NU's Amanda Waterman had 4 service aces to go along with her 14 kills
NU Posts Second Sweep of the Week
KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Northwest University Eagles recorded their second straight sweep of the week with a 3-0 straight set victory over Walla Walla University tonight (25-19, 25-16, 25-15). The Eagles were led by Amanda Waterman's match high 14 kills and improve to 12-5 overall and 8-3 in Cascade Conference play.
Walla Walla came out fast and made it tough going for the Eagles in the first set which would see eleven ties. Northwest U would finally break through after a 14-14 tie scoring four straight points to lead 18-14, which included three Dakota Adams kills and two service aces by Amanda Waterman. NU would close out the set win with three more consecutive kills to go up 1-0 in the match.
Northwest U would win the second set on a strong service game while the offense would find gaps in the Walla Walla defense. Two Alysanne Van Dyke service aces and three straight Eagle kills would put NU up 17-7 as they would close out the set with Sydney Schlect's kill.
Walla Walla battled hard in the third set with NU holding a narrow, 9-7 lead early, but two straight kills by Amanda Waterman and two WWU attack errors would give the Eagles a 13-7 lead. Morgan Doyle's kill would close the gap to 20-14, but NU would close out the set and match with three kills for the win.
For Northwest U (12-5, 8-3 CCC), Waterman would add four service aces to her 14 kills while Hannah Hanson had 10 kills, hitting .714 for the match. Waterman hit .419 and NU hit .410 as a team. Morgan Pilon led the way with 33 assists and was aided by Brooke Riddle who tallied 13 assists. Emmaline Stockton had 17 digs and Leia Roy contributed 10. NU also had 10 service aces for the match.
Walla Walla (5-9, 2-7 CCC), was led by Natalie Skeoch's 8 kills and .444 hitting percentage. Alissa Casey led the Wolves with 14 assists and 6 digs while Leslie Shanko led WWU with 10 defensive digs. The Wolves were held to a .163 hitting percentage.
"We were more than a bit unsettled in the early going but most of that had to do with Walla Walla's fast start," said Steve Bain, Eagle head coach. "They served us tough and it took us time to find our passing rhythm but once we did we were very efficient on offense and were able to side out at high percentage. I thought Morgan (Pilon) did a nice job of establishing the middles early and that opened up things for our pin hitters. Closing out the first half of the conference season on a winning note was also a big plus and I know this group is anxious to get back to work to see if they can continue to make changes and improve."