ASHLAND, Ore. – The Beacons won one and lost one as they closed out the preseason this weekend at the Southern Oregon University tournament.
 
Things couldn't have gone much better than they did on Saturday as NCU rolled past Simpson University in three sets, 25-18, 25-20, 25-8. As a team, NCU hit .323 in the match including a .480 clip in the dominant third set. Natalie Downes (pictured) posted 10 kills without an error, hitting .455 and Claire Salness led the team with 11 kills. Downes added two blocks, as did Salness who posted a double-double with 12 digs.
 
Kayla Olson led all players with 15 digs and Haley Meili recorded a match-high 25 assists. The pair also combined for seven service aces.
 
The final set, NCU's first in which they held their opponent to single digits since 2016, featured runs of 7-0 and 5-0 as the Beacons gave up just four kills.
 
Head Coach Jason Corwin said, "We played a complete team game against Simpson. We were able to spread the ball around and it was great to get everybody involved."
 
The Beacons closed out the tournament on Sunday morning, falling to Lewis-Clark State College in four sets, 25-11, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17. NCU hit just .134 in the match and fell victim to 29 unforced errors. The Beacons had another nine service aces in the match, but the Warriors had 11 of their own.
 
"We lost to a very good team today," said Corwin. "This was a tough match-up for us. We had our chances and were able to take the third set but their aggressive serving took us out of our game. We did do a good job of attacking in the middle."
 
Salness and Megan Van Marter led the team with eight kills apiece. Olson again led the team with 16 digs and posted another four aces.
 
NCU takes a 5-2 record into the beginning of Cascade Collegiate Conference action next weekend. The Beacons start the CCC slate at home against Multnomah on Friday at 7:00 pm and Warner Pacific at 5:00 pm on Saturday. Coach Corwin said, "This was a great preseason for us. We identified some things that we can get better at during our next three practices before the conference begins."