SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Northwest Nazarene volleyball dropped the first set to Holy Names 25-18 on Friday morning, but rallied back for three in a row (25-15, 25-16, 25-23) to take the victory and improve to 5-1 on the year.
How It Happened
NNU dropped the first set after Holy Names went on a 5-0 run midway through the frame, taking a lead of 16-8, and didn't let up for the 25-18 win.
The Nighthawks bounced back in a big way, though, opening set two with five-straight points. The Hawks fought back for a bit, but a couple of late runs by NNU put the set away, capped by the last three points in a row with a
Maren Dent kill sealing the 25-15 win.
Set three was much closer to start, until a 5-1 run finished off by back-to-back kills from
Natalie Sullivan put the Nighthawks up 19-11. That lead proved insurmountable for HNU, as a
Caroline McMahon ace gave the Nighthawks the 25-16 victory.
Holy Names didn't go down without a fight, coming out strong in set four with early leads of 4-1 and 10-5. NNU rallied with five of the next six points to cut the deficit to 11-10, and added three more after HNU scored to take their first lead of the set at 13-12.
Play was about as close as it could get over the next few points, with the two teams tying at 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 before the Hawks managed to get two in a row to take a 19-17 lead. With HNU leading 22-20, NNU rallied with three in a row to go up 23-20 on a kill from Sullivan. After Holy Names tied it at 23,
Olivia Wright and
Tayler Markland went back-to-back for kills to take the set and the match.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks hit .279, including .389 in set three, while Holy Names hit just .128
- Olivia Wright led the team with 18 kills and six blocks, hitting .483
- Natalie Sullivan had 14 kills and 20 digs, while Miya Koch added 13 kills and 14 digs
- Mckenzie Lee had 51 assists along with 12 digs and three blocks
- NNU improves to 5-1 during their non-conference slate with two games to go before the start of GNAC play
Next Up
The Nighthawks have one more game today in San Rafael, taking on tournament host Dominican at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
