ARCATA, Calif. – Northwest Nazarene continued play at the Redwood Coast Volleyball Classic on Friday, battling No. 8-ranked Nebraska-Kearney in its second day of competition. The Nighthawks battled throughout all three sets against one of the nation's top teams, but the Lopers ultimately came away with a 3-0 victory, taking the sets 25-22, 25-17 and 25-17.
The Nighthawks came out strong in the opening set, taking an early 4-2 advantage behind kills from
Lily Kinloch and
Hailey Cheney. NNU continued to apply pressure offensively, pushing its advantage to 10-6 and forcing Nebraska-Kearney to call an early timeout.
UNK responded with a run to pull even at 14-14, but the Nighthawks continued to battle behind kills from
Abby Black,
Madison Cheney and
Jenna Holm. NNU regained a 16-15 lead before the Lopers answered, keeping the opening set tight as neither team was able to create much separation.
The Nighthawks held a 20-19 advantage late in the set following a kill from
Madison Cheney, but UNK responded with a three-point run to take a 22-20 lead. NNU fought back to within one at 23-22 after a kill from
Hailey Cheney, but Nebraska-Kearney scored the final two points to take the opening set, 25-22.
The Nighthawks again came out strong to open the second set, taking an early 5-1 lead behind a pair of kills from
Abby Black. Nebraska-Kearney quickly responded, though, tying the set at 5-5 before taking its first lead at 6-5. NNU stayed within striking distance early, with
Lily Kinloch and
Hailey Cheney providing kills to keep the Nighthawks within two at 10-8.
UNK began to pull away midway through the set, extending its advantage to 14-10 and forcing NNU to take a timeout. The Nighthawks answered with a kill from
Madison Cheney and a block from
Abby Black to cut the deficit to 16-12, but the Lopers continued to build momentum and moved ahead 20-13.
NNU continued to battle late, getting kills from
Jenna Holm,
Hailey Cheney and
Tatum Swapp, but Nebraska-Kearney maintained its cushion. The Lopers closed out the set 25-17 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Northwest Nazarene once again came out strong in the third set, taking an early 3-1 lead behind a kill from
Abby Black and a service ace from Black. Nebraska-Kearney answered quickly, but the Nighthawks continued to battle, with
Tatum Swapp,
Morgan Wilding and
Lily Kinloch contributing kills as NNU held an 8-7 advantage early.
The set remained tightly contested through the midway point, with the teams trading points and finding themselves tied at 9-9 and again at 10-10. A kill from
Abby Black and a service ace from
Hailey Cheney helped NNU regain a 10-9 lead, while Wilding and Kinloch added kills to keep the Nighthawks within reach. NNU eventually took a 13-12 lead before UNK answered to even the set at 13-13.
From there, Nebraska-Kearney found a rhythm and went on a run to take an 18-13 lead, forcing NNU to use a pair of timeouts. The Nighthawks continued to fight, getting a kill from
Hailey Cheney to cut the deficit to 21-15, but UNK maintained its momentum late in the set.
Nebraska-Kearney extended its lead to 24-17 before closing out the set on the next point, taking the third frame 25-17 and completing the three-set victory.
The Nighthawks will close out the Redwood Coast Volleyball Classic on Saturday, facing Rollins College at 8:00 a.m. PT. NNU will look to finish the weekend strong in its final match of the tournament.
