NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene volleyball took one set from the 10
th-ranked Western Washington Vikings on Thursday night, but WWU was able to hold off NNU for a 3-1 victory.
NNU falls to 16-6 overall and 9-5 in GNAC action.
How It Happened
NNU and WWU battled back and forth to start the opening set until the Vikings held a 13-11 lead. From there, WWU scored six of the next eight to open up a six-point lead and would remain in control of the set the rest of the way, taking it 25-17.
WWU jumped on NNU early in the second set, going up 6-2 and then building the lead up to 14-7. The Nighthawks fought back, cutting the deficit all the way down to two at 19-17, but the Vikings scored the final six points in a row to take the frame.
The Vikings started hot again in set three, going up 8-3 early. NNU slowly chipped away though, eventually evening the score at 20 after four-straight points that finished with a kill from
Olivia Wright. WWU rallied to take a 23-22 lead, but NNU then scored three straight, including an ace from
Maren Dent and a
Natalie Sullivan kill, to take the set 25-23.
The momentum would not carry over into set four, however, as it was all Vikings from the start, with the visitors taking a 13-7 lead. WWU did not let NNU get within less than four points for the rest of the frame, taking it 25-16 and the match 3-1.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks outpaced the Vikings in the ace column, registering nine to WWU's five
- Natalie Sullivan led the offense with 15 kills, hitting .289 with 14 digs and three aces
- Olivia Wright was next with 12 kills and hit .292 with four blocks
- Caroline McMahon led the team with 19 digs and put through two aces
- NNU was included in the 'under consideration' version of the NCAA West Regional Rankings on Wednesday, which listed the top 10 teams in the region with eight eventually selected to the NCAA Tournament
Next Up
The Nighthawks are back home this Saturday for Senior Day, hosting Simon Fraser in the final home match of 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
