LACEY, Wash. – The Northwest Nazarene volleyball team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play and extended their win streak with a 25-20, 25-12, 18-25, 25-21 road victory at Saint Martin's on Thursday night.

"Getting a conference win is always great," NNU coach Doug English said.

NNU (5-2 overall, 1-0 GNAC) took control of the opening set with a three-point surge that saw Elayna Rice pound down a kill, Michelle Terpstra add an ace and Taylor VanValey and Jenna Caywood team up for a block, putting the Crusaders in front, 22-17.

Andrea Terpstra, the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, then pounded down two of her match-high 17 kills in a 13-2 run that broke the second set wide open.

The Saints (2-9, 0-1) battled back to take the third set, but NNU answered by rolling out to a commanding 16-5 after a Rebecca TenHaken kill in the fourth set, and cruised to the victory.

"We didn't focused well after having long breaks," English said of the third set setback as the mid-match break took an extra five minutes and the match was delayed even longer because of roster issues.

Elayna Rice added 11 kills and 16 digs for NNU, which won its fourth straight match, while Michelle Terpstra dished out 39 assists in the victory.

Taylor Roberts had 20 digs, Kaitlyn Tuholski added 15 digs and Linnea Phillips made 10 digs for NNU.

"Andi Terpstra was phenomenal for us tonight," English said, adding, "and Taylor Roberts and Linnea Phillips were fantastic tonight. They made some great digs and did a good job keeping us in system."

The Crusaders are back in action Saturday at Western Oregon before returning to Nampa for their home opener next Thursday when they host Alaska Anchorage.