EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team is 5-1 for the first time in school history after pulling off a double-header sweep on Tuesday night. Sophomore setter Cori Wallace averaged ten assists per set as the Beacons defeated Simpson University (19-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-14) and Walla Walla University (25-16, 25-20, 25-16).
The Beacons go off to a slow start in front of a pumped up home crowd, dropping the first set against Simpson with a negative hitting percentage. They rallied strong in the second frame, however, posting a .324 kill percentage with 16 kills to just five errors. Wallace posted 13 assists in the second set alone.
NCU closed out the match taking the next two sets. “We won that first match on sheer guts,” said head coach Mike Gaffaney. “Coming off of three days of no practice because of school orientation didn’t set us up well. Plus, Simpson is a good team and we knew it wouldn’t be easy. Simpson played well and we weren’t able to put together consistent sets, but fortunately we were able to get the job done.”
Danielle Nance led the way on offense with 15 kills, hitting .355. Gaffaney said, “Danielle is our go-to senior in the middle and she continues to get better as we go along. She’s got a lot to play for in her final year and she’s doing a great job.”
Janel Fetters added twelve kills and Maren Mansfield secured ten, along with a match-high four service aces. Wallace finished with 42 assists and 14 digs and Dana Clark led the way with a match-high 23 digs. Alyssa Dorr also had a strong night in the back row, adding 14 digs.
Simpson (1-10) was led by Kirsten Duren and Jackie Nixon with nine kills apiece. Kelly Tyksen posted a double-double with 18 assists and twelve digs and Jamie Pickett led the team with 21 digs. Paige Adkins and Cash White dominated play in the middle of the court as they had a piece of all seven team blocks. Adkins had a solo block and five block assists.
The Beacons needed just sets and a pinch over one hour to close out the night against Walla Walla. NCU hit .242 as a team, out-killing the Wolves, 36-25. Wallace collected 28 assists and nine digs and Mansfield led the offense with eleven kills, hitting .273. Mansfield also posted a career-high seven service aces, third most in school history. Dana Clark chipped in ten digs, playing in just the first two sets.
Freshmen Maddy Seevers, LeeAnn Fudge and Liz Blaser all made their NCU volleyball debuts in the match. Seevers collected five kills and three blocks in the middle, hitting .400. Fudge snagged five digs in the third set.
Walla Walla (0-5) was led by Natalie Wilkening, collecting a match-high 15 kills. Kelsie Schafer added 19 assists and Heather McFadden collected a team-high 14 digs.
Gaffaney said, “It was our goal to get a sweep and head into conference play with some confidence and we will do that after our strong play tonight.”
Northwest Christian University will open up Cascade Collegiate Conference action this weekend, traveling to face Concordia University on Friday night at 7:00 pm