NAMPA, Idaho – With a huge match looming on the horizon, the Crusaders never took their eyes off the task right in front of them.

Remaining focused on Thursday's match against Simon Fraser, the Northwest Nazarene volleyball dominated in a 25-10, 25-17, 25-17 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win.

"I was worried we were going to overlook them a little bit, looking forward to Western Washington and the match we have on Saturday, but we did the opposite," NNU coach Doug English said. "Our ladies were very focused in sets one and two."

A kill by Elayna Rice sparked a 10-1 run in the first set, putting the Crusaders (13-5, 9-3 GNAC) comfortably ahead 17-5 en route to an early edge.

The second set proved much tighter, with the Clan (9-8, 4-7) tying it three times.

But even at 15-15, a block by Andrea Terpstra got NNU rolling on a 9-0 run that iced the second-set win.

The final set again was nip-and-tuck, for a while, until back-to-back errors by the Clan proved way to generous and NNU rolled off eight straight points to stretch a 15-14 lead to 23-14, en route to completing the sweep.

Rice led NNU with 13 kills while adding nine digs, and Kaitlyn Tuholski added nine kills and 14 digs in the win.

"Our outside hitters, Katy and Elayna, both hit great," English said. "They made smart shots and got them out of system."

Andrea Terpstra added eight kills and seven blocks and Michelle Terpstra had 29 assists and 10 digs in the win.

Next up, the big match as NNU hosts No. 10-ranked Western Washington on Saturday night at 7 in a battle for first place.

The Crusaders will wear their black uniforms and fans are encouraged to wear black and "Blackout" the Johnson Sports Center in support of NNU.