Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Suddenly, the hottest team in the GNAC is the defending champs.

The Northwest Nazarene volleyball team put an end to a 16-match win streak for host Western Washington and handed a second Top-25 ranked Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe a defeat, taking a straight-set win from the Vikings, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23 on Thursday night.

"We just played one of the best, if not the best, offensive match since I have been the coach at NNU," said Crusaders head volleyball coach Doug English. "Hailey (Cook) made great choices and put our hitters in a position to score and everyone scored.

"Then our defense was stellar, added English, whose team now holds the longest win streak in the GNAC at seven straight victories.

"We have been working hard to play at match like that."

The win was the first for the Crusaders on the road against the Vikings since the 2009 season, and was the second upset of a ranked GNAC foe as NNU topped then 7^th-ranked Alaska Anchorage in four set on Oct. 8.

NNU (12-7 overall, 9-2 GNAC) got things rolling in the opening set as a back-to-back kills from Kendra Bodine and Taylor VanValey, followed by a Jenna Caywood and VanValey block, erased a 17-14 lead for the home-standing Vikings.

Keeping the host from getting on a roll was key, as NNU was able to snag a 22-20 lead on a Madi Farrell kill late in the first set, then two more kills late helped the Crusaders snap a 2-22 tie and take the win.

Riding the opening-win momentum, NNU forged an early 10-7 edge on a VanValey kill, but once again found itself in comeback mode down 16-12.

A Bodine kill sparked the comeback, a Farrell kill tied it 21-21, and back to back kills from Caywood and VanValey put win No. 2 in the Crusaders column.

After the break, NNU didn't need another comeback, taking a 16-12 advantage itself on an Elayna Rice kill and never trailing, finishing off the sweep with a Bodine kill then a VanValey and Caywood tandem block.

Bodine led a prolific NNU attack with 17 kills while Farrell added 11 kills for the Crusaders, who hit .345 against the Vikings, pounding out 53 kills with just 13 hitting error in 116 swings.

Cook set up the great offense, dishing out 48 assists and adding in 12 digs, while Rice led the defense with 16 digs while adding seven kills, and Linnea Phillips helped out with 12 digs, as well.

The hottest team in the GNAC now takes its 7-match win streak on the road for the final match in a two-week road trip, playing at Simon Fraser on Saturday before returning home to host six of its final eight matches.