Salem, Ore. - The Northwest Christian University volleyball team is off to the best start in school history as they extended their record to 8-1 on Tuesday night, beating the Willamette Bearcats in four sets, 25-15, 25-19, 16-25, 25-15.
The Beacons were able to get off to a fast start against the Bearcats (1-4) winning their first two sets behind a .481 kill percentage in the first, and .364 in the second. NCU ended the night hitting .373 with 56 kills. The Beacons tallied a season-high 11 aces in the win as Jolinn Daviscourt and Makenna Northern posted four apiece.
Freshman Payton Jones led the Beacons with 12 kills behind her .524 kill percentage as she committed just one attacking error. Northern added a match-high 45 assists while junior Claire Salness earned 11 kills and 10 digs for the double-double. Junior Natalie Downes contributed nine kills in the win while senior Kayla Olson added 13 digs, increasing her career total to 936.
Jennifer Lane led the Bearcats with 12 kills while Emma Porter contributed a team-leading 36 assists. Natalie Klotz added nine kills and 10 digs in the loss.
After wrapping their pre-season schedule, the Beacons return home on Friday night at 7:00 pm as they open Cascade Collegiate Conference play against reigning CCC co-champion Eastern Oregon (10-0). The Mountaineers were ranked No. 10 in the pre-season NAIA national coaches poll.
