NEWBERG, Ore. – It took a full game for the Beacons to adjust to their fourth starting setter of the season, but adjust they did as NCU won their seventh straight match to open the season, topping George Fox on the road in four games, 13-25, 25-20, 25-20, 27-25.
 
With freshman Laurie Salness still sidelined with an injury, the timing couldn't have been any better for junior transfer Marsha Poischbeg to get healthy enough to hit the court for NCU. She was impressive in her first match with the Beacons, collecting 44 assists. Poischbeg distributed the ball well as five different players were allowed at least 17 swings.
 
Head Coach Kelly Pitre said, "Coming back with a short turnaround we only had one practice to implement some of the changes that we needed to make after the Simpson Tournament. We focused on hitting around the block and our hitters made better decisions tonight. We focused on blocking and the block was absolutely great tonight. They worked really hard on the small technical things that we had a hard time with over the weekend. The defense of George Fox was outstanding. I think we would have had a lot more blocks if it weren't for their great coverage. 
 
The Beacons collected a season-high six blocks and out-dug the Bruins 72-62. After a .000 hitting percentage in a rocky first set, the Beacon offense turned things around, hitting .217 for the remainder of the match. There were not big momentum shifts during those last three sets," said Pitre. "We did a really good job of playing steady and it paid off."
 
NCU (7-0) had three player post double-digits in kills led by Kayla Ping and Chandler Gabrio (pictured) with 12 apiece. Ping completed a double-double, adding 12 digs. Cassidy Winters posted 11 kills and three blocks while freshman Danielle Willyard also had three blocks while hitting a team-best .294. Taylor Burnett added eight kills along with a team-high 19 digs. Sydney Rothenbush and Haley Damian registered 13 digs apiece.
 
George Fox (0-1) was led by Erin Sprowls, hitting .400 with 14 kills, nine digs and five blocks. Kelsea Meyers scored a match-high 24 digs, adding a pair of service aces.
 
The Beacons continue their hottest start in school history. The previous best record after seven matches was 5-2, happening in three different seasons. The Beacons also defeat George Fox for the first time in school history. It was the first match between the squads in six years.
 
NCU will look to ride their momentum into the conference season when they hit the road for Klamath Falls on Friday. The Beacons will open with Oregon Tech (5-1) at 7:00 pm before traveling to face No. 16 Southern Oregon (7-0) at 5:00 pm on Saturday.