EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team got the job done on Saturday night, sweeping Walla Walla University 25-17, 25-15, 25-18 to clinch a return trip to the Cascade Conference Tournament for the first time in two years.
 
The victory also moved the Beacons to 19-10 on the year to set a new single-season record, breaking the mark of 18 which was set in 2012. NCU moved to 11-9 in conference to tie a CCC win record and move into a tie for fifth-place, equaling their highest finish ever. Tied with Northwest University for fifth, the Beacons won the tiebreaker with a head-to-head sweep and have earned the No. 5 seed for next week's conference tournament.
 
An early 2-1 lead for Walla Walla in the first set was quickly eliminated and the Beacons led the rest of the way, hitting .267 in a smooth senior-night win. All three seniors played a part for NCU as Carly Sand collected 11 assists and two digs in the first set and Katie Allen added six kills and a block. Kayla Olson posted 15 assists, giving her exactly 500 on the season to make her the second player in school history to hit that milestone.
 
Leading the way for the Beacons was Natalie Downes who earned a match-high 12 kills, hitting .632 as she went the entire evening without an error. Makenna Northern added seven digs and a match-high 19 assists despite playing just two sets. Already NCU's single-season record holder, the sophomore has now become the first Beacon ever to cross the 1000-assist plateau for a season, sitting at 1010.
 
Contributions came from multiple places for NCU as Haley Voorhees added five kills and two blocks and Jessica Northcutt added seven kills. Jolinn Daviscourt and Mary Grace Blaser recorded two service aces apiece as the Beacons earned seven as a team.
 
Walla Walla (2-26, 0-20) closed their season with a ten-kill, eight- dig performance from Gabrielle Browning. Sarah Halverson added seven kills and Krista Schafer led the team with 17 assists. Camiryn Rice led all players with three blocks.
 
The Beacons will hit the road for Caldwell, Idaho on Tuesday night, taking on No. 4 seed The College of Idaho at 7:00 pm MST in the first round of the CCC Tournament. The winner of that contest will advance to the semifinals, taking place on Friday night at Southern Oregon University.