EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team once again lost their first two sets on Friday night, but rallied to win the next three as they completed a season-sweep over Eastern Oregon University, 23-25, 13-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-12. It was career victory number 50 for head coach Mike Gaffaney.
“We don’t set out to go five sets with anybody, and we certainly don’t set out to lose the first two,” said Gaffaney. “But this was another example of our girls never giving up and playing hard until the final point. We had great energy from our crowd tonight and this was truly a team effort. Everyone on the court contributed to the win.”
With a mid-week injury to middle-blocker Chelsea McGowan, the Beacons were forced to switch up their formation on Friday, running a 5-1 system which allowed Setter Cori Wallace to remain on the court the entire match. The result was an NCU-record 54 assist performance for the junior, who added 16 digs and a pair of blocks.
The Beacons hit .215 in the match, led by a spectacular effort from freshman Chandler Gabrio who hit .500 with 13 kills and just one error. Tami Brown finished the night with a match-high 17 kills, adding 14 digs and three blocks.
NCU had six different players reach double-digits for digs, led by Dana McGowan with 23. Janel Fetters completed a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs, adding four of NCU’s seven service aces. Maren Manfield chipped in eight kills and twelve digs.
Eastern Oregon (12-6, 6-4) hit .233 in the match, led by Casey Loper who hit .484 with 17 kills and match-high five blocks. Stefani Sorensen added 16 kills and Rebecca Haight finished with 14. Kaitlyn Duncan led all players with 29 digs and Jessica Perron posted a double-double with 13 digs and 32 assists.
The Beacons (12-8, 5-5) will be back in action on Saturday night, playing host to No. 15 College of Idaho at 7:00 pm. Eastern Oregon will be in Salem to face Corban University at the same time.