EUGENE, Ore. – After coming from behind time and time again, the Northwest Christian University volleyball team’s final rally fell just short in a tough five-set loss to Northwest on Saturday night, 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-13.
After playing evenly through the first four sets, the Beacons jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the finale when the Eagles turned it on, using an 8-2 run as they secured a 9-7 lead. After a block by Sarah Stoker and Ashton Arbuthnot gave NU a 12-8 advantage, it was NCU’s turn for one final rally.
Consecutive kills by Maren Mansfield, followed by a Mansfield service ace, brought the Beacons to within one point, 12-11. Northwest, however, used their final timeout, effectively icing the server as the next point went out for a service error. NCU then trailed 13-11 and once again flexed their muscles with back-to-back kills from Taylor Richardson and Janel Fetters to tie the game at 13-13. Northwest was finally able to close the match as Stoker and Arbuthnot each registered a kill to grab the victory.
“It’s a disappointing loss when you go five and it was as close as this match was,” said head coach Mike Gaffaney. “I love the fact that we fought back so many times tonight as it really shows the heart and character of our girls. They never give up and they should be proud of that. This match could have just as easily gone three sets for either team. We weren’t clicking offensively and that is what hurt us, giving them too many opportunities to get stretches of points.”
Northwest (9-5, 3-2 CCC) jumps into a tie for fifth place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with the victory while the Beacons (7-7, 2-4) stand alone in seventh place.
It was Olivia Vandlac leading the way for the Eagles, posting a double-double with 20 digs, 13 kills and four of the team’s eleven service aces. Breanna Covey added eleven kills and was in on five of the Eagles 12 blocks. Stoker finished the night with seven blocks and seven kills and Arbuthnot recorded match-highs with 33 assists and five aces while also posting 16 digs. Heather Shulke dug a team-leading 27 digs.
The Beacons were led by Tami Brown who tied the match-high with 13 kills, adding nine digs and two blocks. Chandler Gabrio provided a bright spot in the middle, hitting .320 with ten kills and a team-leading four blocks. Fetters added nine kills and three blocks while Cori Wallace led the team with 26 assists.
The silver lining on the grey cloud tonight belonged to Mansfield who posted seven kills and became just the third player in NCU history to cross the 500 kill plateau for her career. She now has 503 kills just mid-way through her junior season.
NCU will be back in action on Monday, staying home to host Simpson University at 7:00 pm. Northwest will return home next Friday for a key CCC meeting with Southern Oregon University (8-7, 4-1), also at 7:00 pm.