NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene volleyball earned its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory of the season on Thursday night, taking down Alaska Anchorage 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 12-25, 25-19) at the Johnson Sports Center.
The Nighthawks entered the match looking for their first conference win against an Alaska Anchorage team that had opened GNAC play 3-0 and was receiving votes in the national rankings. NNU answered the challenge with a strong performance from start to finish, taking control early and finishing the night with its first conference victory of the season.
NNU came out swinging in the opening set, quickly establishing an early lead behind kills from
Lily Kinloch and
Abby Black. The Nighthawks continued to find success offensively as Black,
Hailey Cheney and
Jenna Holm helped NNU build a 15-6 advantage.
Morgan Wilding added a pair of service aces during the run, and the Nighthawks never looked back.
Maddy Hellem delivered the final kill before an Alaska Anchorage attack error closed out the opening frame, 25-14.
The second set was a much tighter battle, with the teams trading points through the early stages. NNU found its rhythm midway through the frame as Hellem and
Madison Cheney provided kills before
Kayci Spray delivered a service ace to give the Nighthawks a 17-14 lead. Another Wilding ace and a kill from Cheney helped NNU stretch its advantage to 21-15. Alaska Anchorage attempted to rally late, but
Jenna Holm put away a kill to bring NNU to set point before an UAA attack error sealed the 25-20 win and put the Nighthawks one set away from the match.
Alaska Anchorage responded in the third set, jumping out to an early lead and forcing NNU to play from behind. The Seawolves built a 7-2 advantage before eventually stretching the lead to 13-6. Black provided a spark with a service ace, while Hellem and Cheney added kills, but UAA continued to control the set. The Seawolves closed out the frame with a service ace, taking the third set 25-12 and cutting NNU's match lead to 2-1.
With the match back within reach for Alaska Anchorage, the Nighthawks responded with one of their strongest starts of the night. NNU opened the fourth set with four straight points and continued to build its advantage, racing out to an 8-1 lead and forcing an early UAA timeout.
The Seawolves fought back and trimmed the deficit, but NNU continued to answer. Black recorded back-to-back kills, while blocks from Kinloch and Holm helped the Nighthawks maintain control. Hellem and
Madison Cheney added kills as NNU moved ahead 21-15, and a block from
Hailey Cheney and Kinloch pushed the lead to 23-16.
Alaska Anchorage made one final push late in the set, cutting the NNU advantage to 23-19, but the Nighthawks stayed composed. Black delivered a kill from Wilding to bring NNU to match point, and after UAA extended the set once more, Kinloch finished the night with a kill from Wilding to give NNU the 25-19 fourth-set victory.
The win moves the Nighthawks to 1-3 in GNAC play and gives NNU its first conference victory of the season.
NNU will return to the road next week, traveling to Lacey, Washington, to take on the Saint Martin's Saints on Thursday, Sept. 24. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Pacific time.
