Charlie Van Loon recorded 5 blocks in Monday's victory.
EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team used a strong attacking serve and a potent defense to take out Walla Walla University on Monday afternoon in straight sets, 25-20, 25-22, 25-19.
The Beacons finished the night out-digging the Wolves 40-28, adding eight blocks to the mix. Charlie Van Loon added to her team-leading block numbers with five, including one solo effort. Cotie Howard registered a match-high 12 digs, while Brooke Stribling added 8 and Mercedes LeClaire chipped in seven. By contrast, the dig leaders for WWU each had six.
The Wolves came out strong to open the match, taking a 10-3 lead to start set one. The Beacons slowly chipped away, eventually tying the game at 18-18 on a Stribling kill. NCU then closed out the game on a 7-2 run, capped off by four consecutive unforced errors by the Wolves.
As the afternoon wore on the Beacons continued to pick up steam, eventually hitting .345 in the decisive third set. Stribling finished her night with a match-high 13 kills. Cassie Bishop added six kills, leading the team with a .485 hitting percentage (6-1-13). Tessa Greatwood recorded four of the Beacons seven service aces and Whitney Hoff helped to lead the offense with 16 assists and five digs.
Walla Walla (2-5) was led offensively by Natalle Wilkening with eleven kills and five digs. Sharla Schroeder added five kills and six digs and Elisa Westman recorded 3 blocks. Torrey Haddad registered a match-high 19 assists in the losing effort.
Northwest Christian (4-6) will be back in action this weekend as they make their annual three matches, three states, three days trek. They open on Friday night at Eastern Oregon at 7:00, followed on Saturday by the College of Idaho and then on Sunday afternoon with a rematch against Walla Walla.