EUGENE, Ore.  – Having gone the first 12 years of NAIA volleyball without ever winning in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center, Bushnell made it four in a row on Friday, beating the College of Idaho twice on the opening day of the Cascade Conference Caldwell Pod.
 
The Beacons (8-2, 4-2 CCC), who won twice at C of I (2-5, 2-4 CCC) last year in the regular season and playoffs, dominated the serve in both matches, ending up with 21 aces including five from junior Libero Callie Wilkins. Bushnell rallied to take the morning match in five sets, while sweeping the Yotes in the afternoon.
 
Head Coach Jason Corwin said, "We really proved out resiliency today. After a tough travel schedule, playing against the host team, and playing early, we had a lot of reasons to justify a bad result but our athletes stayed the course, made a few slight adjustments and played with confidence.
 
MATCH ONE: Bushnell 3, C of I 2 (24-26, 25-23, 14-25, 25-17, 15-12)
 
The morning contest was the first five-set match of the season for either team, and it was close from the very start. The first set saw the Yotes jump out ahead 13-7, but the Beacons began to chip away. Trailing 19-14, Bushnell went on a 10-3 run, fueled by four aces, to take their first lead and bring it to set point at 24-22. The College of Idaho, however, claimed the next four points to win the set.
 
Set two saw a similar story line unfold as the teams battled on a pendulum. Neither team led by more than three points, the squads were tied 14 times and exchanged leads seven times before the Beacons pulled out the win on an attack error from C of I.
 
The Yotes were the first to put together an sort of run in the third-set, building a 17-9 run before rolling to the 25-14 victory as they hit .323 and held Bushnell to just seven kills and nine attack errors. In the fourth, it was Bushnell's turn, taking an 8-2 lead and never looking back.
 
The Beacons attempted to make the fifth set just as fast, but the Yotes put up a fight. Building another 8-2 lead, Bushnell say the home team rattle off a 7-1 run to tie the game at 9. An ace from Kirsten Mueller after a C of I error gave Bushnell the lead for good as they traded points to the finish.
 
"We got to see our depth play a big part in our wins today," said Corwin. "Big kudos to Olivia Peck for coming in with the first match on the line and serving two great balls and picking up a dig."
 
"Our team is never afraid of a challenge," said Peck. "Our consistend positivity and focus helped us pull off two great wins."
 
Lingenfelder was the big gun for the Beacons in the opener, collecting 17 kills, eight digs and three aces. Natalie Martin and Claire Calness added eight kills apiece with Martin tacking on three blocks. Northern's line ended with 42 assists, 12 digs, three kills and three aces while Callie Wilkins led the team with 16 digs.
 
 
The Yotes who held a 12-3 advantage in blocks, were led by Danielle Neuman with seven blocks and 11 kills. Cameron Wallace led the team with 14 kills, adding four blocks while Chloe Knudson contributed 10 kills and 17 digs.
 
MATCH TWO – Bushnell 3, C of I 0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-22)
 
The Beacons grabbed leads in all three sets and outside of a 1-0 lead for the Yotes, led the entire way.
 
Bushnell got three aces as part of a 20-11 run in set one and held off a late College of Idaho rally. In set two, the Beacons held the Yotes to a negative attack percentage in cruising to the win.
 
Set three proved to be the closest, with the Yotes climbing to within one point on six occasions after the Beacons jumped out to a 7-2 lead. Holding a 22-21 advantage, Bushnell closed on a 3-1 run behind two kills from Jessica Northcutt and one from Payton Jones.
 
Northcutt said, "Our team came together today and got the job done when it counted. We are ready to come out stronger for our next games."
 
Bushnell finished the match hitting .161 while holding the Yotes to 30 kills and 24 attack errors (.054). The Beacon blocking strength showed up big in the closer as the team collected 12 blocks including eight from Natalie Martin.
 
Claire Salness led the charge with 11 kills and three aces while Lingenfelder had another top-notch performance with nine kills, ten digs, and three blocks. Lingenfelder commented, "We all had a long night of travel and not a lot of sleep but we knew we had to get the job done. That was exactly what we fought hard to accomplish."
 
Northern added 28 assists and 11 digs for her second straight double-double while Martin finished with six kills and a .400 hitting clip to go with her eight blocks. "I am so proud of our whole team for overcoming some adversity," said Martin. "We arrived late, played early, and still came out ready to compete. We learned a lot from the first match and were able to make some changes that made huge differences in scoring points in the second match. From our servers, to the back row, setting, and attacking, our energy on and off the court is always excellent."
 
The Beacons will be back in action on Saturday with a pair of matches against Eastern Oregon University at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm, MST.