BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Lindsay Forseth and Cammy Dranginis each finished with 17 kills as the Northwest Nazarene University volleyball team upset 7th-ranked Western Washington University 25-22, 20-25, 26-24 and 25-19 on Thursday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match in Bellingham.

The Crusaders, now 10-7 overall and 4-4 in GNAC play, broke a 17-match losing streak to the Vikings, who fall to 13-2 overall and 5-2 in GNAC action.  "Now I know how John Elway felt...to get the monkey off your back," NNU head coach Jared Sliger commented on winning his first match against Western Washington in his tenure at the helm of the Crusaders.

"We played well at the right times tonight and Haley Hevern was outstanding," Sliger added as his defensive leader hustled for 27 digs, matching WWU's Allison Gotz for match-high honors.

The Vikings were led by Megan Amundson with 17 kills and Angie Alvord with 14.  WWU was the last team in NCAA Division II to be unbeaten at 13-0 prior to Saturday night's loss against Alaska Fairbanks.

In addition to her offensive effort, Forseth added 18 digs and both Kailey Trautmann and Amanda Boschma each had 19 digs.  Amy Higginson led the offense with 40 assists and positioned the Crusaders to hit for a .228 attack percentage.

The Crusaders will travel to Seattle Pacific University on Saturday, looking for the rare I-5 road sweep.  Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST.


Match Boxscore
Northwest Nazarene vs #7 Western Washington (10/16/08 at Bellingham, WA)

  Northwest Nazarene def. Western Washington 25-22,20-25,26-24,25-19

  Northwest Nazarene (10-7, 4-4 GNAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) -
  Forseth,Lindsay 17-1-3; Dranginis,Cammy 17-0-2; Boschma,Amanda 8-0-1;
  Trautmann,Kailey 7-0-0; Higginson,Amy 6-0-1; VanElderen,Kelly 4-0-4;
  Totals 59-1-6.0. (Assists) - Higginson,Amy 40. (Dig leaders) -
  Hevern,Haley 27; Boschma,Amanda 19; Trautmann,Kailey 19;
  Forseth,Lindsay 18; Higginson,Amy 10

  Western Washington (13-2, 5-2 GNAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) -
  Amundson,Megan 17-2-2; Alvord,Angie 14-2-4; Besett,Shanley 10-0-1;
  Roma,Tiana 7-0-2; Jepsen,Emily 5-0-0; Hill,Marissa 5-0-0; Rice,Kari
  1-0-1; Adkins,Haleigh 1-0-0; Totals 60-4-6.0. (Assists) - Rice,Kari
  47. (Dig leaders) - Gotz,Allison 27; Amundson,Megan 22; Rice,Kari 12;
  Adkins,Haleigh 11; Hill,Marissa 8; Besett,Shanley 8

  Site: Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)
  Date: 10/16/08       Attend: 505   Time: 1:51
  Referees: Jim Olson, Frank Pinerics