Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho — An unbelievable season came to an unthinkable end for the Crusaders Thursday night.

The top seed and NCAA Division II West Regional host ran into a determined Dixie State squad that upended No. 10 Northwest Nazarene, 25-15, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20 at the Johnson Sports Center, a disappointing end to an amazing season.

"It's extremely disappointing when you lose," NNU head volleyball coach Doug English said. "Like (Associate Athletic Director) Kelli Lindley said, the only way our season is going to end without winning a national championship is losing, so you're kind of mentally prepared going into it and it just sucks.
 

"You just feel for Taylor (Roberts) and Michelle (Terpstra) and Kaitlyn (Tuholski) and Rebecca (TenHaken) who probably are never going to step on a volleyball court again.

"So it's never fun to watch somebody's career end, that's the hardest part."

The loss put an end to those four Crusader seniors careers, but not before they helped make history for NNU (24-3 overall), which won its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference title and advance to the NCAA National Tournament for the second time in program history.

"This team, we've had a phenomenal year," English added. "Taylor and Michelle and Kaitlyn and Rebecca came into this program in one place and left it in a different place and I think that's what I'm most proud of.

"And we lost three matches this year, like who goes through a season and loses three matches? When you look back, not tomorrow, but five, 10 years from now, we had a phenomenal year, it was a phenomenal group of people that sacrificed everything for each other."

But the Red Storm (21-8) put an end to that phenomenal season by starting strong, using an 11-2 run in the opening set to grab an early lead in the match against the host school.

Dixie State's strong start did little to dampen the mood of more than 1,200 Crusader fans who had the Johnson Sports Center rocking, and riding that momentum NNU battle back in the second set.

A Jacquelyn Johnson service ace put the Crusaders up 18-15, and Andrea Terpstra got NNU closer to evening the match with a kill that put the Crusaders on top, 22-21.
 

But somehow the Red Storm found a way to stave off what's been the key all season for NNU — the ability to finish sets in the clutch.

A Lindsey Jones kill tied the score, then back-to-back kills from Nicole Koehler set DSU on its way to a two-set-to-none advantage.

"I think that probably was the one that cost us the match is not pulling out that 22-22 set," English said, "and it's frustrating."

Still, phenomenal teams put together amazing seasons by overcoming adversity, and the Crusaders went to work doing that in the third set, slowly pulling away as a Kendra Bodine kill gave NNU an 11-8 lead.

An Elayna Rice kill stretched the advantage to 17-12, and eventually a Taylor VanValey kill finished off the set in the Crusaders favor.

NNU tried to ride that momentum to a fourth-set victory, but a pair of Koehler kills and a tandem block by Koehler and Shelby Sorenson snapped a 14-14 tie, giving the Red Storm just enough breathing room to inch toward a win that closed out the match.

"Tonight was just not our night, and we learned a lot as volleyball players," said Farrell, who finished with 10 kills for NNU in the setback.

Bodine led the Crusaders with 11 kills while Michelle Terpstra dished out 37 assists, Roberts added 18 digs and Rice had 10 digs for NNU.

Kendahl Weiland led the Red Storm with 18 kills in the win, while Shelby Sorenson added 46 assists and Alex Anderson made 18 digs for Dixie State, which plays Pac West rival BYU-Hawaii on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a West Regional semifinal.