Photo Gallery

EUGENE, Ore.  – The Bushnell University volleyball team took care of business on Saturday, hitting .308 on their way to victory over Southern Oregon University, 25-22, 25-13, 25-19.
 
For the Beacons, it was their fifth win ever against SOU and their first since 2017. For Head Coach Jason Corwin, it was his first victory ever against the Raiders, including his previous stint at Oregon Tech. He said, "I've been in this league a while and Southern has set the standard. They have been at the top for a long time and what coach Rohlfing has done has made the rest of us figure out what to do to be competitive in this conference and the NAIA. It has been a long journey for me and it is gratifying for our team performance tonight."
 
The Beacons (9-2, 5-2 CCC) battled through an intense first set that included 30 kills, coming out on top before cruising to victory in sets two and three. Bushnell finished the night with 40 kills, and an 8-4 advantage in service aces. "We didn't know what we were walking into with Southern almost taking Corban out last night after some recent losses," said Corwin. "We stuck to our game plan and our serving really set the tone for us tonight."
 
Junior Setter Makenna Northern did a little bit of everything in the match, posting a match-high 27 assists, along with five kills and no errors, hitting .500. She added three digs and even posted a rare solo block. Coach Corwin said, "Makenna had six control blocks tonight. We have her in there to keep our hitters in rhythm, and it payed off. She set a fantastic block and put a lot of pressure on the other team to figure out a way to score points. All the things she does for this program are incredible."
 
Shay Coons had the big arm for the Beacons, collecting a match-high 13 kills as she hit .323. Jessica Northcutt added 10 kills and two blocks while Matty Ladd scored six kills, hitting .667. Northcutt said, "With every game we play, I see us improving and getting closer to our season goals. Being able to stay together and play our game against two tough opponents back to back was key. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us."
 
"We came into this weekend knowing we would need to perform well," added Coons. "The depth on our team and every player's contribution was vital to our success. We remained emotionally consistent even through the battles."
 
Callie Wilkins posted nine digs in the third set as Bushnell put away the match and finished her night with 14. Cambria Lingenfelder posted seven digs and led the team with three aces.
 
Southern Oregon (7-5, 2-5), who has lost five straight, was led by Hannah Stadstad with ten kills, hitting .438. Shelby Young added eight kills while Simone Gordon posting seven. Kadyn Jones led the team with 11 digs while Hannah Randall posted a Raider-best 13 assists.
 
The Beacons will be back on the road next weekend, traveling to face Evergreen (4-3, 4-2) on Friday night and Northwest University (5-6, 4-2) on Saturday.