EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest University Eagles took an important step to avoiding an opening-round play-in game for the CCC tournament on Friday night, knocking off Bushnell in a battle of playoff qualifying teams, 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-11.
 
With the top-four seeds earning a bye into the conference quarterfinals and the Beacons and Eagles heading into the weekend as part of a three-team tie for fourth-place, Northwest used their critical home-court advantage to their favor as they out-hit the Beacons .262 to .16, out-dug Bushnell 64-54, and out-blocked the visitors, 10-7.
 
Bushnell fell behind early as NU claimed the first two sets, but showed a bit of their signature resiliency with a strong third-set win. Northwest, however, put their proverbial foot on the accelerator in the decisive fourth as they forced the Beacons to hit -.200, never recovering from an early seven-point run that gave the home team an 8-3 lead. The Eagles collected five of their ten blocks in set four, including three during the early deflating run.
 
Head Coach Jason Corwin said, "We ran into a prepared team that picked apart our defense tonight. We fought for the first three sets but lost any momentum for the fourth. We will need to be ready for tomorrow's match."
 
The Beacons were led on the night by Leah Agost and Matty Ladd, scoring 11 kills apiece with Agost tying her career-high with four blocks. Katie Belitz led the team with 22 assists, Bella Parque posted 16 digs and Celia Hubbard secured five blocks in the losing effort.
 
Northwest had a big night from blocker Delaney Sparks, hitting .385 with 12 kills and five blocks while Kalli Budge led all players with seven blocks.
 
The victory also evened the season series after Bushnell won at home last month. The Eagles (15-7, 12-5 CCC) have lost just once at home this season, including their victory over then-No. 1-ranked Eastern Oregon in September. They will have another huge task on their hands Saturday evening when they play host to No. 6 Corban. The Beacons (13-8, 11-6) hit the road for The Evergreen State and will play at 5:00 pm.