EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team lost two matches on the road this weekend, falling to #13 Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech.

On Friday, NCU fell to conference-leading Southern Oregon (10-2, 7-0 CCC) 25-22, 25-15, 25-9. The Beacons had a chance to steal a set in the opener, holding the Raiders to a -.100 hitting percentage allowing seven kills to ten errors. But SOU proved why they are ranked No. 13 in the country and why they are still undefeated in the conference, rallying for the win and the sweep.

Head Coach Mike Gaffaney said, “They are definitely the best team in our conference. They turned it on when they needed to and they got the job done. We did a lot of things right tonight and we played well for the most part. We feel good about our efforts and we will be able to use this as something to build off of.”

Freshman Janel Fetters led NCU on offense with 12 kills. Chelsie Joyce had six kills and two blocks for the Beacons and Cori Wallace finished the night with 22 assists. Bridget Marasigan led the Beacons with eight digs.

Southern Oregon was led by a 14-kill night from Sarah Holden, who hit .480, leading the Raiders to a .300 attack percentage on the night. SOU out-blocked the Beacons 7-3 and held a 33-26 margin in digs.

The Beacons were swept again on Saturday night, falling to Oregon Tech (10-10, 2-5), 27-25, 25-19, 25-21. The Owls hit .281 in the match and collected 47 total kills. NCU had 26 unforced errors in the contest.

“For the most part, I was pleased with how we played tonight,” said Gaffaney. “We did make errors at critical times and it was our match to lose. We have four freshmen in our rotation and these types of problems are still to be expected.”

Wallace had another spectacular night for the Beacons, scoring a double-double with 25 assists and a team-high eleven kills. The setter hit .471 with just three attack errors. Maren Mansfield added eight kills and nine digs and Joyce added six kills and three blocks in the losing effort.

Northwest Christian (4-9, 1-6) will return home on Tuesday night for a non-conference match against Simpson University. The Beacons will remain at home next weekend, playing host to Concordia on Friday night and Warner Pacific on Saturday. All games are scheduled for a 7:00 pm start.