Warner Pacific Hands NCC First CCC Loss
EUGENE, Ore. - One night after recording their first ever Cascade Collegiate Conference victory, Northwest Christian College was handed their first CCC loss on Saturday.
It was a match that might not soon be forgotten as the Beacons dropped a five-game heart breaker to Warner Pacific, 27-30, 30-26, 30-14, 23-30, 15-11.
Sophomore Melissa Bishop helped to get things started on the right foot for the Beacons, recording nine kills in the first game as NCC built a 4-0 lead and rolled out to a 22-7 advantage. WPC showed signs of things to come with runs of five straight and seven straight points, climbing to within one point at 27-26. The Beacons were able to hang on, however, as Bishop put down the final point.
Both teams played the second game close to the belt seeing seven lead changes and 13 ties on the way to a 16-16 score. After a small run by the Knights, NCC crawled back to a 20-20 mark, only to see Warner Pacific rattle off four straight points, getting the lead they needed to finish out the game two win.
The Beacons scored the first point of game three, but trailed the rest of the way as Warner’s experience began to show. With a starting lineup of mostly juniors and seniors, the Knights were able to buckle down and go on 9-2 and 8-1 runs to build a 24-12 lead before cruising to the victory.
Northwest Christian, by contrast, came out in game four with the youthful exuberance you would expect from a collection of freshman and sophomores. NCC led at 4-3 and never looked back, leading by as many as the seven by which they won. Ashley Blanchfill scored six kills in the game for the Beacons.
The Knights were able to wrap things up in the fifth game, but not without a fight. Leading 7-6, WPC went on a 7-1 run to take a 14-7 lead. WPC had to go through four match-points as the Beacons rallied to 14-11, but a serve into the net ended the evening for the Beacons.
Northwest Christian (5-3, 1-1 CCC) was led by Bishop, who finished with 20 kills and two blocks, hitting .347. Blanchfill followed with her fourth double-double, collecting 18 kill and 17 digs. Brooke Stribling also had the double-double with ten kills and 19 digs, but was overshadowed on the defensive end by Mercedes LeClaire, who put together an NCC record 34 digs. Alex Jee had a solid night setting the ball, assisting on 31 points and digging ten balls.
Warner Pacific (6-1, 2-0) was led by Marcy Oakland with a match-high 23 kills along with 13 digs and four block assists. The Knights out-blocked the Beacons 12-5 on the night, getting six a piece from Ann Whitemarsh and Kara VanZanten, who also registered 24 digs. Libero Samantha Kolakowski added 28 digs in the victory.
NCC will be back in action on Wednesday night as they play host to Walla Walla College at 7:00 pm.