A 19 kill effort from Kristen Walters was not enough, as NCU took tonight's match over Oregon Tech in 5 sets. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
Beacons Take Final 2 Sets to Earn Comeback Win Over Oregon Tech
(KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.) – Oregon Tech battled back from an opening set loss to move up 2-1, only to see Northwest Christian University take the final two sets, including a come-from-behind 16-14 win in the finale to earn a 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 16-14) Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball match victory tonight at Danny Miles Court.
Oregon Tech falls to 10-12 on the season and 2-7 in CCC play. NCU improves to 11-8 overall and 4-5 in the conference standings.
Trailing 6-9 in to start the match, the Owls regained a lead at 11-9. Tech would hold on to an advantage making it 20-18 with a Kristen Walters spike. Back-to-back NCU kills from Taylor Richardson and Tami Brown would tie the set at 20-20, while the Owls would hurt their cause with three-straight attack errors to make it 20-23. Brown and Janel Fetters finished off the opening set with a pair of points for the Beacons, 25-20.
Set 2 featured eight ties, the last at 11-11, before the Owls took their largest lead on a pair of Walters kills, and the help of a NCU attack error, to go up 19-14. Four-straight points for the visitors closed the gap to 22-21, but Tech would score three of the next four to tie the match at 1-1.
Trailing 7-8 in set 3, Oregon Tech used a six-point run to take control 13-8. The teams would trade points before the Beacons pulled to within three points, 19-16. Four NCU mishits and an Aurora Penoyar kill for Tech made it set point, while NCU couldn’t get their final serve in play, as the Owls would move up 2-1 with the 25-20 win.
Set 4 would see 10 ties, the last at 18-18, before a Fetters kill and an Owl attack error gave NCU a lead they would hold on to until the end. A NCU service error and kill by Tech’s Kara Young got the home team within a single point, but back-to-back Brown and Richardson points gave NCU the set.
Tied 10-10 in the final set, the Owls took control after scoring four of the next five points, including kills from Walters and Penoyar, to make it match-point at 14-11. An error on the ensuing serve gave the ball back to NCU trailing 14-12. The Beacons would next use three-straight Owl hitting miscues, along with a block on Tech’s final swing, to win the extended set 16-14 and take the match 3-2.
Kristen Walters finished with a match-high 19 kills to go with 13 digs, while hitting at a .326 clip in the loss for the Owls. Aurora Penoyar added 14 kills in 25 attempts. Kayleigh Whelchel and Megan Holland combined for 44 assists with Marie Baumann anchoring Tech’s defense with a match-high 23 digs.
Tami Brown led the Beacon offense with 18 kills, followed by Maren Mansfield with 11 and Taylor Richard in double digits with 10 kills. Cori Wallace recorded 37 assists and Alyssa Dorr 18 in the NCU victory. Four Beacons recorded double digit digs, led by 17 from libero Dana McGowan, with Tami Brown and Cori Wallace adding 13 apiece along with 10 from Maren Mansfield.