LA GRANDE, Ore. – Five-set experience proved invaluable and senior
Hailey Heider's career performance lifted the No. 3-seed Bushnell volleyball team to victory over No. 8-seed Northwest University on Thursday, 25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 31-29, 16-14.
Entering the match needing 13 kills to break the Beacons single-season record, Heider exploded for a single-match record 28, ending with kills on the final two plays to seal the victory for the Beacons.
Heider now has 404 kills on the season, ending the reign of Tami Brown (388) who set her mark back in 2012. The previous single-match record of 27, which Heider tied against NU late in the 2024 season, has stood for 19 years, since established by Ashley Blanchfill in 2006.
Bushnell looked like they were on cruise control early, dominating the first set with 17 kills while holding the Eagles to seven. Northwest, however, responded well, taking two hard fought sets to put themselves on the brink of victory.
The fourth set would become the longest of the season for the Beacons and they had to fight for it, battling off a pair of NU match-points. Trailing 24-22,
Soleil Sands earned a kill followed by a pair from Heider, her 10th and 11th of the set, to put Bushnell on top 25-24.
The Beacons then played through five failed set-points of their own and were tied 29-29 before another pair of kills from Heider lifted the Beacons into the fifth-set tiebreaker.
Bushnell showed some resiliency in the fifth set, to the surprise of no one. It was the 10th five-setter for the Beacons on the season while Northwest was playing in just their fourth, and their first since September 20.
Trailing 5-3, the Eagles scored four straight points and soon moved ahead 10-7, forcing Bushnell Head Coach
Jason Corwin to take a timeout. As they have done time and time again, the Beacons stepped up when they needed to, scoring three straight to tie the match. The score would be tied again at 12-12 and 13-13, before Heider ended the night with her 27th and 28th kills.
"This was a gutsy win for us tonight," said Corwin. "We did not make it easy on ourselves. Northwest served and passed very well and scored so many craft points that we were scrambling to try and dig. I am impressed with our team leadership and resilience, finding a way to get this win against a team that was playing inspired volleyball."
Bushnell finished the night hitting .236 with a strong 105-72 advantage in points scored. Both teams had 81 digs and nine blocks while Bushnell held a 13-10 margin in service aces. Heider finished the night with not just her 28 kills, but a pair of aces and 14 digs, giving her another double-double.
"I am so proud of the team," said Heider. "We had a small dip which put us down two sets, but we rallied and brought the energy back. We played together and fought to keep the ball alive each point. I can't wait to see how far we will go in the post season."
Heider wasn't alone on the attack with both
Leah Agost and
Amyah Semau earning 15 kills apiece. Agost added four blocks while Semau hit .273, collected three aces and 15 digs. Soliel Sands added ten kills and six blocks and
Emma Fa'alogo ran the offense with 38 assists and ten digs.
Kailey Shirley had a big night at Libero, tying her season high with 24 digs along with a match-high five service aces. "It was a thrilling match," said Shirley. We had grit and determination and we have so much talent making us very dynamic in the tight games. I am so proud of this team and can't wait to see what else we will do."
Northwest (16-12) was led by an impressive performance from senior Audrey Dees. Averaging just two kills per set this season, she earned 21 on Thursday, hitting .340. Kaitlyn Mickle chipped in 13 kills, Morgan Harter earned a match-high 40 assists along with 16 digs, and Ellie Van Berkum led all players with 30 digs.
UP NEXT: The Beacons advance to the semifinals where they will take on No. 5-ranked and second-seeded Corban University at 5:00 pm. The other semifinal will feature No. 1 ranked Eastern Oregon University taking on No. 7-seed Walla Walla at 2:00 pm after WWU took down the No. 4-seed College of Idaho in Thursday's other quarterfinal match.
