face Lander University out of Greenwood, South Carolina.
 
HEAD COACH LAUREN FLOWERS: Coach Lauren Flowers in her first season at the helm of the Warrior volleyball team became Stan State's all-time winningest team with its .655 winning percentage. The Warriors finished with a 19-10 overall record with the 19 wins tying for the most in school history.  They finished in sixth place and qualified for the CCAA Volleyball Championships.  In her two seasons, Flowers is 22-11.

WARRIORS:  Stan State went 3-1 in its own Stanislaus State Labor Day Volleyball Tournament this weekend.  The Warriors started its season with a 3-0 (16-25, 22-25, 20-25) loss to Western Oregon.  They finished the tournament with three straight victories over Academy of Art (3-2, 25-18, 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 15-9), Western New Mexico (3-0, 25-12, 25-10, 25-10), and Fresno Pacific (3-0, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22).  
 
All-Tournament honoree, Emily Vander Weide hit for .357 with a team high 34 kills.  Mariah Iosua had 30 kills to go with Alex Byrd's .387 hitting percentage.  Haley Burdo leads the team with her 64 assists while Eyriana Eatmon has 47.  Leading the Warriors with her 80 digs is CCAA Defensive Player of the Week, Gabby Rawson.  Byrd has a team leading 16 blocks followed by Autumn Kirby's 12 blocks and Vander Weide's nine. Kirby leads the team with six service aces and Burdo and Eatmon each have five.
 
HONORS:  Emily Vander Weide was named to the seven-team Stanislaus State Labor Day Volleyball Tournament. For the third time in her career, Gabby Rawson was named the CCAA Defensive Player of the Week.
 
LANDER BEARCATS:  Entering the Classic, Lander is 3-1 with three straight three-set victories over Francis Marion, Belmont Abbey, and Auburn Montgomery.  Their only loss was a five-set match with Arkansas Fort Smith.  They will open the Classic against Biola earlier in the day on Thursday.  Katie Miller leads the team with her 53 kills with Lauren Dow with a team high 108 assists.  Patricia Pantoja leads Lander with her 55 digs and Blondie Penaflor has a team leading 16 total blocks. This is the first ever meeting between the two teams.
 
BIOLA EAGLES:  Biola enters this weekend with a 2-1 record.  The Eagles defeated Cal State San Marcos in five and Seattle Pacific in four, before losing in four to Lewis University at the San Marcos/Point Loma Tournament. Dominque Kirton has a team high 40 kills and Bri Belifi leading Biola with her 66 digs.  Abigail Copeland leas the Eagles with her 13 total blocks.  Abby Brewster has 65 digs and Hannah Hanson has 60 digs to lead Biola.  The Eagles lead the all-time series with Stan State 2-0 with the two meetings being in 1989 and 1990.  
 
NO. 21 ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES:  The nationally ranked Seawolves are 4-4 entering their match on Thursday against Alaska.  They won their last two matches in their own tournament last week against Cal Poly Humboldt (3-0) and Florida Tech (3-1).  Nicole Blue has a team leading 93 kills and Makena Eleneki leads Anchorage with her 204 assists.  Blue also has a team high 18 service aces.  She is tied with Reilly Plumhoff each with 95 digs.  Leilani Elder and Isabel Evans each have a team high 25 total blocks.  Alaska Anchorage leads the all-time series with the Warriors 2-1 including a 3-0 win in 2016.  Stan State defeated the Seawolves in five sets in Anchorage in 2001.
 
ALASKA NANOOKS:  Alaska is 2-6 after going 1-3 in the UAA Volleyball Invitational.  They lost in three sets each to No. 7 St. Cloud State, Cal Poly Humboldt, and Upper Iowa. The Nanooks defeated Florida Tech in four sets.  Ella Bines leads Alaska with her 68 kills while Elizabeth Jackson has a team high 27 total blocks.  Kinley Erickson leads Alaska with her 86 digs. Ainsley Smith has recorded a team high 222 assists and Rilee White has a team leading 12 service aces. Stan State won the only meeting between the teams 3-0 in 2016 in Turlock.
 
LIVE STATS/VIDEO IN ALASKA: For live stats, go to https://warriorathletics.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary.  For live stream, go to https://www.youtube.com/TheAlaskaNanooks.
 
UP NEXT:  After its trip to Alaska, the Warriors will begin the 2023 CCAA season on the road with a pair of matches in Southern California September 15-16.  They will face Cal State Dominguez Hills on September 15 in Carson at 5pm.  Stan State will face No. 16 Cal State Los Angeles on September 16 in Los Angeles at 2pm.