EUGENE, Ore. – The NCU volleyball team picked up their first victory of the season on Wednesday night, knocking off New Hope Christian College in three sets, 25-12, 25-12, 25-11 at the Rexius Event Center.
 
The Beacons (1-4) dominated from start to finish, hitting .400 as they held a 50-16 advantage in kills. NCU also owned 12 service aces and out-dug the Deacons 47-32.
 
"We faced one of the best New Hope teams we've seen tonight," said head coach Kelly Pitre, a former coach for NHCC, "so I give a lot of credit to coach Anna Barton and her sister for the program that they are building. I am proud of how we stayed focused on our side. There were some intense rallies with some great defense and effort on both sides. New Hope is an intense venue to play at and their crowd was big for them.
 
Leading the way for NCU was senior Taylor Burnett (pictured), collecting 12 kills and 17 digs. Freshman Macy DuCoeur made her debut a good one for the Beacons, hitting .542 with a match-high 14 kills. Junior Keri Schwarz was also playing for the first time and hit .538 with seven kills and error-free attempts.
 
Cassidy Winters added nine kills and Laurie Salness posted five service aces. Maci Beierle was also debuting for NCU and impressed with 31 assists.
 
New Hope (0-1) was led by Samantha Clevenger with five kills and three assists. Kenzie Nortune posted nine assists and Alicia Hatzel led all players with 20 digs.