KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.  – After an upset sweep at the hands of Oregon Tech on Friday night, the Beacon volleyball team responded in a big way on Saturday, playing their strongest match of the season in a sweep of their own, 25-14, 25-23, 25-16.
 
Bushnell came out strong, hitting .382 in the opening set as they collected 14 kills and one attack error. They finished the game above .300 for the first time this season and managed to hold the Owls to just a .085 attacking percentage. The Beacons led in all facets, holding a 49-43 dig advantage, 6-2 edge in aces and 9-1 margin in blocks.
 
"The team responded well today," said head coach Jason Corwin. "We had better all around play at every level, starting with our serving. Our passing helped Makenna distribute to all our hitters and our energy was way up. They wanted that result and we knew we needed it."
 
Northern added, "We needed to play aggressive and that is what we did. We came out mad, wanting the win. We had to swing hard, block well and serve hard and we executed our plan."
 
The Beacons were led Northern's seventh double-double of the season, leading all players with 29 assists and 14 digs. In the first set she also became just the second player in Bushnell history to eclipse 2000 assists in a career. Cambria Lingenfelder chipped in with ten digs and three aces while Natalie Martin posted five kills, hitting .556 with five blocks.
 
Jessica Northcutt had another fantastic night on the attack, hitting .435 with 11 kills and just one error while Camille Guerrero did a little bit of everything with nine kills, seven digs, and five blocks.
 
"All we needed was to come together as a team and play our game," said Northcutt. "This game proved what we are capable of and what we need to maintain moving forward."
 
Guerrero added, "Coming off a tough loss yesterday, we were resilient and bounced back. We responded well to the adversity of OIT's home court advantage and I am excited to get back and finally play on our court next week."
 
In the loss, Oregon Tech was led by Kaylin Talonen with a match-high 13 kills. Brooke Cassidy added 18 assists and seven digs while Nicole Reyes and Aubrey Kievit contributed nine digs apiece.
 
The win moved the Beacons to 9-5 on the season and 5-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action while OIT moved to 8-5, 5-5. The two schools, along with Lewis-Clark State are now caught in a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots in the CCC with four games remaining.
 
Next weekend, the Beacons will play their first home game in 497 days when they host Multnomah on Friday and Saturday. Oregon Tech travels to take on Warner Pacific while LC State faces The College of Idaho at home.