Box Score NAMPA, Idaho — The Northwest Nazarene University volleyball team swept past California State University at Los Angeles 25-19, 25-18, 25-17 to stay unbeaten and win their opening match of the 2017 West Region Showcase Volleyball Tournament on Thursday night at the Johnson Sports Center on the NNU campus.
 
Kendra Bodine paced the Crusaders (5-0) with a match-high 15 kills, hitting an efficient .389 in the match.  Madi Farrell finished with nine kills and Cami Heninger had eight.
 
"We were just really steady tonight," NNU head coach Doug English commented.  "We were aggressive when we needed to be and I thought Hailey put people in the right spots all night.  Both Kendra and Cami had nice matches as well."
 
The Golden Eagles (2-3) were led by Karla Santos with 11 kills and Alejandra Negron added nine.
 
Tied at 8-8 in the opening set and close at 11-10, the Crusaders ran off four straight points, highlighted by two Bodine kills, and then stretched the lead to 17-11 after a ball handling error by CSULA.  NNU wouldn't look back as a Farrell kill, an attack error by the Golden Eagles and a Bodine ball down the line finished off the set.
 
Both the second and third set were tipped by NNU scoring runs, a 7-0 run opened up the second set as a Natalie Knauf kill closed it to 4-6 and a Mari Thomas kill ended it with NNU leading 12-7.
 
Set three featured 4-0 and 5-0 runs that quickly put NNU in front, allowing the Crusaders to play into their roster down the stretch.
 
The NNU defense held the visitors to a .128 hitting percentage and winning the blocking battle at the net with a 10-6 edge.
 
The Crusaders will return to the court tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. when they face Dominican University of California.  Tournament matches begin at 10 a.m. with Simon Fraser facing Sonoma State.  CSULA will play Hawaii Pacific at 12:30 p.m., Simon Fraser returns against Hawaii Pacific at 5:30 p.m. and Dominican battles CSULA in the nightcap at 8 p.m.