CHENEY, Wash. - Northwest Nazarene women's volleyball returned to the court for the first time in over a year on Wednesday afternoon, falling to Eastern Washington 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-13).

The Nighthawks battled well early in each set against the DI-member Eagles, but EWU was able to pull away late for the set victories.

Mattisyn Cope led NNU offensively with seven kills, followed by Natalie Sullivan with six and Anna Gable with five. A trio of Nighthawks recorded at least five assists (Mckenzie Lee, Gabriella Haws, and Casey Kispert).

On the defensive side, Caroline McMahon led the Nighthawks with 18 digs. Gable also tallied three blocks at the net.

NNU's best set came at the beginning, racking up 10 kills on 47 attempts. The Nighthawks tallied the first two points of the afternoon on a Brooke Foster kill and an Eagle error. NNU and EWU then traded points until it was 10-10 after a Cope kill and another Eagle error. EWU would score six of the next seven points to take a five-point lead, which they would not relinquish as the home team pulled away for the 25-17 set win.

The Nighthawks scored the first two points of the second set as well, with Cope opening with a kill and EWU committing another error. EWU responded with the next five points, though, and would build a 17-9 advantage. NNU fought back, pulling to within five, 19-14, on an ace from McMahon, but the Eagles ended the set on a 6-2 run to take the frame.

In all three sets, NNU was first on the board to begin play as an EWU service error opened the final stanza. The Nighthawks were unable to get much going after that, however, as the Eagles jumped out to a 10-point advantage early before taking the set 25-13.

NNU will remain on the road for their next two contests, visiting Salt Lake City on Saturday for a tri-match against host Westminster and Colorado Mesa.