NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene volleyball wasn't able to overcome a strong Simon Fraser team on Senior Day Saturday, falling to the visiting Red Leafs 3-1.
The Nighthawks fall to 16-7 on the season and 9-6 in GNAC play with three matches left in the regular season, all on the road.
How It Happened
NNU started off well following the Senior Day festivities, with an ace from
Helen Sullivan putting the Nighthawks up 7-4 early. Simon Fraser would grab five of the next seven points, though, to even things up at nine. After a kill from
Miya Koch, the Red Leafs rattled off nine-straight points to take an 18-10 lead and eventually win the set 25-18.
The Nighthawks got off to a good start again in set two, taking an early 4-1 advantage. A few points later, NNU went on a 5-0 run including an ace from
Caroline McMahon to take a commanding 14-5 lead. NNU cruised from there, with an
Olivia Wright kill capping the set at 25-16.
The momentum did not carry over to set three, though, as Simon Fraser scored the first four points and raced out to an 11-4 advantage. The Nighthawks did their best to battle back, cutting the deficit down to two at 20-18, but SFU followed that with three-straight points to effectively put the set away and took it 25-20.
SFU would jump out to another early lead in set four at 5-3, but the Nighthawks battled back to go up 12-9 midway through the frame. The teams would trade the lead multiple times from there, until NNU went up 18-17 on a kill from
Natalie Sullivan. The Red Leafs responded with four-straight points, though, taking a 21-18 lead. Again, the Nighthawks regained the momentum and were able to tie the score at 23 after kills from Koch and Wright, but SFU got two kills after that to win the set 25-23 and take the match.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks were able to hit .200 in the match, but Simon Fraser hit .245
- NNU had 10 aces compared to five for SFU
- Total blocks were even at eight apiece
- Natalie Sullivan led the Nighthawks offensively with 17 kills and a .275 attack percentage while adding six digs and two blocks
- Olivia Wright was also in double digits in kills with 12 while adding five blocks
- Caroline McMahon had 15 digs and three aces
- Miya Koch added 14 digs while Mckenzie Lee tallied 13 digs and 40 assists
- Helen Sullivan also added three aces for the Nighthawks
- NNU falls to an even 12-12 all-time against Simon Fraser
- The Nighthawks conclude their 2022 home slate with an 8-5 record in the Johnson Sports Center
- NNU was included in the 'under consideration' version of the NCAA West Regional Rankings last Wednesday, which listed the top 10 teams in the region with eight eventually selected to the NCAA Tournament; this coming Wednesday the NCAA will release its first ordered list of the rankings
Next Up
The Nighthawks will make the long trip up to Alaska next week, visiting Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday.
