EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University volleyball team closed out the weekend with a loss on Saturday evening, falling to No. 5 Southern Oregon University 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 at the Morse Event Center.
 
The Raiders (14-2, 5-1 CCC), coming off their first conference loss on Friday to No. 11 Corban, had something to prove and they were firing on all cylinders as they hit .280, out-blocked the Beacons 10-5, out-dug NCU 49-34 and nearly doubled the kill total of the home team. Senior Taylor Ristvedt continued to add on to some monster conference-leading numbers as she totaled 16 kills and hit .600. Elliott Cook was nearly as dominant, posting eight kills along with seven blocks. Hannah Bogatin led all players with 25 assists and Emma Ryan earned a match-leading 21 digs.
 
The Beacons (9-6, 1-5) received a team-leading nine kills from Claire Salness while Halle Neumann posted four kills along with four blocks. Makenna Northern collected 19 assists while Kayla Olson had 10 digs.
 
NCU will look to rebound next weekend as they hit the road for more conference action, starting with a clash with Warner Pacific University (2-7, 1-4) on Friday night. The Beacons stay in Portland on Saturday to face Multnomah (0-5, 0-5).