KIRKLAND – Northwest initiates a two-week homestand this weekend with Oregon Tech on Friday and Southern Oregon on Saturday.
Both matches start at 7 p.m. in Kristi Brodin Pavilion.
Oregon Tech won this season's previous meeting in Klamath Falls, 3-0.
Abigail Broussard had a dozen kills and was in on three blocks along with
Azaria Johnson and
Kalei Kepler. Nicole Reyes had 14 kills for the Owls.
The Eagles are 23-14 against Oregon Tech. Northwest has won the last five meetings that were played in Kirkland.
Northwest beat Southern Oregon in five sets in Ashland last month.
Megan Horne had 20 kills, Broussard added 14, and Susana Bailey and
Jill Botsford added 10 each.
Anna Saelens had 52 assists, and Broussard had four aces. Broussard led with three blocks, and
Cristina Lorenz contributed 14 digs. Hailey Van Well led SOU with 23 kills, and Sadie Byrd rose up for nine blocks.
After last month's win, the Eagles are 8-29 against Southern Oregon. Northwest has won three of the last four matches that were played in Kirkland.
Northwest improved to 9-10 overall with its 3-2 win at Evergreen State, avenging a five-set loss at home earlier this season. Bailey stepped up big with 17 kills, and Broussard added 11 kills, five blocks, and two aces. Saelens had 43 assists, and Lorenz led the back-row defense with 16 digs.
Saelens averages 9.55 assists per set this season and has 678 total assists. She also has done her other work at the net with a team-leading .360 attack percentage and is third with 34 blocks.
With the emergence of Bailey on the outside, the Eagles have a stronger attack. Broussard leads the team with 3.04 kills per set, and Horne follows at 2.72. Bailey has lifted her average to 2.03 with 69 kills (3.29/set) over the last five matches.
Cristina Lorenz leads the back row defense for the Eagles, getting 4.17 digs per set. She has 296 digs this season.
Broussard leads the Eagles with 55 blocks this season and 0.76 blocks per set.
Azaria Johnson is second at 44, followed by
Anna Saelens at 34 and
Megan Horne at 27.
Kalei Kepler has come on strong of late, getting 11 blocks in the last three matches–all NU victories.
After dropping three consecutive conference matches, the Owls are on a six-match winning streak and stand at 15-4 overall and 11-3 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The Owls have a three-pronged attack, led by Reyes at 2.83 kills per set. Aubrey Kievit leads the back-row defense with 4.04 digs per set.
Southern Oregon had a seven-match slide in conference games before pulling out of its funk. The Raiders have won four of their last five matches. SOU averages 12.07 kills per set, led by Van Well at 3.77. Kadyn Jones averages 4.17 digs, and Byrd leads the team with 59 blocks.
