Box Score
SEATTLE, Wash. — The first team to take a set off the Crusaders in the last two weeks only sparked Northwest Nazarene's competitive fire.
After posting three straight road-sweep wins, the Crusaders needed one more set Saturday night before they dispatched host Seattle Pacific, 17-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-18, in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
"I loved how we responded after some adversity in the first set," NNU head coach
Doug English said.
The night started slow for NNU (16-5 overall, 9-5 GNAC), which trailed 6-2 early, and after closing to 18-16 down on a
Madi Farrell kill, the Crusaders saw the host Falcons pull away with a dominant finishing surge.
The Crusaders found themselves once again in an early hole in the second set, but tied 11-11, Farrell hammered out three of the next four kills — and
Kendra Bodine put away another ball — sparking an 8-0 run that turned the match around.
Nip-and-tuck in the third set, NNU took control after a serving error snapped a 16-16 tie. Farrell then had a pair of kills and Bodine another in a 7-0 charge that led to the win.
On top, the Crusaders didn't let SPU (9-13, 5-9) gain any momentum in the fourth and final set as a kill each from Bodine,
Hailey Cook and
Mari Thomas, and two from Farrell, gave NNU a 6-1 lead and the Crusaders never looked back.
"Madi was hitting great and we tried to get her as many balls as we could," said English, as NNU's All-American middle blocker finished with a Crusader season-high 23 kills.
"Then our defense in sets two through four was stellar and they had a hard time scoring," NNU's coach added as his team's defense made 63 digs in the final three sets after just 10 in the opener.
"That is a big win for us," added English, whose team now heads home on a four-match win streak to host No. 17 Western Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Johnson Sports Center.
Shayli Siegfreid led the defensive effort with 21 digs for NNU, which also got 15 digs from Thomas, and 14 digs and 19 kills from Bodine.
Cami Heninger added a 10 kills and Cook dished out 54 assists in the victory for NNU.
