KIRKLAND – Northwest rallied from a first-set loss to claim a 3-1 win over Pacific Lutheran Wednesday night.
 
The Eagles won 17-25, 26-24, 25-20, 28-26.
 
Megan Horne led the Eagles with 20 kills, followed by Abi Broussard with 14. Broussard had four aces, and Anna Saelens had 34 assists.
 
Defensively, Broussard was in on four blocks, with Azaria Johnson and Saelens getting two each. Cristina Lorenz had 20 digs.
 
After losing the opening set, the Eagles trailed 22-23 before getting two kills from Johnson and a block by Johnson and Susana Bailey.
 
Northwest avoided a fifth set after trailing 25-24. Megan Horne registered a kill for a 27-26 lead, and the match ended on the third PLU attack error in the final five rallies.
 
"First, credit PLU for filling the gym tonight with energy and enthusiasm," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "The Lutes played hard from start to finish, and their defense and ability to score in transition gave us fits all evening. Kevin and his staff do a terrific job, and I'm sure they will have a successful season. On our side of the net, it took us some time to match PLU's effort, and it showed in the first set. Fortunately, we were able to stabilize in the second set, and we showed improvement in our ability to manage points at the end of the sets. That was especially the case in set 4, and I was proud of our composure and ability to make the plays when the match was on the line."
 
Now 1-4, the Eagles begin Cascade Collegiate Conference action this weekend with Warner Pacific scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. and Multnomah at 5 p.m. on Saturday.