ASHLAND, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team made a strong first impression on Saturday, sweeping their two game stint in the Raider Classic with victories over Simpson University and Life Pacific College.
 
NCU opened up the day with a 3-1 win over Simpson (25-18, 25-18, 26-28, 25-22) only faltering in a hotly contested third set. The Beacons hit .200 in the game, produced ten service aces and owned a 7-2 advantage on the block.
 
Freshman Payton Jones made her collegiate debut a good one, hitting .391 as she posted 12 kills on just 23 swings. Junior Natalie Downes picked up where she left off to end her strong sophomore campaign, collecting nine kills and six blocks. Senior Kayla Olson tied for the match-high with 19 digs and Makenna Northern impressed with 24 assists, seven digs, two blocks and five kills despite playing in just three sets.
 
The Redhawks (0-3) got plenty of production out of their main weapon, Lily Johnson, who collected 27 kills while taking nearly half of the teams 158 attempts. Madison Strouder collected a game-high 43 assists while Marianne Soria match Olson's 19 digs.
 
An hour later, the Beacons were in action again, this time taking on Life Pacific College for the first time in program history. NCU had to work for their sweep, coming away with a 25-16, 31-29, 25-21 win. The Beacons were once again the more efficient hitting team, posting a .194 percentage while holding Life Pacific to .092.
 
This time it was Cambria Lingenfelder who made her first headlines, collecting 13 kills and committing just two errors. Claire Salness added seven kills and 15 digs along with three of NCU's eight service aces. Northern posted her first double-double of the season, collecting 31 assists and 14 digs. Olson added 17 more digs while Jessica Northcutt posted six kills.
 
Life Pacific (1-4) was led by Mackenzie Stewart and Hannah Caddow with eight kills each. Sydney Culpepper led all players with 23 digs.
 
The Beacons will be back in action on Monday, traveling to face Menlo College (1-0) in Atherton, California at 11 am.