ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Ranked fourth in this week's NCAA Division II Pacific Region poll, the Northwest Nazarene University volleyball team protected it's ranking with a 26-30, 30-25, 30-15, 31-29 victory over the University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Sports Center.

"This is always a tough place to play and we are glad to get out of here with a win," commented NNU head coach Jared Sliger who saw his team improve to 9-4 in conference play and 15-6 overall.

Lindsay Forseth paced the Crusaders with her 16 kill, 20 dig effort, while Loni Evenson netted 14 kills and had 16 digs as NNU has now won five-straight conference matches. Cammy Dranginis had 13 kills and was a part of seven blocks, three solo, and hit .347 in the match as she and Forseth combined for just five hitting errors in 79 total attacks.

The Crusaders, who sit alone in third-place in the GNAC, will now travel to Fairbanks and play the Nanooks from the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in a GNAC counter.