Warner Pacific Outlasts NCU in Five Sets 9/6/2008 10:12:07 PM BOX SCORE Knights Overcome 2-0 Deficit to Claim Thrilling Comeback Victory PORTLAND, Ore. --- In its second consecutive five-set thriller, The Warner Pacific volleyball team outlasted Northwest Christian Saturday night 21-25, 9-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-10. After losing the first two sets, the Knights rallied to win the final three for the 3-2 win over the Beacons. The Knights remain unbeaten at 4-0 (2-0 CCC) while the Beacons fall to 2-4 (0-2). After a tight first set that was tied at 17 late in the game before Norhtwest Christian pulled away for the 25-21 win, the Beacons came out firing on all cylinders in set two, jumping out to an early 9-4 lead before scoring eight consecutive points to close out the 25-9 win. Down 2-0 for the match, the Knights showed their mettle in the third set. After scoring five straight points to take a 19-14 lead, the Beacons made a run of their own, eventually taking a 21-20 lead. But Warner Pacific responded down the stretch as Kara Veach slammed the door with a thundering kill to seal the 25-22 win. The Knights overcame even more adversity in the fourth set, trailing nearly the entire way and finding themselves down 16-20. But back-to-back kills by Veach started off a five point run that put the Knights ahead 23-21. A stuff block by Michelle Egan and Danielle Ricco closed out the fourth set for a 25-22 win. After two emotional comebacks, The Knights finally found themselves playing with a lead in the deciding frame, going ahead 12-4 behind four Veach kills. The Beacons made it interesting by cutting the lead to 13-10, but were unable to surmount Warner Pacific’s sizable advantage as Leah Gradwohl sealed the 15-10 win and the match with a kill. Gradwohl (16 kills, 12 digs) and Veach (19 kills, 10 digs) ended the night with double doubles as Veach’s 19 total kills was the game high. On the back line, libero Molly Webb had a game-high 25 digs for the Knights. Danielle Ricco added six kills and 10 digs and Megan Marineau finished with eight kills and a solo block. Samantha Kolakowski had 50 assists on the night to go along with nine digs. For the Beacons, Cotie Howard led the way with 17 kills and 10 digs, while Brooke Stibling had nine kills and 14 digs. Alex Jee added a double-double with 16 assists and 14 digs while Whitney Hoff had 17 assists and eight digs. Libero Mercedes LeClaire had 14 digs on the defensive end. The Knights continue CCC play next weekend, heading east to face the College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon. Warner Pacific returns home on September 19 with a match against Northwest University.