EUGENE, Ore. – Warner Pacific rebounded from a set one loss to defeat Northwest Chirstian 3-1 (11-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-23), and earn their first CCC win of 2018.
Everything that went right for NCU in set one, seemed wrong in set-two as they hit a negative percentage with five kills and eight hitting errors. The Knights, meanwhile, got their offense rolling with 14 kills as they hit .321 and were never in danger.
The Knights again took care of business in the third set before closing the game with a tightly contested fourth. WPC jumped out to a 5-1 lead, only to see the Beacons fight back to a 10-10 tie. The Knights against went out in front, holding an 18-14 lead after a
Melisa Ljuca kill, but NCU clawed their way back once again, taking their first lead of the set at 19-18 after a block from Van Marter and Laurie Salness.
The teams were then tied at 19's, 20's, 21's and 22's before back-to-back aces from
Meghan Turner gave Warner Pacific their final lead.
The Knights (2-5, 1-1 CCC) finished the night hitting .191 while owning a 10-8 advantage in blocks and an 11-10 edge in service aces.
Haley Yoder led the offense with 13 kills, hitting .407, adding four blocks. Ljuca and
Danielle Strasser added five blocks apiece with Ljuca scoring ten kills.
Meghan Turner added 15 digs and
Mercedes Massey posted 11, along with a match-high four aces.
Kealia Rosa showed her senior leadership at the setter spot, collecting 34 assists, six digs and three aces while also earning five well-timed kills with no errors to hit .455.
NCU (6-3, 1-1) were led by Van Marter, hitting .500 as she posted ten kills and four blocks. Claire Salness was next on the attack with five kills, adding a team-high with three aces along with 12 digs. The Beacons out-dug WPC 55-51, led by a match-high 16 from Kayla Olson. Haley Meili contributed a team-best 16 assists as well.
NCU will be back on the road next Friday night, continuing Cascade Collegiate Conference action in Olympia, Washington against Evergreen. The Knights will return to Portland on Friday and will play host to No. 7 College of Idaho in their 2018 home opener. Both matches are set for a 7:00 pm first serve.
Story courtesy of NCU Sports Information
