EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team put together their third sweep of the weekend on Saturday night as they defeated Walla Walla University, 25-22, 25-14, 25-22.
NCU (11-13, 4-11 CCC) had their offense rolling, connecting on 46 kills over the three sets as they hit .313. The second set featured 18 kills and just four errors and the Beacons out-dug the Wolves 41-31.
Natalie Downes (pictured) had a disruptive night in the middle, hitting .500 as she put down 11 kills. Claire Salness added 17 kills and five digs and Megan Van Marter was up to her same old tricks, hitting .421 with 9 kills and just one error, adding three digs.
Makenna Northern (20 assists) and Haley Meili (16) combined to lead the offensive attack and Kayla Olson posted 12 digs.
Walla Walla (0-17, 0-16) was led by Caldora Blackburn, hitting .364 with nine kills. Krista Schafter posted 18 assists and Erika Dudar led all players with 15 digs.
Earlier in the day, NCU set a new single-match record, hitting .618 as the cruised past West Coast Baptist in the New Hope Christian College tournament, 25-8, 25-11, 25-8. Also in that match, Van Marter added another chapter to her legacy, setting a new NCU three-set match record with 21 kills, after tying the previous record of 18 on Friday night. This weekend the senior blocker hit just two errors and improved her CCC-leading attack percentage to .449, placing her No. 2 on the NAIA national list.
NCU will hit the road next weekend, traveling to take on The College of Idaho on Friday night beginning at 7:00 pm CST.