KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team pulled out a nail-biter against Northwest on Friday night, winning 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-21, 15-12. With the win the Beacons extended their winning streak to six games and moved into third place in the CCC standings, a half-game ahead of No. 8 College of Idaho.
 
NCU (15-4, 10-4 CCC) ended with a 69-64 kill advantage, while Northwest out-hit the Beacons .211 to .161. The Eagles held a 98-97 dig advantage while the Beacons amassed 67 assists to 62 for NU.
 
All five sets were played very evenly with every point swing for one team being quickly matched by a streak for their opponent. The Eagles started the third stanza on a five-point run, at one juncture holding a six-point lead before Northwest Christian rattled off six-straight to tie it up at 10-10.
 
The teams were tied and seven other points during the set, and NCU eventually took their first lead on a match-point at 25-24. The home team, however, posted three straight kills to seal the 27-25 win.
 
The third set win seemed to give the Beacons a little momentum, as they led for the majority of the final two sets to escape Kirkland with the victory.
 
Freshman Claire Salness and senior Maci Beierle ended the night with double-doubles. Salness led NCU with a career high 17 kills while also notching 18 digs and four blocks. Beierle, fresh off being named the CCC Setter of the Week for the fourth time on the year, had a career-high 55 assists, along with 16 digs, seven kills and two blocks. Haley Damian, Kayla Olson, and Sydney Rothenbush all surpassed ten digs in the match, with Damian collecting a career-high 30.
 
Three other Beacon hitters finished the night with double-digits in the kill column. Kasey Campbell, Keri Schwarz, and Natalie Downes combined for 36 kills, nine blocks, and seven digs. Junior Megan Van Marter had eight of her own, in additional to getting a piece of six of NCU's eight blocks.
 
Northwest (14-6, 8-4) had big nights from four of their hitters. Amanda Waterman led with 13 kills while Sarah Warner, Mattie Jo Johnson, and Audrey Saelens each had 12. Morgan Pilon led the Eagles with 36 assists, while also scooping 10 digs. Alysanne Van Dyke had 43 of Northwest's 98 digs.
 
NCU continues their road trip on Saturday when they travel to Olympia to take on Evergreen at 7 p.m.