NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene volleyball opened up GNAC play in impressive fashion on Thursday night, sweeping aside Simon Fraser in the home opener.
NNU improves to 5-4 on the season and 1-0 in conference action.
Set one was very close throughout, with both teams making small runs but unable to pull away. Tied at 19, NNU then scored five of the next seven points to take a 24-21 lead on a
Londyn Giles ace. Two points later, it was a kill from
Hailey Cheney that ended the set in the Nighthawks' favor at 25-22.
NNU rode that momentum into set two, taking leads of 11-6, 15-8, and 19-11 before closing out the frame on a 5-0 run. Four straight attack errors by the Red Leafs ended the set at 25-14.
Simon Fraser bounced back in set three to take a 16-12 lead, but NNU quickly erased that deficit with a 4-0 run. SFU would pull back ahead at 19-17 before the Nighthawks rallied around a raucous crowd to score seven unanswered points, capped by a
Caroline McMahon ace, to go up 24-19. A couple points later,
Miya Koch put down a kill to take the set 25-21 and secure the match.
NNU had 11 aces to just five for SFU, with the Red Leafs also committing eight service errors. The Nighthawks also tallied 10 blocks to SFU's six.
Maren Dent led the offense with nine kills, followed by Koch at seven and both Giles and Cheney at five. Koch also hit .294 and recorded an ace, three blocks, and eight digs.
McMahon added 15 digs and three aces, while
Gabi Moore tallied 23 assists and eight digs.
Sarah Lyons, Giles, and Cheney each chipped in four blocks as well to bolster a strong effort at the net.
NNU will turn around and host Western Washington in two days, facing the always-tough Vikings at 1:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
