Walla Walla Falls to Northwest University

9/22/2019 3:33:59 PM

WWU Sports Information

College Place, Wash. – Walla Walla hosted the Eagles of Northwest University on Sunday morning for their first matchup of the season. A few hiccups on the defensive side in the first two sets put the Wolves (1-12, 0-6 CCC) down 2-0 in the match and the Eagles (5-8, 2-5 CCC) were able to use their momentum in set three to claim the decisive set and sweep past the Wolves in straights sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-15.
 
In the early stages of the opening set, the Eagles held a slim 9-6 lead before a 4-0 run by the Wolves gave them their first lead of the opening set. The Eagles, however, answered with a 4-0 run of their own to reclaim the lead. The Wolves would play the Eagles even the rest of the set and could not overcome the slim lead the Eagles had built. The Eagles used back-to-back kills by Keann White and Abigail Broussard to claim set one, 25-21.
 
Set two saw a similar theme, as the Eagles held a slim 8-7 lead before the Wolves reeled off a 5-0. The Wolves continued holding off an Eagles rally before they finally broke through and reclaimed the lead at 18-17. The Wolves battled back, tying up the score at 19-19. A 4-0 decisive run by the Eagles gave the visiting team some breathing room and they were able to hold off a Wolves rally for a set two victory, 25-23.

With momentum on their side, the Eagles wasted no time in set three scoring 11 of the first 14 points to hold an 11-3 lead and put the Wolves backs against the wall. The Wolves, however, responded with a run of their own, putting together a 7-2 run to cut into the Eagles lead. Unfortunately for the Wolves, their slow start could not be overcome as the Eagles took advantage of their hot start and rode multiple 4-0 runs to lead them to a 25-15 victory and claim the match in straight sets.
  
Walla Walla was led by Sarah Halversen (11 kills, 3 block assists), Gabrielle Browning (8 kills, 10 digs, 4 assisted blocks), and Camiryn Rice (3 kills, 4 block assists), while Krista Schafer notched 18 assists.
 
Northwest University was led by Keann White (12 kills), Sarah Howlett (11 kills, 3 assisted blocks), while setters Courteney Carr (23 assists) and Ana Saelens (16 assists) led the Eagles passing attack.

Both teams will square off against each other for their next match. The Wolves will travel to Kirkland, Wash. for the rematch on Thursday, September 26 at 7 p.m.