POMONA, Calif. – Northwest Nazarene volleyball came up short against a pair of very tough teams on Friday, falling on the road to Azusa Pacific in four sets before a three-set loss to No. 20 Chaminade.
NNU moves to 4-3 on the season with one more non-conference match to play before GNAC competition begins next week.
Game 1: APU 3, NNU 1
Azusa Pacific came out strong on their home court in each of the first two sets, taking set one 25-15 and set two 25-10.
NNU bounced back in set three, though, taking an early 6-2 lead and riding that momentum to a 17-8 advantage after a 5-0 run. NNU would cruise from there to take the frame 25-15.
Set two was a back-and-forth affair to start, with the Nighthawks taking a 13-12 lead after multiple ties and lead changes. The Cougars responded with five points in a row and eight of the next nine, however, to go up 20-14. The deficit was too much for NNU to overcome, falling 25-18.
Caroline McMahon had 14 digs, while
Gabi Moore added 12 digs and 29 assists.
Hailey Cheney led the Nighthawks with nine kills, followed by
Maren Dent and
Abby Black at eight apiece.
Game 2: CUH 3, NNU 0
Chaminade lived up to their national No. 20 ranking in NNU's second match of the day with a sweep of the Nighthawks.
The Silverswords started hot in both of the first two sets and would grab a 2-0 lead after wins of 25-13 and 25-16.
NNU showed resilience in the third set, keeping up with Chaminade before pulling away for a 24-19 lead. However, the Silverswords then scored five in a row to tie things at 24 before eventually completing the comeback 27-25 to take the match.
Londyn Giles (7 kills), Gabi Haws (19 assists and 10 digs), and
Miya Koch (2 blocks) were the statistical leaders for the Nighthawks.
Up Next
NNU has one more match to play in Pomona, taking on San Francisco State on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
