Unable to close out two match points in the 5^th set, the Cascade College volleyball team fell in their season opener to Simpson University 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 17-19. The Thunderbirds (0-1) had leads of 14-13 and 15-14 with serve in the deciding frame, but could not finish off the scrappy Redhawks (1-4).

The T-Birds also held a lead of 21-17 in game 4, only to see Simpson fight back. “I’m actually pretty happy overall,” said head coach Nels Norquist. “We had chances to win in games 4 and 5, so we were right there. We just couldn’t get that crucial kill, and I think some that was conditioning.”

Senior Meagan Stanley led Cascade with a match high 18 kills, with Natalie Forgan adding 11. Nicole Eileen and Shelby Sweet were in double figure kilss for Simpson, with 14 and 12 respectively. Carla Crowder tallied 40 assists, while her Redhawk counterpart Erin Brink had 33.

Cascade will jump right in to CCC play next Tuesday, hosting Warner Pacific.