LACEY, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene volleyball outlasted Saint Martin's on the road on Thursday, taking down the Saints in five sets (25-20, 19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-11).
How It Happened
The Nighthawks started the first set on a 6-0 run, but SMU fought their way back into the frame and eventually tied it at 19 apiece. NNU then scored four in a row and six of the final seven, though, with a
Natalie Sullivan kill ending the set at 25-20.
Set two was close to start, but a 6-1 run for the Saints midway through the set proved to be too much for the Nighthawks to overcome as they fell 25-19.
The third set went back-and-forth nearly the entire way, but four-straight points from the Nighthawks ended the frame at 25-20.
Saint Martin's bounced back and led for nearly the entire fourth set, running away with it for the six-point win.
NNU went down early in set five, with SMU taking a 4-2 lead. NNU would claw back though, and ended the match on a 6-2 run that was finalized by a
Maren Dent kill.
Nighthawks Notes
- NNU has now won seven matches in a row, improving to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in GNAC play
- The Nighthawks outhit the Saints .232 to .215
- Natalie Sullivan led the Nighthawks with 19 kills and 12 digs, hitting .321
- Three other Nighthawks (Olivia Wright, Miya Koch, and Maren Dent) had 10 kills apiece, with Wright hitting .348
- Mckenzie Lee had 43 assists, and moved into fourth in NNU's rally-scoring history with 1,988 career assists and counting
- Caroline McMahon led the team with a season-high 27 digs
- NNU is now 25-1 against SMU dating back to the 2007 season
Next Up
The Nighthawks will travel south to play Western Oregon in Monmouth on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
