KIRKLAND – Northwest used a .320 attack percentage to score a 3-0 win over Walla Walla in the Kristi Brodin Pavilion Thursday.
The 25-18, 25-13, 25-15 victory gives the Eagles a sweep of the season series and pulls the NU record to 4-4 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action.
"The short week made tonight's match a challenge. There were moments where we lost our focus, but overall, I was pleased with our effort," said NU Coach
Steve Bain. "We were especially strong from the service line, which allowed us to put pressure on Walla Walla's serve-receive and make their offense more predictable. I think we are learning the value of staying in the moment regardless of the opponent, and hopefully, we can continue to mature in that area of our game."
Walla Walla rattled off five straight points to start the match, but the Eagles answered with a 10-2 run, fueled by two Tatiana Ensz kills and a pair of Ana Saelens aces.
Abi Broussard had two kills, and Keann White had a kill and a block during an 8-1 NU outburst to deliver a 18-9 lead. The Eagles led by as many as 10 points in the set before White ended the game with a kill.
NU scored six consecutive points for a 15-6 lead in the second set and closed out the game with a 5-0 run, with Vanessa Franke and Sarah Howlett batting down a Wolf attack, giving NU a 2-0 lead in sets.
Down 9-8 in the final set, the Eagles got a pair of Howlett kills in an 8-1 run to take a 16-10 lead.
Northwest finished off the match on a 5-0 run, with Broussard getting three consecutive aces to close the curtain.
Ensz led the Eagles with nine kills, and Hannah Lord added seven. NU racked up 14 aces in the match, with Broussard and Saelens getting four apiece. Sealens led the team with 14 assists, and Courteney Carr got 11.
Keann White led the defense at the net with three block assists, while Cristina Hegarty led the back with six digs.
The Eagles return to action Saturday at 5 p.m., taking on The Evergreen State College in Olympia.