Bushnell University

EUGENE, Ore. – Taya Blankenship had a 20-kill night for the Beacons as they came back from down two-sets-to-one, overcoming a resurgent Northwest University for the five-set victory, 25-23, 24-26, 21-25, 25-22, 15-7.
 
The Beacons (14-8, 9-6 CCC) snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 9-3 at home as they hit .237 out-scored the upset-minded Eagles, 91-75.
 
Blankenship (pictured) led the Beacons with a season-high 20 kills, hitting .354 as she added three blocks, seven digs, and two aces, but wasn't the only Bushnell player to post impressive numbers on Friday. Aliyah Malone and Jerzie Bair proved to be a dynamic duo in the front row as they each earned nine block assists, with Bushnell out-blocking NU, 13-8. Bair added 11 kills while Malone had seven.
 
A solid defensive day also included 95 digs with Chloe Farr and Amyah Semau earning team-highs with 18 apiece. Semau made a little history on Friday as she earned ten kills for the double-double. She now has 923 kills in her career and moves past Janel Fetters into second on Bushnell's all-time list. Semau needs eight more kills to surpass former teammate Halle Neumann as the Beacon career record holder.
 
Both Bushnell setters had huge nights and posted double-doubles of their own. Avery McAllister posted 29 assists and 14 digs while Emma Fa'alogo collected 26 assists and 17 digs. Soliel Sands also made her mark in the front row, hitting .500 with nine kills, along with four blocks.
 
"I am very proud of the outcome tonight," said Fa'alogo. "There is always something our team can improve on but we stayed emotionally consistent and that led to the win. We have been working hard as a team on being cohesive on and off the court. It was great to get back to playing at home for the next few matches and we are super excited for what is next."
 
For the Eagles (7-17, 3-12), Katelyn Bogetti led all players with 51 assists and three service aces while Sydney Faber collected a match-high 24 digs. Teagan Schroeder had a big night, earning 14 kills and five blocks. Eight of her kills came in the third set alone, helping set the tone for NU as they took the 2-1 lead. Bushnell was able to hold her to just two kills in the fourth and none in the fifth as they mounted their comeback.
 
Head Coach Jason Corwin said, "I am relay proud of our resilience. This team does a good job of working together to find solutions. We found a way to slow their middles down and get back to our style of play, and it helped us pull out the win tonight."
 
UP NEXT: The Beacons will look to sweep the weekend on Saturday when they play host to Evergreen State (2-17, 1-14) at 4:00 pm.