Eagles Complete Saturday Sweep in Spokane
SPOKANE, Wash.– Northwest University completed a sweep on the final day of the Sports Travel Northwest Invitational with a 3-0 sweep of Simpson (25-22, 25-15, 25-19) to even their record at 3-3 for the weekend. Earlier in the day, spotted Westminster (Utah) a 1-0 set lead, but then rattled off three straight set wins to defeat the Griffins 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-17).
Match 1 – NU vs. Westminster
Westminster broke out to an early 11-5 lead in set one and led the entire set as they posted a 25-21 win. Northwest came on late in the set, trailing 22-18, they pulled to within three, 24-21, capped off by a Rae Ann Haistings kill, but the Griffins capitalized on two straight NU attack errors to win the set.
The second set was tied 8 times before Northwest would take the lead for good at 18-17 and outscored Westminster 4-1 down the stretch for the set win.
It looked as though NU would win easily in the third set as they pulled out to a 12-5 lead in the early going and Hannah Hanson's kill would make it 16-7, Northwest. But, the Griffins would slowly get themselves back into the set and seven straight kills by WC, including four by Amanda Culpepper, would close the gap to 21-18. Three more Griffin kills, two by Culpepper would tie the set at 21-21. Westminster would take a 24-23 lead, but NU's Mattie Jo Johnson would tie the score for the final time at 24-all with her kill and two straight attack errors by WC would give the set to NU, 26-24.
A Mattie Jo Johnson kill would help give NU a 14-8 lead in the final set and Arika Zwack's kill would increase the Eagle lead to 17-9 as NU would cruise to the 25-17 set and match victory.
Rae Ann Haistings led the way for Northwest U (2-3) with 11 kills. Amanda Waterman added 10 kills and 17 digs while Christina Gleb led the team with 20 assists. Morgan Pilon added 18 assists and Leia Roy had a match high 22 digs on top of a match high 5 service aces.
"It took us until halfway through the first set to find our rhythm, but then we settled in and began to execute," said Steven Bain, NU head coach. "We also demonstrated good composure in the third set. Westminster had a nice run, but we then fought off a set point and finished the match."
Match 2 – NU vs. Simpson
Northwest got off to a slow start in set one and found themselves deadlocked with the Red Hawks 11-11 early in the set. But a 6-1 run by the Eagles capped off by a Dakota Adams (Yakima, Wash.) kill would put NU ahead 17-12. Simpson would not go away easily and would cut into the NU lead and trail by one, 21-20 after two straight Eagle errors. Simpson would tie the score at 21-21 and again at 22-all, but two Eagle kills and an attack error by the Red Hawks would give the Eagles the narrow 25-22 win.
In set two, NU would hold an 11-7 lead , but Simpson would chip away at their lead and cut it to two, 12-10. Northwest would heat up and outscore the Red Hawks 10-2 to increase their lead to 22-12 after two straight kills by Amanda Waterman (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). NU would outscore SU 3-2 down the stretch for the set victory.
The final set would see Simpson hold two early leads, but trailing 3-2, Northwest U would take a 14-8 lead outscoring the Red Hawks 11-6. Three straight kills by NU's Arika Zwack (Whittier, Calif.), Waterman and Adams would give the Eagles a 19-14 lead and they would close out the set and match for the 3-0 win.
Freshman Amanda Waterman led Northwest U (3-3) with 11 kills and 13 digs for a double-double. Arika Zwack had 7 kills with a .417 hitting percentage and Mattie Jo Johnson (Rosalia, Wash.) also had 7 kills and hit .364 for the match. Christina Gleb (Vashon Island, Wash.) led the way with 19 assists while Brooke Riddle added 11 assists and Leia Roy (Puyallup, Wash.) tallied 10 digs for the Eagles.
Commented Steven Bain, NU head coach, "The second match of the day was similar to the first as it took some time for us to find our rhythm again. Half way through the first set we were in better position and we were able to improve our efficiency on offense. It was a good match for us with contributions from the veterans and our younger players."
Northwest U will now make a cross country trip to Daytona Beach, Florida next weekend for the Embry Riddle Labor Day Tournament.