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Photo by Johnny Wagner

FAIRBANKS — The only history important to Phil Shoemaker on Thursday was the Alaska Nanooks’ sweep of Central Washington — not his 100th coaching win for the Nanooks or the Wildcats’ recent dominance in the series.

“It honestly doesn’t mean anything to me,” Shoemaker said of his 100th win in his ninth season at Alaska. “The only thing that really means anything is this game (Thursday). I don’t care about 100. We’re here to play tonight.”

The Nanooks were prepared from the start at the Patty Center against Central Washington, as they never trailed in the first two sets and used a rally late in set three to close the match out 25-22, 25-20, 25-21.

“We just knew we had to take control. There was no doubt about it,” said outside hitter Megan Thigpen, who in the opening set crushed six of her 10 kills and collected five of her 11 digs.

Now the Nanooks don’t have to hear any more about their five-year losing streak to the Wildcats, but more importantly they improved to 11-5 overall and 5-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They also leap-frogged Central (12-6, 4-2) for third place in the league.

Keying the win was an effective attack in the middle, as senior Korlyn Bolster notched 10 kills in 22 attempts and freshman Marybeth Wikander chipped in five kills. That helped give opportunities to outside hitters Heather Lyons and Thigpen and right side Jessica Hill, who combined for 26 kills as the Nanooks hit .240 to Central’s .106.

“We forced them to really pay attention to our middle game,” said Shoemaker, whose overall record in 26 seasons of college volleyball is now 343-405. “It creates more openings for our outside hitters and probably tactically that was as important a factor as anything.”

Thigpen took extra motivation from personally knowing about half the Wildcats’ roster, including four players from the same Mead High School in Spokane, Wash., where she starred.

“Just knowing a lot of these girls on the team, it always helps me fire up even more,” Thigpen said. “Before (the match) it’s good to see them, but during the match they’re definitely my opponent.”

Thigpen, who earlier this season dealt with a foot injury and now has her right arm wrapped, played one of her best matches of the season.

“Injuries suck but you gotta play through them. Tonight I was feeling good all around,” she said. “My adrenaline takes over but after (the match the arm) doesn’t feel too good.”

Thigpen put a charge into the crowd late in the second set by running out of bounds to chase down a ball. Then setter Alexa Sherman put it away for a 21-14 Alaska lead.

“Determination, I just wanted to get that ball,” Thigpen said. “I knew if I ran it down then it’d give us another boost of energy.”

Freshman Jennifer Holland of Sterling has also given the Nanooks a boost since being promoted to the starting libero, or defensive specialist. Holland gathered nine digs on Thursday despite missing practice a day earlier with the flu.

Holland spent last season as a redshirt and has made the most of her opportunities since being inserted against Anchorage four matches ago.

“It was good to have that extra year to connect with the girls and to build those relationships because a lot of volleyball is chemistry,” Holland said.

That teamwork was on display Thursday.

“When we play together and we work together, we’re unstoppable,” Holland said.

The Nanooks hope to continue the good vibe on Saturday against Western Washington, which is ranked third in NCAA Division II. The Vikings (13-0, 5-0) topped Alaska Anchorage for the 16th straight time on Thursday in four sets. Western has also beaten the Nanooks 14 consecutive matches.

“Just be confident and believe in ourselves, the same thing we did tonight,” Holland said of Saturday night’s approach.

Confidence and aggressiveness seemed to be lacking on Thursday for the Wildcats.

“We pretty much backed down when they kept hitting it,” Central coach Mario Andaya said. “They played like they wanted it a little bit more tonight. We just kind of rolled over.”

Andaya also questioned several officials’ calls, including a crucial hit by Hill that was called good and gave Alaska a 24-22 lead in the first set.

“We let Fairbanks get away in the first two games early and we had to play catch-up, so that was more frustrating than the officiating,” Andaya said.

Contact staff writer Matias Saari at 459-7591.